Africa Alive! East Anglia Zoos Update

[Newzooboy]

Just completed a long weekend visiting Africa Alive!, Thrigby & Banham.

Africa Alive! (Suffolk Wildlife Park) - Mixed African Hoofstock exhibit looks good although only the Blesbok (approx 8) and Ostrich were out in the paddock owing to the wet weather. Other species mixed into this area include Southern White Rhino, Chapman's Zebra & Giraffe but all were restricted to their hard stands on this visit. Arabian Oryx gone and replaced by 2 x additional Blesbok (the males?).

African Lion exhibit with new Look Out post looks superb and visitors can get very close to the lions with no barriers (jumping distance calculated down to the last cm I would estimate!!). I would venture that this is arguably now the best lion exhibit in the country (with the obvious exception of the safari parks).

Wetlands antelope now include Nyala, Sitatunga, and both Kafue Flats & Nile Lechwe (approx. 20+ individuals of the later).

Other hoofstock includes Addax, Congo Buffalo & Somali Wild Ass.

Carnivores (in addition to Lions) present were Cheetah, Serval, Striped Hyena, Fennec & Bat-eared Fox, Yellow Mongoose, Fossa.

The 'nocturnal' house contained Straw-coloured bats & Aardvark.

The De Brazza & L'hoests Guenons appear to have been replaced by Vervet Monkey & King Colobus (one of which was born at Marwell) but the pair of Chimps were still there and the Lemur islands were fully populated.

The Geoffroy's Spider Monkey enclosure has been removed (prob. to make way for the African Savanna exhibit) and these monkeys are gone from the collection.

Thrigby - Leopard enclosures contained Snow Leopard and Amur Leopard (including the melanistic individual born at Cotwolds Wildlife Park). Other cats were Sumatran Tigers, Clouded Leopard, Leopard Cat & Asian Golden Cat.

Primates present were Siamang, Lar Gibbon, Sulawesi Macaque and unspecified Spider Monkey (possibly the Geoffroys from Suffolk but my ID not up to scratch....any info anyone??).

Crocodile house now holds American Alligator, Mugger Crocodile & 3 x young Estuarine Crocs (very active).

Birds include Blyths Hornbill & Red-bellied Tree Pie.

Chinese Willow Pattern Walk now holds Green Peafowl and a new enclosure for Owston's Palm Civet.

Banham - New Snow Leopard enclosure under construction on site of original enclosure. Snow Leopards temporarily held in old Spider Monkey enclosure and the spider monleys have been moved next to the Siamangs (not sure what happened to the Mueller's Gibbons?).

New Giraffe House complete and open and is very similiar to Africa Alive! Giraffe House except larger and with first floor indoor viewing. Currently houses 1.3 adult giraffes with one young one born very recently and being hand-reared. The females came from Africa Alive! so not sure the birth was meant to take place at Banham.....
The Giraffes only have access to hard stand but a paddock (again, on much the same lines as the Africa Alive! mixed paddock) is also complete but not yet in use. The intention is to construct a new Grevy's Zebra house next at the other end of the paddock and run the Giraffes & Zebra together.

Sri Lankan Leopards and Amur Tigers (and their enclosures) looking excellent although only the male leopard is currently on permanent display.

New Lemur house also currently under construction but the island in the woodland walk (which has held Squirrel Monkey & Ring-tailed Lemur) was empty. The colobus had access to their main enclosure but (as with every other time I have visited Banham recently) were not making full use of it, preferring instead to sit in the entrance to the tunnel connecting to their house.

 

[johnstoni]

I wanted to ask a couple of questions...

How many Forest buffalo did you see at Africa Alive? Where were the colobus housed, I'm surprised they managed to get some, ah well fingers crossed....

Is there still a big group breeding group of painted storks at thrigby? How many tigers did you see?

thanks!

 

[Newzooboy]

Hi there

There were at least 2 Congo Buffalo but may have been more in the house....

Colobus were housed in the primate cages next to the chimps (ie middle cage). At least one was from Marwell, not sure about the other(s)?

Only 2 painted storks in the walk-through bird garden next to the small cat area and 2 x Sumatran tigers.

Cheers.

