felis silvestris
Well-Known Member
Reminds me Edinburgh’s giraffes. They refuse to go on the grass area of their paddock and only stay on the hard standing.
Paignton Zoo Paignton Zoo 2023
- Thread starter TriUK
- Start date
Substrate - grass is too rich for the zebras. The giraffe enclosure is better for their hooves.
That’s interesting, were they not exhibited on a grassy hillside before? Doesn’t seem to be an issue in other collections.
I can believe that their hooves do better on solid substrate though. Wonder if it would have just been easier to redo the elephant enclosure instead of building new housing then dealing with the giraffes.
Yes, and this caused hoof issues in their stallions. I believe that it’s a particular issue for mountain zebras such as Paignton hold.
“Easier” doesn’t really come into it given the psychological hurdles with the giraffe herd - these probably would have been encountered regardless. And I doubt the elephant house would cater well for the zebras without a major refit.
Easier does come into it when they’ve encountered these serious problems moving the giraffes, but it is mute considering this is the path they’ve gone down. Like you mentioned it may well have cost more to retrofit the elephant holdings.
Where are the zebras currently being kept?
They are in the old giraffe paddock, with new stables and hard stand on the footprint of the old peccary enclosure.
From BBC News website:
22/08/23
At a glance
Paignton Zoo was evacuated after a monkey escaped its enclosure
The animal was recaptured without incident, the zoo said
A spokesperson added they were "investigating how this incident occurred"
A zoo in Devon was evacuated after a monkey escaped from its enclosure.
Paignton Zoo posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday and said staff had to "attend to an incident involving an escaped monkey".
Visitors were evacuated from the attraction and the animal was "recaptured without incident".
A spokesperson said they were "currently investigating how this incident occurred and would like to thank everyone who was at the zoo this morning for their patience and co-operation".
22/08/23
At a glance
Paignton Zoo was evacuated after a monkey escaped its enclosure
The animal was recaptured without incident, the zoo said
A spokesperson added they were "investigating how this incident occurred"
A zoo in Devon was evacuated after a monkey escaped from its enclosure.
Paignton Zoo posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday and said staff had to "attend to an incident involving an escaped monkey".
Visitors were evacuated from the attraction and the animal was "recaptured without incident".
A spokesperson said they were "currently investigating how this incident occurred and would like to thank everyone who was at the zoo this morning for their patience and co-operation".
Just states ‘monkey’.
It was a female Sulawesi Macacque.
This is on the back of parking issues, closed/empty enclosures and a complete closure of all indoor & outdoor play areas until further notice. Many people are NOT happy!
On a brighter note, the new baboon enclosure is progressing well, with new visitor paths and exhibit border sight lines pegged out.
Another chance to have a dig, when the above situation was over and done with quickly, and by all accounts dealt with expertly by the zoo.
It was dealt with very quickly & very professionally. All social media accounts I’ve read have been super positive. The fact is, it shouldn’t happen. If it had been a high risk animal today, our zoo would be in further scrutiny that it doesn’t need at the moment!
I will keep ‘digging’ and reporting it as it is. I’ve just returned from a 5-6 pm walk around the zoo & it was lovely, but the poor guest liaison staff were visibly exhausted from another negative day at the coal face. The zoo is in a mess, and the quicker they announce their master plan the quicker they will begin to retain members and secure return visits. If you have a problem with me ‘digging’ on here, meet me in person - as I’ve invited you to do - we can talk about it and you can witness me politely feeding back to staff my thoughts on the current situation!
All other points aside, a Sulawesi macaque is a Category 1 animal. I’m not sure how you can’t class that as high risk?
You don’t get it do you?
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Category 1 is the highest risk category...
My point exactly.
It’s a high risk animal if you try and grab it, or otherwise piss it off.
Anywhere that keeps Sulawesi Macaques will have the occasional escape, either because of tensions in the group, or just because an animal wants to have some extramural fun. In the latter case they often return of their own volition. I’m not minimising the potential danger from a medium sized primate, just accepting of the fact that this species gets out…..