Best small and medium-sized primate exhibits?

C

CGSwans

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I'm curious to know what type of exhibits people prefer. There's basically two major categories of exhibit for lemurs and monkeys: islands and netted or mesh cages.

I for one am a fan of the netted enclosures with elevated window viewing in Melbourne Zoo's treetops primate boardwalk (though they could be larger). I don't often visit zoos that use island enclosures (National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra is the only zoo I've been to that predominantly use them), but I tend to find from looking through the gallery that the viewing is usually quite distant, and the opportunities for primates to climb and brachiate is limited.

What are people's thoughts? And do people want to point to exceptional island exhibits?
 
Miniature Monkeys and Monkey Islands at Chester are two of my personal favourites.

Mini Monkeys is a number of large mature trees with a bisecting path for visitors and a reasonably low fence. It's quite fun to watch the monkeys scramble through the treetops above your head.

ZooLex Exhibit

Monkey Islands is a series of densley planted islands with large climbing poles and woodchipped indoor enclosures with a massive amount of enrichment. It houses very large breeding groups of colombian spider monkeys, lion-tailed macaques, mandrills and sulawesi macaques

I don't really have a preference for moats or cages
 
The Liontailed Macaque, Javan Langur and the enormous Colobus/gelada enclosures at Howletts, and the similar Colobus/de Brazza enclosure at Port Lympne.

These modern enclosures are large semi natural areas surrounded by hotwire fences, not water. The animals can be seen to good advantage in surroundings which contain living trees as well as other climbing equipment. They are presented in a very attractive fashion and visually the 'distance' barrier that water creates is absent so in that respect I rate them better than Chester's islands. I don't know any enclosures that are better.
 
Hmm. The Howletts cages are just a bit too utilitarian for me. I really, really like the 'Miniature Monkeys' exhibit on Zoolex. 910sqm for two pairs of tamarins and marmosets! Huge, mature trees accessible to the top, and neither a water barrier nor the somewhat stark electric wire of Howletts. Without a doubt the best small primate exhibit I've yet seen.
 
I much prefer islands, as if designed well can be fantastic for viewing primates. Unobstructed viewing for humans, great camera angles, and the occupants do not have to peer out of wire, glass or mesh for the rest of their lives. Usually islands are extremely naturalistic, with live trees for the animals to swing from.

Siamang exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo:

http://www.zoochat.com/622/siamang-exhibit-89279/

Siamang exhibit at Miami Metrozoo. An example of an island that allows for close proximity of visitors, while also amazing for brachiating apes. The fakeness of the trees is the only downside to the large pair of islands.

http://www.zoochat.com/581/gibbon-island-56667/

Red ruffed lemur exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo. Brilliant!

http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89185/
http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89189/
http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89183/
 
snowleopard said:
I much prefer islands, as if designed well can be fantastic for viewing primates. Unobstructed viewing for humans, great camera angles, and the occupants do not have to peer out of wire, glass or mesh for the rest of their lives. Usually islands are extremely naturalistic, with live trees for the animals to swing from.

Siamang exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo:

http://www.zoochat.com/622/siamang-exhibit-89279/


Red ruffed lemur exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo. Brilliant!

http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89185/
http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89189/
http://www.zoochat.com/622/red-ruffed-lemur-exhibit-89183/
Click to expand...

Nothing less than what you come to expect from photos of Woodland Park. The lemur exhibit reminds me of one of the two ringtailed lemur islands at Melbourne (the one in the Japanese garden) - willow and all. Although it's more densely planted.

Siamang exhibit at Miami Metrozoo. An example of an island that allows for close proximity of visitors, while also amazing for brachiating apes. The fakeness of the trees is the only downside to the large pair of islands.

http://www.zoochat.com/581/gibbon-island-56667/
Click to expand...

Great for siamangs, but aesthetically poor.

I think I might adjust my two genres of exhibit from "island" and "cage" to "open-topped" and "closed-topped". Because it's becoming evident that water is a common, but not defining feature of the open-topped exhibit. It's probably not an issue for the Woodland Park exhibits - because the siamang one at least appears to have elevated viewing from across perhaps a few metres of water, but I'm still inclined to suggest that the Miami exhibit would be better if the "trees" were considerably higher and the viewing platform also elevated to bring the apes to eye-level as they brachiate.
 