 

[Newzooboy]

Red Pandas

Forgot to mention in original review;

Red Pandas at both Thrigby & Banham looked thin and bald on the tail and around the flanks and back legs....

I have never seen Pandas looking like this before....is this a sign of age or illness or both??

 

[taun]

Forgot to mention in original review;

Red Pandas at both Thrigby & Banham looked thin and bald on the tail and around the flanks and back legs....

I have never seen Pandas looking like this before....is this a sign of age or illness or both??

One of chesters red panda's had a thinner tail for a while, I think it could be similar reasons why chimps can have bald parts (over groming). It must be noted that the one at chester had this problem around the time when the two were paired up so could of been stress related?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Just completed a long weekend visiting Africa Alive!, Thrigby & Banham.

Africa Alive! (Suffolk Wildlife Park).
The De Brazza & L'hoests Guenons appear to have been replaced by Vervet Monkey & King Colobus (one of which was born at Marwell) but the pair of Chimps were still there and the Lemur islands were fully populated.

The Geoffroy's Spider Monkey enclosure has been removed (prob. to make way for the African Savanna exhibit) and these monkeys are gone from the collection.

Do you know to which collections the guenons and the spider monkeys were transferred to?

 

[Newzooboy]

No idea I'm afraid.....

As I said in the review, there are now a group of spider monkeys at Thrigby which could be the remaining ones from Kessingland but I cannot confirm this. Anyone else?? ISIS does not list any spider monkeys at either collection.

Kessingland held De Brazzas for quite a few years but L'hoests for a shorter time but not sure if these died out or were moved on.....

 

[Paradoxurus]

Additional notes on Africa Alive!:

OK, the Geoffroy's Spider Monkeys from Kessingland did indeed go to Thrigby and are intended for Cromer.

There are 1.1 Congo Buffalo there (a second female having died recently).

The female of the pair of L'Hoest's Guenons died and the male was tranferred to Colchester.

There are two Colobus (one from Marwell and I'll have to refer back to my notes to find the origin of the second) and 2.2 Vervets. The vervets came from Woburn and there is no reason why they should not breed though their purity is not known.

The Oryx were replaced by a couple of male Blesbok. The staff are trying to mix the two males together before introducing them to the females in the main, mixed paddock (seems a strange way of doing it to me).

I would also rate the Lion exhibit as one of the best in the UK.

Only a single male Nyala in the collection now and females are being sought.

The female Somali Wild Ass should reach maturity this year and be ready to breed.

 

[Sand Cat]

Thanks for the update - good news about the new developments going on at Banham, but it's a shame that Suffolk seem to be moving backwards. They've needed new fossa accomodation for years!!!

I have a few questions about Banham actually. Are the small cats staying put behind the Snow Leopard area? And where is the new lemur house going? Hope someone can help.

 

[johnstoni]

Not to mention the chimpanzees. Are they just going to let them stay in that cage until they die?

 

[Pertinax]

Not to mention the chimpanzees. Are they just going to let them stay in that cage until they die?

I imagine so...

I was very surprised at where the Fossa's live too- these are old cages from the original Kessingland Park- how come they didn't pull them down and build new ones- money is obviously not a problem with all the major developments they have made there. And at Banham the cages the Spider Monkeys live in are pretty abysmal too- a small(and quite easily removable) blot on the landscape of an otherwise very attractive zoo(park)

 

[Paradoxurus]

The chimpanzees will be staying in that cage until they die unless another collection requires them.

Despite what it might seem, money is quite tight at the two collections. Major projects are completed at each collection in alternate years. The old monkey row at Suffolk is the next area due for demolition (so if you are interested in recording singular animal enclosures I'd get down there and snap away at those old holiday chalets). The enclosures themselves seem perfectly funtional even though a little unsightly.

I've always thought it better to replace ageing enclosures one at a time, but do it well, than to sweep accross the whole collection shoddily. The German collections seem to addopt this philosophy which is why you often find hugely contrasting styles within the same collection: futuristic alongside out-dated. Its better for the zoo in the long term despite short term aesthetic unpleasentries. And we shouln't forget that just because we are getting used to seeing vast, naturalistic, immersion exhibits, doesn't mean that the occupants favour them.

