Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre 2012

A woolly monkey update

Xingu's baby died in the night although she was caring for it

Julio and Diego have moved to La Vallee des Singes - 6 yr old Julio will be dominant male of the group

Sara, the woolly monkey's baby, Bueno Jr is still being hand-reared.
 
Great news that Julio and Diego have moved on, they wouldn't have been a lot of use at Monkey World with already having 3 breeding groups, there's not really any need for them there.
 
I had a very enjoyable visit to Monkey World yesterday, my first since 2010. It was orangutan-centric, so don't ask me about anything else;)

I just wanted to comment on their enterprise and fund-raising, which some other zoos (I know MW doesn't call itself a zoo!) could do well to copy. There isn't a newly-planted tree or shrub without a dedication plaque attached. There are memorial benches and an amazing number of pavers in the Walk of Thanks, costing at least £25 each. People donate fruit and veg, linen and towels, dog toys, ropes......And then there are all the adoptions. The list goes on and on. I can't help comparing this to a zoo not a million miles from me which had to be persuaded to let me pay £30 a year for a plaque in memory of an orangutan. Few of their adoption plaques mention individual animals.

I feel that Monkey World's apparent financial success must be due in part to their policy of letting people get to know the animals as individuals and having a connection with them. For instance, a visitor is far more likely to adopt a particular animal that has captured their imagination than a species. There seems to be a trend in other zoos for anonymity - Chester's, Twycross's and Dublin's orang houses are 3 examples that I've noticed this year.

I was also struck by the way they've built and extended houses with overhead connecting runs to outdoor enclosures that aren't right next to those houses. A clever way of using space.

And the food in the restaurant is reasonably priced!
 
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Park will be closed tomorrow (Friday 18th Jan) due to the expected heavy snow
 
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