I prefer cages. They let you get closer than islands do and they give the primates more climbing opportunities. Also, it's easier to add new branches, ropes etc as the keepers aren't as limited like they would be on an island, and the monkeys also have less risk of drowning. Howletts is a perfect example of this, as many of the cages also contain many plants and they're also very tall.
 
Ehm, why keep them behind the fences or moat?

Apenheul zoo in Netherlands keeps its lemurs and small monkeys on walkthrough islands for over 20 years!
 
Jurek7 said:
Ehm, why keep them behind the fences or moat?

Apenheul zoo in Netherlands keeps its lemurs and small monkeys on walkthrough islands for over 20 years!
Click to expand...

I would have to rate Apenheul's displays as probably the best I have seen for primates. All species are kept effectively on islands, with many species in close contact walk-through style. However it only works if the visitor's don't try and feed them! I know of too many cities and towns where the... shall I suggest, uneducated masses would think nothing about trying to jam crisps into willing mouths.

Jersey's free-ranging marmoset/lion tamarin setup in woodland is highly-rated too. Similar setups are everywhere, Singapore comes to mind.
 
I also prefer well made islands to fencing. Although I haven't been to any, I have been impressed by the walkthrough/free ranging exhibits I've seen pictured here.
 
I agree with you Pertinax and Ashley-H the outdoor Primate Enclosures at Howletts are the finest ive seen.
And i agree ive never seen anything better aswell as the large outdoor enclosure heavily planted with hardy vegitation and trees that the primates can climb on, Its everything they need and also they all have large tall cages with plenty of climbing oppurtunities and shelter.
Gives the Primates as much privacy as they want. :)
 
I was actually bigging up the Howletts cages but the open ones are good :)
 
Yah i agree with you too Ashley-H they are great enclosures bringing up the most climbing oppurtunities for any primate enclosures i have ever seen and they are based in woodlands aswell giving it a wild feel about it.The primates get as much privacy as they need :)
 
Well monkey forest (forgot where it is) has a huge group of barbary macaques in 60 acres of natural woodland, walkthrough. This is absolutley fantastic for the macaques but is somewhat disspointing for the visitor. the woodland features large open areas, natural streams, mature oak trees and allsorts of natural natural bushes and trees.
 
foz said:
Well monkey forest (forgot where it is) has a huge group of barbary macaques in 60 acres of natural woodland, walkthrough. This is absolutley fantastic for the macaques but is somewhat disspointing for the visitor. the woodland features large open areas, natural streams, mature oak trees and allsorts of natural natural bushes and trees.
Click to expand...

There's a few sites across Europe (France and Germany spring to mind), but the one I think you're thinking of is located in Trentham, UK
 
I remembered something. Erfurt zoo in Germany has some large, unusualy well planted cages for its colobus monkeys. They won some German zoo award.

http://www.zoochat.com/832/erfurt-zoo-monkey-jungle-58822/
http://www.zoochat.com/832/erfurt-zoo-monkey-jungle-58826/

Erfurt, however, also has 1 ha fenced enclosure for Barbary macaques. It is supposedly walkthough, although is quite often closed. It must be 20 times better and cost probably much less. But strangely, nobody cares much about it.

http://www.zoochat.com/832/chilling-barbary-macaque-87948/
http://www.zoochat.com/832/erfurt-zoo-barbary-mountain-58808/

Strange!
 
Interesting debate. I'm for "islands" however I like open-topped closed-topped divison much more. Nothing can beat sunny day, just walikng through zoo like walking in the park, looking around and suddenly spotting clobuses on a pretty high tree several enclosures further. Times of year when weather is warm and trees don't have many leaves (yet) are great.

Speaking about barbary apes, nobody brought up yet another type of enclosure, rocky cliff (or artificial substitues of it aka temples for baboons etc.) like in Prague. BTW there are bars but of course it is open-topped.

two clips of its inhabitants :) (it is very big mixed exhibit with barbary sheep)

and

 
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Riziki said:
Its everything they need and also they all have large tall cages with plenty of climbing oppurtunities and shelter.
Gives the Primates as much privacy as they want. :)
Click to expand...

I was only referring to the modern enclosures, not the old style wood & wire cages scattered around the woodlands. I would like to see all of those eventually replaced by the more open style ones(even if at the same locations) but it may be too expensive to do that for all the species they keep.
 
I think the open enclosures are fine for the big baboon enclosure and the langur one, but I don't think they'd work in the woodlands for some reason.
 
The walkthrough exhibits are great, but I doubt you'll see those in the US with anything larger than a squirrel monkey.
 
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