I don't see anything wrong with the Chimp cage at Suffolk. Sure, its probably not quite in step with other collections holding chimpanzees, but it offers lots of climbing opportunities and you can hardly say its cramped for the two ageing animals. Besides, considering how simplistic it is, I think it is a well-maintained enclosure and, as cages go, is quite an attractive one.

The chimps seem interested and alert. I think some of their strange behaviours can be put down to the proximity of the public (which of course, encourages such animals to learn odd behaviours) and to their cramped quarters at Banham (is that where the Spider Monkeys are still?).

 

[johnstoni]

It's not that there is anything particularly bad about the cage, only at some point one of those animals will die, leaving an elderly, lone ape. It a shame they can't be given some open space with equal climbing opportunity and maybe a couple of other elderly females integrated into the group. Having said that, maybe they'll euthanase the other if one dies and claim it is kinder to do so.

I'm sure they are on a budget, but not so much that the owners couldn't afford to acquire a third attraction recently, the dinosaur park. I would say improving the situation for some great apes in your care comes before expanding your empire.

 

[Paradoxurus]

An open space with equal climbing opportunity would have to be massive. Giving them 'open space' would only be a PR measure and at the end of the day would mean nothing to the animals themselves. A bit 'more' space might make a difference but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that quality is far and away more important than quantity.

I once had an argument with a keeper at Dublin whose stance was that their Orangutans feel oppressed with bars above them. That was his justification for the zoo to keep them on a flat, grassy island with a log in the middle of it - hardly a suitable enclosure for such a highly arboreal species. Though, of course, Chimpanzees are by nature far more terrestrial than Orangs, the enrichment opportunities of bars should not be overlooked.

 

[Pertinax]

I once had an argument with a keeper at Dublin whose stance was that their Orangutans feel oppressed with bars above them. That was his justification for the zoo to keep them on a flat, grassy island with a log in the middle of it - hardly a suitable enclosure for such a highly arboreal species. Though, of course, Chimpanzees are by nature far more terrestrial than Orangs, the enrichment opportunities of bars should not be overlooked.

I don't think any of the Great Apes is 'oppressed' by having any form of cover over their heads, they are all primarily dense forest dwellers and I think all species welcome cover to be able to retreat into/under. Otherwise why do Orangutans spend so much time covering their heads or lying under sacks or woodwool if they have they opportunity? Bars overhead gives far more climbing opportunity than a flat grassy island too. For Gorillas too an enclosure completely open to the sky can be very stressful- they WANT to have a roof over their heads most of the time...

I don't have any particular complaint about the chimps' cage at Africa Alive, rather I feel sorry they are just a single pair and unable to share more socially enriched lives with a larger group. If no bigger Chimpanzee display is planned, has it ever been suggested they move to a larger group at e.g. Monkey World? Even very old chimps can be assimilitated into larger groups with a little patience.

Are there still any De Brazza monkeys in the adjacent cage to the chimpanzees nowadays. If not, do you know the fate of this group?

 

[johnstoni]

For orangs, gibbons, spider monkeys etc, seeing them on turf lawns with a couple of upright branches and maybe a rope is tragic, and worse than a cage. And of course, the same mistakes can happen with chimpanzees even though they are far less arboreal. Flamingoland or dudley basically resemble hotwired paddocks compared to, say, chester or blair drummond. However, my point is that, much more than the enclosure, social group structure is more important as an enrichment tool for chimps, and the present enclosure at Africa Alive could never facilitate any introductions of other chimpanzees, nor is it meant to.

It's not so much about open-air, or the 'quality' of the cage interior, but about the choices those animals can make in their day, ie proximity to the public/eachother, substrate, heated or outdoor areas etc..and in the current enclosure their choices are fairly limited. The heated space they have available during cold weather is equally inappropriate for ageing animals.

