Twycross Zoo Twycross Zoo News 2020

Jude T said:
I could be wrong here but I’m sure there have been 3 chimpanzee enclosures over the years (before Eden), one being by the catch, now housing a group of Busch dogs although there is no sign to suggest this, one by the Eden which is just closed off full stop and then what I believe is the oldest down near the tapirs which I believe houses a group of monkeys now, as I say I may have missed some things here so feel free to correct me.
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Almost the one near the tapirs used to house gorillas the chimps where in where the leopards are now hence the cages
 
J C said:
Almost the one near the tapirs used to house gorillas the chimps where in where the leopards are now hence the cages
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According to this map there were chimps all over the place at twycross :confused:
 

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J C said:
Almost the one near the tapirs used to house gorillas the chimps where in where the leopards are now hence the cages
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Don’t forget the house near the meerkats & howlers that housed (3) chimps in a small group before becoming a Siamang cage.
 
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Jude T said:
According to this map there were chimps all over the place at twycross :confused:
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Ok I stand corrected, am I right in thinking the orangutans are the only apes that haven’t moved around the zoo and are in there original and only enclosure
 
J C said:
Ok I stand corrected, am I right in thinking the orangutans are the only apes that haven’t moved around the zoo and are in there original and only enclosure
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Haha I think so.
 
littleRedPanda said:
Others are much more informed than me, but Pertinax refers to cages that predate the houses that the chimps have vacated; I assume these cages now house the Amur leopards?

Green-mile Chimps. - ZooChat

The So Called Green mile [Twycross Zoo]
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1. Most of the Chimpanzes at Twycross originally lived in the 'Green Mile' cages that have been converted for the Amur Leeopards. The dividing partitions are all still present though some mesh has been removed I think.

2. One group of 6 chimps formed a slightly larger group in the so-called ' Chimp Colony Building'. 2 or 3 young ones also lived in what is now a Siamang cage.

3. All the chimps from the Green Mile cages were more recently rehoused in the Gorilla House near the Chimp Eden, after the second gorilla group was disbanded (through mortality and transfer).

4. All the Chimps have now moved into Chimp Eden from both buildings leaving them either empty or occupied by smaller mammals.
 
TriUK said:
The building that housed Gitara & Iris. Hard to believe really!!
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I didn't realise it was originally an elephant house. When were the elephants moved and the house converted? Are there any pics of it as an elephant house?
 
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Falconhoof said:
I didn't realise it was originally an elephant house. When were the elephants moved and the house converted? Are there any pics of it as an elephant house?
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I couldn't believe either. I was looking for photos online yesterday, but couldn't find any, but I don't know the years the elephants were in there.
 
Falconhoof said:
I didn't realise it was originally an elephant house. When were the elephants moved and the house converted? Are there any pics of it as an elephant house?
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There is a postcard that pops up on Ebay occassionally that shows the exterior of the building to some extent with elephant(s) in the foreground.
 
Falconhoof said:
I didn't realise it was originally an elephant house. When were the elephants moved and the house converted? Are there any pics of it as an elephant house?
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I remember the old Elephant house fairly well from my visit in September 1990 and saw Iris just standing all alone by the door. I visited 2 years later to find out it was converted into a new Ape house. I believe they still kept the Tortoises when the Elephants were there.

I am not sure if Mimbu and Tonzi were added into the old house or waited until the new one was completed. I don't know when the new house started construction but I guess late 1990 until 1991. Iris only spent the first 4-5 years in the new enclosure before she sadly died.

As for old photos of the house, they are so rare to find but I think a couple of old guidebooks might have some photos. I would love to see some old enclosure photos of Twycross from the 70s-90s.
 
I would love to see some old enclosure photos of Twycross from the 70s-90s.
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I don't really have any enclosure photos from the past but I can remember the very first smaller Ape cages, which housed a pair of young gorillas, two pairs of Orangutan and any number of Chimps. These were also on the site of the Amur Leopard enclosure and were later extended fowards to form the infamous Green Mile chimp row, after the gorillas and orangutans moved to larger seperate housing...which makes my endorsement above that the Orangutans have always lived in the same house not quite correct either, but they are the only ape species there( with the Bonobos) that have since stayed in their same current housing.
 
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Pertinax said:
The Orangutans and the Bonobos.
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I wasn't quite correct here as the Orangutans(though none of the current ones) also started off in the early days in the row of ape cages that later became the chimp row and now the Amur Leopard enclosure. But since then they have always lived in the one same enclosure.
 
James Barber said:
I remember the old Elephant house fairly well from my visit in September 1990 and saw Iris just standing all alone by the door. I visited 2 years later to find out it was converted into a new Ape house. I believe they still kept the Tortoises when the Elephants were there.

I am not sure if Mimbu and Tonzi were added into the old house or waited until the new one was completed. I don't know when the new house started construction but I guess late 1990 until 1991. Iris only spent the first 4-5 years in the new enclosure before she sadly died.

As for old photos of the house, they are so rare to find but I think a couple of old guidebooks might have some photos. I would love to see some old enclosure photos of Twycross from the 70s-90s.
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Just added some pics I found in an old guide book of the old enclosure not best quality as have to take on my phone but neither will one be taken at the time in the 80’s from memory it was only iris and gitara in the old enclosure the others came When the new enclosure opened I think there where three young elephants bought in
 
J C said:
Just added some pics I found in an old guide book of the old enclosure not best quality as have to take on my phone but neither will one be taken at the time in the 80’s from memory it was only iris and gitara in the old enclosure the others came When the new enclosure opened I think there where three young elephants bought in
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Only Mimbu and Tonzi were brought in first to join Iris and Noor-Jahan was brought in 1998 later from Jaldapara to join the group. I think the zoo briefly kept African Elephants and maybe another Asian Elephant on loan when Mimbu and Tonzi went off to breed at Chester Zoo.
 
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