Any news of orangutans in the uk
- Thread starter orang09
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Gigit
Well-Known Member
Did you know that Theodora and Tamu have moved from Twycross to Paris, and that Demi and Mali have come to Paignton from Munster? Demi and Mali are still off show in quarantine but Theo and Tamu are on show, though separated from the others so far. They seem to have settled in. You've probably seen that little Aris died at Monkey World.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
It had water in part of the moat when i was their in August this year.
Nobody ever seems to learn that Water Moats are DANGEROUS for all species of Great Apes. Unfortunately the zoos always learn the hard way, because such accidents occur at long intervals and in places far apart so other zoos either aren't aware or decide it won't happen at their zoo.
Every ape that dies from a water-related death is a loss that could have been avoided....
Every ape that dies from a water-related death is a loss that could have been avoided....
Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
What about Chester's chimps? They have a moat, and it's worked for years.
Yes, lots of zoos have moated ape exhibits that have worked for many years and never had an accident. Chester had to shoot a female chimp that crossed the moat once, and the young Orangutan Kimbu drowned in the moat of the old house too- so they've had trouible in the past.
Apes and Watermoat accidents.
Here's a few places I know of that have experienced losses- mostly drownings- of Apes via water moats or barriers.
Bronx New York. male Gorilla
Frankfurt. male Gorilla. chimpanzee.
Chester. orangutan. chimp(escaped across)
Longleat. male Gorilla.
Dublin. chimpanzee (mother rescuing young)
Hanover. male gorilla.
(Blackpool. orangutan).
I'm sure there are plenty of others I don't know about. Anyone? Also there have been instances of apes escaping when the moat froze over though of course that should be an avoidable issue.
Here's a few places I know of that have experienced losses- mostly drownings- of Apes via water moats or barriers.
Bronx New York. male Gorilla
Frankfurt. male Gorilla. chimpanzee.
Chester. orangutan. chimp(escaped across)
Longleat. male Gorilla.
Dublin. chimpanzee (mother rescuing young)
Hanover. male gorilla.
(Blackpool. orangutan).
I'm sure there are plenty of others I don't know about. Anyone? Also there have been instances of apes escaping when the moat froze over though of course that should be an avoidable issue.
Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
What happened at longleat?
Late 1970's. Adult male(18) gorilla 'Monty' found dead in water of their Gorilla island. I expect it wasn't seen exactly what happened but the water definately contributed to his death.
Best documented is the 1951 death of the superb Bronx male Gorilla -Makoko- it happened on a Sunday afternoon in front of a full crowd of visitors so hundreds of people saw exactly what happened.
He was standing on the edge of his enclosure(like Dudley's which was modelled on it..) next to the weater. Did a little 'display run' along the edge and misplaced one of his knuckles so he slipped and fell in. He sank like a stone. Keepers dived in immediately and pulled him out but he had drowned. They redesigned the moat afterward to make it more shallow on the animals' side.
I should add that Lowland Gorillas in the wild are often found in swampy locations but don't appear to actually swim. They can learn though... a young pair at a zoo in Nigeria had a watermoated enclosure which they would enter with their keeper and they learnt to swim well. But in zoos generally the whole concept of the watermoat is that the apes can't swim..... so they drown if they fall in.