The fact that the owners of Banham and AA can build a second facility for their hybrid giraffes suggests to me that they could invest in a large and diverse habitat for their apes, sympathetic to chimpanzees of that age, and introduce one or two older animals gradually to create a group dynamic to greatly expand the possiblities for association and social interaction between them. I'm sure, having only cared for these two chimpanzees in the last few decades, the owners probably view them as very settled in their ways and too old for any great change, but as can be seen at places like cefn yr erw, it is possible to integrate badly-socialised older animals. Right now they just appear to be quietly tucked away in the corner of the park as if some headache from another era waiting to die and not be replaced. I think it is a cop out to just 'retire' difficult animals, rather than step up to your responsibilities as a holder of great apes.

There are a few collections left in this country with chimpanzees in situations unchanged for decades, which I would really like to see change before these animals simple die off. Are the Tenby manor house and mole hall chimps still going?

 

[Sand Cat]

Despite the chimp enclosure not being the best, I still think that the fossas have a worse deal - they're so active, yet they have so little space to exercise in! As for being short of funds, what bugs me is that Suffolk seem to find plenty of money to keep building restaurants which they don't even really need. They also had a perfectly good African Lion enclsoure, yet they spent thousands on making it look nicer and improving public viewing.

I can't help but get the impression that their main objective was to create their centrepiece with the mixed African paddock and the lion enclosure - now they're done, they don't seem overly bothered about the other species. It IS a nice park, but I just wish they didn't place so much emphasis on their 'flagship' animals!

 

[Pertinax]

the owners probably view them as very settled in their ways and too old for any great change, but as can be seen at places like cefn yr erw, it is possible to integrate badly-socialised older animals. I think it is a cop out to just 'retire' difficult animals, rather than step up to your responsibilities as a holder of great apes.

There are a few collections left in this country with chimpanzees in situations unchanged for decades, which I would really like to see change before these animals simple die off. Are the Tenby manor house and mole hall chimps still going?

I do agree with your sentiments here. Pairs of old chimps like this Africa Alive pair lack so much in stimulation from not having interactions with others. Everytime I've seen them they are very 'quiet' as a result (not because they are old but because they have no group identity). There are still several older pairs at Twycross living side by side in the original ape cages but at least those can see and hear the others and as a result there is a lot of vocal and visual communication between the several adjoining pairs - why they don't run them in altogether to make one single group I do not know.

I would like to see some of the other old chimps in the Uk(I believe Mole Hall still has them) brought together to provide more stimulation, but that's just a pipedream and won't happen (Most chimps being 'favourites' of their owners who are reluctant to part with them whatever the circumstances)Both Monkey World and Cefn have shown that even badly-socialised chimps can be used to make large effective groupings and that older aged animals will integrate too.

As for plain enclosures- Dudley's is amazingly dull and considering it was only built fairly recently for a large(?) group, its a very unstimulating and boring enclosure for the inmates..

 

[johnstoni]

As for plain enclosures- Dudley's is amazingly dull and considering it was only built fairly recently for a large(?) group, its a very unstimulating and boring enclosure for the inmates..

Not to veer off topic too much, but did I read somewhere here that Dudley plan to move their chimps to one of the old tecton pits where the bears and tigers are currently? Ironically, this may actually stimulate them (the zoo, not the chimps) into building a much larger climbing structure, to give the animals enough height to not be looked down on in the enclosure, and they may be more sheltered from the elements here than in the current exposed location.

Out of interest, has it always been bears and tigers in these enclosures, either side of the empty polar bear pool? I have never been to dudley, but I had wondered if it was originally lions and tigers either side of the polar bear pit, and that the asiatic lions then had a paddock built for them elsewhere, and for a while sulawesi macaques were held in this enclosure, meaning the black bears were housed in the polar bear pit for a few years after leaving glasgow. Only now the macaques have been moved to a new enclosure and the black bears have the original lion area now instead, leaving the polar bear pit empty again.

 

[Newzooboy]

No, De Brazzas no longer in the collection and adjacent cage occupied by Colobus.

Old 'Monkey Row' is now screened off from display (except for the Fossa cage) although still contains animals as ruffed lemur could be seen at the top of one cage (right next to fossa!!).

Spider monkey house at Banham now houses (temporarily) snow leopards and spider monkeys are in large cage next to Siamangs.

Small cat area near original (and new) snow leopard enclosure still there and housed Fishing Cat, Ocelot and Geoffroy's Cat.