Best UK Mangabey enclosure

Best UK Mangabey enclosure?

  • Total voters
    38
  • Poll closed .
felis silvestris

felis silvestris

Well-Known Member
This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Mangabeys in the UK. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to list the enclosures in order of what they think is best.

If there are any outdated photos, collections that no longer hold them or people have photos for exhibits not in the gallery or with poor photos please let me know.

Colchester (Collared)

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Owl & Monkey Haven (Collared)

Unfortunately, there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. It would be extremely useful if someone who has visited can describe the exhibit and give an evaluation on its quality.

Paignton (Collared)

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Port Lympne (Golden Bellied)

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Howletts (White Naped)

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London (White Naped)

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Flamingo Land (White Naped)

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Photo credits to @MagpieGoose @gulogulogulo @zoogiraffe @Bele
 
This is a difficult one, as none really stand out to me, and especially compared to other primates in the UK, they seem to have a relatively low standard of exhibitry overall.

Colchester offers an astonishing amount of climbing, height and enrichment, with the sloping and varied terrain of the enclosure also helping, and it also has a good indoor area, but aesthetically, the mock rock and lack of foliage is a weakness. Howletts with its very unappealing, but very spacious cage is a similar situation, but not quite as successful in my opinion. Paignton is the opposite - abundant grass and some other foliage, as well as great terrain, but little to no height for the animals, although the indoors is great. London is actually fairly well-rounded, as the outdoor area has a lot of good climbing and enrichment, but still manages to maintain pleasant green grass - but it is quite a bit smaller than the enclosures at Colchester or Paignton, and the indoor area, within the old Sobell Pavilion, looks terrible, with peeling paint and old brick walls, even if its fine for the animals.

All things considered, I will vote for Colchester, with London a very close second, but to be honest, neither deserve to win this.
 
I’ve only seen London and Colchester and of the two Colchester is more interesting, has two viewing levels which is nice and is more spacious. It’s not a ‘wow’ though it feels like a lot of climbing frames. And the glass is a bit annoying. All the same the views of the mangabeys is good and they do seem to roam around the space and make use of it. They are also quite a small group so it’s a good size in comparison to some other primate spaces. Colchester voted for.
 
I voted for Flamingo Land. It's a bit of an eyesore and not fully suitable for the animals it contains but I remember when it was two blocks of small cages that were even more of an eyesore and unsuitable for a larger number of primate species including one olive baboon that was being annoyed and fed bubblegum by kids. This was circa 1998. The modifications turning those enclosures into the current one by merging all the cages and connecting them are a triumph in modern architecture.
 
ZooNut23 said:
I voted for Flamingo Land. It's a bit of an eyesore and not fully suitable for the animals it contains but I remember when it was two blocks of small cages that were even more of an eyesore and unsuitable for a larger number of primate species including one olive baboon that was being annoyed and fed bubblegum by kids. This was circa 1998. The modifications turning those enclosures into the current one by merging all the cages and connecting them are a triumph in modern architecture.
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I visited flamingoland around 5 years ago and can honestly say that was the worst enclosure there, absolute sh**! You aren't just a zoonut!
 
pipaluk said:
I visited flamingoland around 5 years ago and can honestly say that was the worst enclosure there, absolute sh**! You aren't just a zoonut!
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It is terrible but I was contrasting it with what was there before and the fact that's no longer there. It's an upgrade trust me. Nothing really jumps out much with the others. I'd say Flamingo Land probably is still the worst but the vote is just a token of respect for the improvement. Its never going to win so I don't see the problem.
 
Flamingo Land setup really isn't great, although at least they are moving out of there so won't be for much longer. At a push I would say London, although based off these photos, Mangabey's don't get a break in the UK do they!
 
Rajang21 said:
The intention is that you vote for the best though.
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Can anyone really say what the best is though? Unless I've been a Mangabey and lived in all of the enclosures I can't really make a judgement in terms of what's best for the animals. Aesthetically they are all much of a muchness. I made my vote because I believe the enclosure represents a significant improvement on the previous cages that were there.
 
