Jardin des Plantes Orangutans
- Thread starter Gigit
- Start date
I saw them back in March , housed next to the Paris 1.2 and able to interact through mesh , they were moving around a lot . I would say this old enclosure in Paris gave them much more opportunity for movement away from the ground than they had at Twycross .
UNLESS they have been moved... It is a Really, really really really old House- built god knows how long ago, possibly the 19th Century... so a real antique as most of the rest of the Jardin des Plantes Zoo is. The outside cages are tall and roofed and dark but may have been refitted/internally modernised for the inhabitants and as Bele said, the Orangs can climb around far better than they could at Twycross and possibly they have more space too.
In the 1960's they had four Gorillas living in this house too, but they've never had any since.
In the 1960's they had four Gorillas living in this house too, but they've never had any since.
Yes the orangs are housed in the verrrry old Monkey House in the Jardin des Plantes . They have made improvements where they can . One side of the building is used for the orangs , I suspect a number of smaller cages have been knocked together to make a few larger ones , the outside area has also been changed . There are plenty of ropes etc. for climbing and the animals were active and well above ground . What the cages lack in floor space thay make up for in height . I would say better for the orangs than sat on the floor at Twycross draped in old clothes .
I was pleasantly surprised by my visit , much more enjoyable than Vincennes where not much was left . Only the sifakas made that visit worthwhile . The collection of sheep and goats is still excellent , a couple of very impressive takin , breeding binturong in the old bear pens etc.
I was pleasantly surprised by my visit , much more enjoyable than Vincennes where not much was left . Only the sifakas made that visit worthwhile . The collection of sheep and goats is still excellent , a couple of very impressive takin , breeding binturong in the old bear pens etc.
I hate to see Twycross's orangutans(and gorillas) like that. It takes away their dignity and still smacks of the 'TV chimp' era.. Orangs naturally like to cover themselves but I wish they would give them natural materials- bamboo, branches or other large leaves for that purpose.
I've only been there once, a very long time ago. The cages both indoor and outside had both mesh and glass screens in those days,with deep straw bedding, giving a horrible claustrophobic effect. I can't remember any Orangutans at that time but there were two silverback gorillas(Nero & Horatio) and two females- all living singly! I don't think they ever got any of them together before they died...
I've seen photos of the Orangutan caging quite recently and though its the same old building you can see its definately a whole lot better.
It comes to something where a 100year old cage is 'better surroundings'- but in this case I think its true..
I just mentioned this in the thread about Twycross's record with Primates- I've always thought all their animals are very well cared for i.e. quality of food, general well-being, cleanliness, bedding etc. Its the design of housing and animal Management(e.g. moving animals about, getting new breeding partners in etc) that is rooted in the past and seriously lets them down I feel. They also have a very good record for handrearing(virtually 100% in apes) though that's not necessarily something to be proud of... so I'm not completely against Twycross(well, not quite.
)I thought last year's 'improvements' to the Orangutan enclosure were abysmal- ugly fire hoses and a solid log climbing structure-useless for them as climbing materials really and made the enclosure look worse than ever....
Last edited:
I visited the menagerie on the 5th of september 2011, which is when i took the new pictures on the Jardin des Plantes gallery, including the picture of theodora. There was a sign in french explaining Tubo´s deteriorating condition. The male orangutan was nowhere in sight, outdoors or indoors, so it may be possible that he has died.
Hi can anyone give me any information on Theodora and Tamu. What is their current status. Have either of them bred? If so where are their offspring? Thanks
There was, of course, the newborn from last year. It was the first in 13 years at La Menagerie, and the only one (?) in France. This is the new male, Banggi's, first offspring.
This is the only image I could find so far of the proposal, but it looks pretty good. Some elevated viewing would be nice though.
