Drayton Manor Theme Park Help Rehome Toto the Chimpanzee (Drayton Manor Park and Zoo)

[John Dineley]

Here is what Monkey World have to say about Toto:

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail Monkey World following your visit to Drayton Manor. We are sadly aware of this chimpanzee Toto.
I cannot really comment.........................

But then they do at some length

More seriously I do have a lot of time for Alison Cronin and her late husband Jim who I have met a couple of time professionally. Alison was in fact involved in doing research into bear welfare some years ago which I suspect has been instrumental in improving captive bear welfare in many establishments world wide.

The problem here is that we have a old male chimp who has been on his own for a number of years. I don't know if anyone from Monkey World has been to actually see the animal concerned or spoken to the staff who look after him or are making a judgement call based on various emails they have received from the general public. Who are, unfortunately, generally ignorant of the actually facts and also, more importantly, ignorant of a basic understanding of wild animal husbandry generally and the care of primates specifically.

Looking at the videos of the chimp on You Tube (see below) I would judge that the enclosure isn’t that bad for a small group of chimps and I can see why the zoo inspectors would have passed this as acceptable; although I have no idea what the off show accommodation is like. IMHO: He actually seems to be quite 'happy' to wind-up and interact with the public with his football game.

Despite a common misconception that chimps are totally social animals there is evidence that solitary male chimp are found in the wild; mainly old animals that have left or more likely been removed from a group. Toto seem by default to fall into this categories with the death of his last companion.

The problem is what to do for the best with for this animal. As has been pointed out moving him somewhere else has huge risks; he may not fit in with any group he is sent to and if such operations are not undertaken with care he or other chimps could be injured or killed. It has been rightly been pointed out that Monkey World do by the very nature of their operation have considerable experience in these matters. However, whether they have the room to take this animal given the above concerns of integration is another matter. Bring another chimp in may be better but still there are the same risks as stated above.

One dimension that hasn’t been mentioned is the human one, e.g. his keepers. They are part of his ‘social group’ as much as any other chimp he may have shared his life with. It could be the case that moving him to a total alien environment away from his familiar daily routine may make matter worse for this animal psychologically.

So should nothing be done? The problem here is the zoo in question should be allowed to make an informed decisions about his welfare and not be bullied by ‘public opinion’ to take actions that in the long-term would not benefit this animal just to appease well meaning but ill-judged concerns and opinions.

 

[Nisha]

I think it's been stated before on this site that Monkey World wouldn't be taking anymore chimps in until they could build an additional enclosure due to the numbers that they are currently holding. How far they are along with this new enclosure though is unknown to me.

 

[Pertinax]

This chimp has lived with other(s) previously so is likely to be normal socially and therefore more easy to integrate with others than a humanised or longterm singleton animal. However, the right social unit would still have to be found, one where he wouldn't be ostracised or attacked by the resident animals. The setting up of a new group where some individuals were previously strange to each other would give him the best chance as he wouldn't be 'odd man out' and could make new alliances more easily.

But Drayton Manor are not obliged to move him anyway- if they consider its best for his welfare to stay as he is, then politicking for him to be moved will have very little effect.

 

[Peter Dickinson]

Thanks John Dineley,

Sensible, well thought out professional observations.

I think Monkey World is wonderful and Twycross is great. Both I am sure could squeeze the chimp in somewhere but I also know the staff of Drayton Manor to be caring professionals. They know the animal and are most concerned about his welfare. If they say he is better off staying where he is then I believe them. Chimp relocations and mixes can go very wrong.
The Drayton Manor Zoo location is unfortunate but it is a good zoo. I believe that it is better to forget all about rehoming Toto.

 

[Devi]

This thread is a bit old, but I'd like to say, I've worked at Drayton Manor in the past and the chimps always threw stuff, even when there was a pair. They clearly seemed to enjoy it.
On the subject of Toto, he may be able to integrate, he may not fancy it, I believe he's been at Drayton for 10 years + and afaik only with one other chimp. Going on human psychology, people who've lived without communicating with others for many years often struggle to acclimatise to a group home. I think introducing him to a large group anywhere would be a very slow process, possibly a few years. Is that really worth it?
Remember he still has frequent attention from keepers and visitors, and can see other animals from his enclosure, so its not like he's completely alone.