Bubalus said:
Flamingo Land setup really isn't great, although at least they are moving out of there so won't be for much longer. At a push I would say London, although based off these photos, Mangabey's don't get a break in the UK do they!
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Where in the park are they moving?
 
ZooNut23 said:
Can anyone really say what the best is though? Unless I've been a Mangabey and lived in all of the enclosures I can't really make a judgement in terms of what's best for the animals. Aesthetically they are all much of a muchness. I made my vote because I believe the enclosure represents a significant improvement on the previous cages that were there.
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Some people on here are animal care/science professionals so will be factoring in various criteria and aesthetics would likely be lower down in priority. In any case I don't see the value in voting for what is (reportedly) the worst option.
 
I am voting for colchester here, though indeed, none of them are that good. It is large, has a lot of climbing space, and in my opinion provides the greatest indoor exhibit as well.

I really don’t like Flamingo land at all.
 
ZooNut23 said:
I voted for Flamingo Land. It's a bit of an eyesore and not fully suitable for the animals it contains but I remember when it was two blocks of small cages that were even more of an eyesore and unsuitable for a larger number of primate species including one olive baboon that was being annoyed and fed bubblegum by kids. This was circa 1998. The modifications turning those enclosures into the current one by merging all the cages and connecting them are a triumph in modern architecture.
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It looks nice with the temple design but offers nothing on the others in terms of animal welfare. It's really not good.
 
ZooTripper365 said:
It looks nice with the temple design but offers nothing on the others in terms of animal welfare. It's really not good.
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I never said it was good. I've given my reasons for voting it. The main one being I no longer have to see a number of monkey species crammed into small mesh cages. I appreciate the work that's gone into making 8 or so terrible exhibits into one not very good one and I'm pleased they are moving somewhere nicer
 
Apart from some small viewing windows, does the Colchester enclosure have high opaque walls on all sides?
 
Benosaurus said:
Apart from some small viewing windows, does the Colchester enclosure have high opaque walls on all sides?
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It has one long opaque wall. Then the one with the house entrance on.

Then one with windows running down that are various sizes some are double width.

Then it has a long window space, glass covered, that runs across the upper viewing area (the other side looks into the lemurs) so it's half that wall - I think that will be the location the photo was taken from.

I think that's typical of a lot of the Colchester enclosures on that side of the zoo...they are mostly large box enclosed spaces with glass fronts or panels vs having a wire part / side. The lion enclosure has a wire section down the front side but the rest is similar half brown wood half sandy 'rock' box sides then a series of glass viewing half walls. The macaque space is pretty similar to this one in design though but more square and glass across the whole front.
 
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ZooNut23 said:
I voted for Flamingo Land. It's a bit of an eyesore and not fully suitable for the animals it contains but I remember when it was two blocks of small cages that were even more of an eyesore and unsuitable for a larger number of primate species including one olive baboon that was being annoyed and fed bubblegum by kids. This was circa 1998. The modifications turning those enclosures into the current one by merging all the cages and connecting them are a triumph in modern architecture.
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I really like the theming on it. Flamingo Land gets my vote!
 
ZooNut23 said:
I never said it was good. I've given my reasons for voting it. The main one being I no longer have to see a number of monkey species crammed into small mesh cages. I appreciate the work that's gone into making 8 or so terrible exhibits into one not very good one and I'm pleased they are moving somewhere nicer
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Yeah I totally get this man. It's a decent layout. I've never visited the park so I apologise for giving my viewpoint based on a photo I've seen :)
 
ZooTripper365 said:
Yeah I totally get this man. It's a decent layout. I've never visited the park so I apologise for giving my viewpoint based on a photo I've seen :)
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That's OK. It's what the photos are there for I guess. I think to really understand the qualities of an enclosure you have to experience the space and gain a full appreciation of its' past, present and future. It's almost a spirituality.

I'd love to know the full species list for what the cages used to contain. In 1998 I recall a Sykes Monkey sharing with a Spot Nosed Guenon, at least one kind of macaque (Japanese or possibly Rhesus or both), an Olive Baboon and the Mangabeys but I believe there were more. Like I say kids could just touch or feed the monkeys through the mesh and were running riot. Wonder if anyone else has recollections
 
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