Longleat Safari & Adventure Park monkey jungle closed?

So it seems that this seems to occur with monkeys kept in safari parks more often, and where would the reasoning for this be?
 
Not sure about that. But a troop in a Safari Park is many times bigger than a zoo group so a greater chance of this showing up? And if its confined to rhesus Macaques, there are very few outside the Safari Parks nowadays.
 
Then perhaps Longleat should go back to keeping baboons or some other monkey if the virus is common within large rhesus groups.
 
I'm not sure why Longleat, or any of the others, replaced baboons with Rhesus monkeys in the first place. Most of them had Baboons originally. Possibly the rhesus were less destructive to car windscreen wipers etc, or something such as that....
 
I know they're still present at Knowsley; how destructive are they in comparison to Longleat's rhesus'?

On a side note, I've found a video of Longleat in 1972, which includes footage of baboons climbing over a car.

 
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Just recieved the latest newsletter. Apparentley the Monkey Jungle will now be closed for the forseeable future, though there is still only one positive for simian herpes virus.

Which leaves questions; are they going to cull the entire troop?
 
Marwell Dalek said:
Just recieved the latest newsletter. Apparentley the Monkey Jungle will now be closed for the forseeable future, though there is still only one positive for simian herpes virus.

Which leaves questions; are they going to cull the entire troop?
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Absolutely ridiculous approach. Any primate expert can tell you that primates have natural exposure to simian viruses and it is never ever a public health issue. This can only be the approach of govt. bodies that know next to zilch about wild animal health or vet practice. :mad:
 
Have they not had the female who has the virus, put down yet? The virus could have been spread through the air? I hope the monkey jungle is open when i go there with my work in July, or i'm not gonna be very happy!!
 
Forseeable Future; I dont think you'll be lucky.

It's just culling has been the previous approach when this got out in Safari Park rhesus'. I sincerely hope it doesn't go to that though.
 
I'm not even bothered about seeing the monkeys, its the other species that i'm interested in, like the water buffalo. the only positive having the section shut, would be that the buffalo may actually breed?
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Absolutely ridiculous approach. Any primate expert can tell you that primates have natural exposure to simian viruses and it is never ever a public health issue. This can only be the approach of govt. bodies that know next to zilch about wild animal health or vet practice. :mad:
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While not generally a "public" health issue, there are several cases of laboratory workers being infected from working with primates and it has proved fatal. In a safari park situation the cars are exposed to primate excreta, hair and saliva, why take any chance of human deaths, zoos get bad enough press without them causing fatalities. The government bodies would be negligent if they put animal health before that of the public at large.
 
If what you claim is correct I would like to see the hard evidence first. Can you direct us to the scientific publications on the subject you are referring to?
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
If what you claim is correct I would like to see the hard evidence first. Can you direct us to the scientific publications on the subject you are referring to?
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Sure:

Human Infections with Simian herpes B virus in Africa, Nsabimana JM, Moutschen M, Thiry E, Meurens F, Sante 2008 Jan-Mar 18 (1) 3:8


Hazards from Simian herpes viruses McCarthy K, Tosolini F Lancet 1 (7908) 649-50 1975 Mar 22

Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of B virus infections in exposed persons - The B virus working group, Holmes GP et al Clinical Infectious Diseases, 20 (2) 421-39 1995 Feb

A quote from the last paper "AB Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (B virus), enzootic among monkeys of the genus Macaca, causes minimal morbidity in its natural host. In contrast, human B-virus infection presents as rapidly ascending encephalomyelitis with a fatality rate of approximately 70%. This infection remains an uncommon result of macaque-related injuries, although the increase in the use of macaques for research on simian retrovirus infection and hepatitis has expanded the number of opportunities for human exposure.

I would be equally interested in your sources showing it is harmless to humans.
 
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Latest from Longleat's website:

'The Monkey Jungle will be closed for the immediate future as we work towards a new drive past enclosure. We apologise for any disappointment caused.'
 
Zambar said:
Latest from Longleat's website:

'The Monkey Jungle will be closed for the immediate future as we work towards a new drive past enclosure. We apologise for any disappointment caused.'
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I thought the idea of a safari park was that you drove through the exibit not past it! :p
 
Well elephants have to be driven past, and big cats are often kept in those sort of reserves. ;)
 
Maybe they are going to house the monkeys in a drive past enclosure, it would make sense, and would also open up that reserve up again
 
Yup no drive-through elephants in the UK. And most of the bigs cats (everything except the 'normal' lions) at West Mids are fenced off from the road. Not to mention Somali Wild Ass, Addax and Mhorr Gazelle at Woburn; Cape Buffalo, Philippine Spotted Deer, Lowland Anoa and Gemsbok at West Mids; flamingos, ibis, vultures, pelicans, Brazilian Tapirs and Warthogs at Longleat - all in non-drive-through exhibits within the 'drive-through' area.


Does take the fun out of it, though!
 
Though I think I'd rather see an elephant behind an electric fence then having it renact the T.rex breakout from Jurassic Park. :p
 
Zambar said:
Though I think I'd rather see an elephant behind an electric fence then having it renact the T.rex breakout from Jurassic Park. :p
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Also true!
 
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