Mention of this in a gallery thread about London prompted me to add a few recollections of this most interesting house that predated the Sobell Pavilions for ZSL's larger primates.
I believe the House was built in 1925(?- correct me if I am wrong Tim)). It was a long low building just inside the main Zoo entrance, roughly where Gorilla Kingdom( and formerly the Sobell Pavilions) is now. The glass-paned entrance doors were roughly opposite the existing Reptile House entrance, so it was one of the first buildings most people visited on entering the Zoo.
The house itself consisted of two long rows of indoor cages all with connecting doors to outside ones. All were raised above ground level so the floors were mostly waist high or thereabouts. Inside the house the two rows of cages were divided by a public concourse and were roughly divided into four sections. Three sections(from the doors on entering, the whole of the left hand side, and the further right hand side) were for Monkeys and the fourth section,the right hand side nearest the entrance, consisted of larger cages for the Great Apes. Long gloomy service passageways ran along the length of the building behind and below the cages. The left hand row was divided by some steps leading down to the passage way and a quite spacious keeper's kitchen and food prep. area. Access to the righthand passage was also by steps roughly opposite by the Gorilla cage.
The Ape cages were screened by a glass barrier, with a passageway at the front between glass and cage fronts that was large enough for keepers to walk along. The rest of the Monkey cages just had a simple rail barrier seperating the animals from the public.
Most of the Monkeys could see their neighbours as the divisions between the cages were largely mesh. There was frequently a 'hub-bub' where all the monkeys in the house became excited and displayed around their cages, one cage after another along the length of the house would echo with calling and leaping and hitting doors etc.. Even any slight stimulus such as a strange sound, or a fight or mating in one cage, could set this chain reaction off. After it finished there would be a sudden silence before normal activity resumed. Another familiar sound in the House was that of the small metal trap doors connecting inside and outside cages,swinging as the monkeys came and went.
Keepers entered the cages to clean them through small metal sliding doors in the lower sections, which were accessed from the service passageways behind. Food preparation was interesting; it was done on a big scale by cutting up a large amount of fruit and vegetables and with Monkey chow added, which were all then thoroughly mixed into a 'salad' and all shovelled into a wheelbarrow. Two keepers would then wheel the cart along the passageway,stopping at each service door which was opened and the required amount of food quickly thrown in (I seem to remember the Monkeys weren't even shut outside during this procedure!). The Apes' food was similar, but their portions were measured into labelled buckets, not served en masse.
Species kept that I remember were Mandrill( single & pair, Drill(trio), Olive and Yellow Baboons, Gelada (pair) Assamese Macaque(pair), Pigtailed Macaque(group), Liontailed Macaque(single female) Owl faced Monkey(single male) Talapoins, Mona Monkey(albino) Sooty(?) Mangabey. I'm sure there were more.
The Ape cages numbered about six. In the late 1960's the Orangutans normally occupied the cages nearest the entrance doors, then further along the adult pair of chimpanzees, Dick & Abena. Guy the Gorilla's cage was bigger than the others and the indoor was tiled in green. It had an indoor and 'middle' section, plus the square outdoor barred cage. One of the adjacent outdoor cages was later altered and raised significantly in height for Orangutans. Straw was always used for the Apes' bedding up until this era, when it was replaced with woodwool.
There is a good aerial photo of this House in one of the International Zoo Yearbooks (sorry, don't know which). If anyone has any photos of this house they could add to the relevant Gallery, I'd be interested to see them.
I believe the House was built in 1925(?- correct me if I am wrong Tim)). It was a long low building just inside the main Zoo entrance, roughly where Gorilla Kingdom( and formerly the Sobell Pavilions) is now. The glass-paned entrance doors were roughly opposite the existing Reptile House entrance, so it was one of the first buildings most people visited on entering the Zoo.
The house itself consisted of two long rows of indoor cages all with connecting doors to outside ones. All were raised above ground level so the floors were mostly waist high or thereabouts. Inside the house the two rows of cages were divided by a public concourse and were roughly divided into four sections. Three sections(from the doors on entering, the whole of the left hand side, and the further right hand side) were for Monkeys and the fourth section,the right hand side nearest the entrance, consisted of larger cages for the Great Apes. Long gloomy service passageways ran along the length of the building behind and below the cages. The left hand row was divided by some steps leading down to the passage way and a quite spacious keeper's kitchen and food prep. area. Access to the righthand passage was also by steps roughly opposite by the Gorilla cage.
The Ape cages were screened by a glass barrier, with a passageway at the front between glass and cage fronts that was large enough for keepers to walk along. The rest of the Monkey cages just had a simple rail barrier seperating the animals from the public.
Most of the Monkeys could see their neighbours as the divisions between the cages were largely mesh. There was frequently a 'hub-bub' where all the monkeys in the house became excited and displayed around their cages, one cage after another along the length of the house would echo with calling and leaping and hitting doors etc.. Even any slight stimulus such as a strange sound, or a fight or mating in one cage, could set this chain reaction off. After it finished there would be a sudden silence before normal activity resumed. Another familiar sound in the House was that of the small metal trap doors connecting inside and outside cages,swinging as the monkeys came and went.
Keepers entered the cages to clean them through small metal sliding doors in the lower sections, which were accessed from the service passageways behind. Food preparation was interesting; it was done on a big scale by cutting up a large amount of fruit and vegetables and with Monkey chow added, which were all then thoroughly mixed into a 'salad' and all shovelled into a wheelbarrow. Two keepers would then wheel the cart along the passageway,stopping at each service door which was opened and the required amount of food quickly thrown in (I seem to remember the Monkeys weren't even shut outside during this procedure!). The Apes' food was similar, but their portions were measured into labelled buckets, not served en masse.
Species kept that I remember were Mandrill( single & pair, Drill(trio), Olive and Yellow Baboons, Gelada (pair) Assamese Macaque(pair), Pigtailed Macaque(group), Liontailed Macaque(single female) Owl faced Monkey(single male) Talapoins, Mona Monkey(albino) Sooty(?) Mangabey. I'm sure there were more.
The Ape cages numbered about six. In the late 1960's the Orangutans normally occupied the cages nearest the entrance doors, then further along the adult pair of chimpanzees, Dick & Abena. Guy the Gorilla's cage was bigger than the others and the indoor was tiled in green. It had an indoor and 'middle' section, plus the square outdoor barred cage. One of the adjacent outdoor cages was later altered and raised significantly in height for Orangutans. Straw was always used for the Apes' bedding up until this era, when it was replaced with woodwool.
There is a good aerial photo of this House in one of the International Zoo Yearbooks (sorry, don't know which). If anyone has any photos of this house they could add to the relevant Gallery, I'd be interested to see them.
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