Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Baboon/Black Rhino Enclosure

Thanks, that looks pretty interesting.
 
They were stringing all those hotwires around the paddock when I was at PL three weeks ago, so I'm delighted to see that they have finally finished. I'm sure the baboons will appreciate all the extra space and the rhino looked fine on the video. I will be interested to find out whether you can get a decent view between the wires, or over them from the path at the top corner of the paddock.

Alan

PS Thank you olivemanD and welcome to ZooChat.
 
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This has taken them a long time to finish. It obviously works well but its an odd mix- I believe the Guinea baboons only came to PL because they were surplus at Paris so were 'rescued'- they certainly aren't a typical Port Lympne species even though they try to pretend they are 'nearly' endangered... One of the keepers there told me no one could quite figure out why they came...;)
 
Conventional wisdom has it that black rhinos can not be mixed with any other species. Too stroppy by half.

Whether the guinea baboon is a conscious introduction or just for convenience sake, is irrelevant to the experiment. We do learn by our mistakes and by doing new stuff and not just following the traditional textbook knowledge.

Offcourse the above only counts in case something has not been tried to date, and has not given us any negative results that would preclude an experiment from going ahead.

Some animal management compendiums are a good resource for experiences with past species combinations and compositions.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Conventional wisdom has it that black rhinos can not be mixed with any other species. Too stroppy by half.
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I would have thought Baboons were beneath their notice even for Black Rhinos... the video also mentions its their oldest female 'Rukwa' who has been the first guineapig. They also have Black rhino(two young males?) in their mixed drive- in Savannah reserve.
 
Pertinax said:
I would have thought Baboons were beneath their notice even for Black Rhinos... the video also mentions its their oldest female 'Rukwa' who has been the first guineapig. They also have Black rhino(two young males?) in their mixed drive- in Savannah reserve.
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Hi Pertinax,

Those remarks are exactly that conventional wisdom. What is also at play here is size and circumverence of area/exhibit. The safari area technically approaches somewhat a near-natural state where individual species have sufficient personal space that precludes any conflicts arising.

In more confined spaces - even like the black rhino Rukwa and Guinea baboons case - the space question is more challenging. If one would mix ... say antelope with black rhinos in that space ... I would be more hesitant as to desirability or the eventual consequences of species conflict.

If something unfamiliar or threatening invades the space of a black rhino he/she will react in the only way they know ... which is charge and ... when the threat has been dealt with ... (which may result in severe casualty or even death) .... he/she then to run off quickly in the other direction. :D

K.B.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
If something unfamiliar or threatening invades the space of a black rhino he/she will react in the only way they know ... which is charge and then run off in the other direction. :D

K.B.
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yes, I've had first hand experience of a black rhino in the wild.

In the port Lympne case it mentiond in the video that Rukwa did react to the baboons initially and pushed them around a bit, but nothing serious.

I saw the white rhino Tuli/a at Whipsnade yesterday- see my comments on the Whipsnade thread if you haven't already.
 
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