Zoo Primate Exhibits During COVID-19 Pandemic

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I visited the DeYoung Zoo yesterday and found the entire primate area of the zoo completley fenced off and inaccessible to the public due to fear that the primates could catch the coronavirus. Is this a reasonable fear? How many cases and/or deaths have been recorded in captive primates? Are any other zoos doing this?
 
At Minnesota zoo, protective barriers have been put up on all of the primate exhibits.
 
birdsandbats said:
I visited the DeYoung Zoo yesterday and found the entire primate area of the zoo completley fenced off and inaccessible to the public due to fear that the primates could catch the coronavirus. Is this a reasonable fear? How many cases and/or deaths have been recorded in captive primates? Are any other zoos doing this?
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Currently the evidence is still coming in but some recent studies seems to suggest that great and lesser apes, Old world monkeys and some species of lemurs may be most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Conversely, it seems that most of the New world monkeys and a number of lemur species are at far less risk of being infected or suffering any health problems from exposure to the virus. In Brazil a much bigger risk and danger than COVID-19 posed to native primate species in zoos (and the wild..) is yellow fever infection. This has to be dealt with on an annual and seasonal basis by covering enclosures with mosquito netting etc.

In regards to COVID-19 it is still very much early days in terms of knowing what the long term impacts of this virus may have in store for the captive husbandry of primates in zoos or activities such as ecotourism in protected areas that hold endangered primate species. I honestly have no idea about deaths of primates in captivity or the wild and haven't heard of any occurring so far during this entire pandemic but this may simply reflect a lack of coverage / interest by the news.

Personally it seems to me to be a wise decision for zoos to provisionally take every precaution possible when it comes to preventing visitors infecting their animals and especially in regards to the apes and Old world primates until there is a clearer picture about the risks posed.
 
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birdsandbats said:
But they are still visible to the public?
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Sorry, I thought you meant what zoos are taking precautions due to covid. But the zoos I’ve visited during covid haven’t had many of their exhibits closed of. I guess it depends on how the exhibit is designed, Glass- fronted exhibits are fine since the exhibit is protected by the glass, but mesh fronted ones need to be protected or closed off temporarily.
 
Dhole dude said:
Sorry, I thought you meant what zoos are taking precautions due to covid. But the zoos I’ve visited during covid haven’t had many of their exhibits closed of. I guess it depends on how the exhibit is designed, Glass- fronted exhibits are fine since the exhibit is protected by the glass, but mesh fronted ones need to be protected or closed off temporarily.
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I am interested in anythings zoos are are attempting to do to prevent their primates from getting Covid, I was just wondering of the exhibits are visible to the public.
 
Out of nine zoos in Germany I visited last week, Frankfurt, Halle and Nuremberg had some Primate indoor areas closed. Most of the animals were visible outside, though. In TP Berlin, Berlin Zoo, Magdeburg and Leipzig there were no closed areas, but you have to where mask in the indoor facilities. In Wildpark Connewitz and Shonebeck everything was accessible, but they do not have Primates, anyway.
 
I was since Corona in 2 Zoos, Rheine and Apenheul.

In the world famous appenheul were the walk trough exhibits for squrirel monkeys and babary makas closed. The lemur walk through and the tamarin walk trough exhibits were open ( even though parts of the lemur exhibit were closed. (it was done to reduce the infection risic for the visitors) The indoor areas for bonobods and orang utans were resticted in the amount of visitors, again to reduce the risk that the visitors get infected. In the walk trough haluman langur exhibit was a net build, to seperate the animals from the vistors.

Rheine ( a smaler zoo)was only the babar makak walk trough enclosure closed. The monkey house was closed too, but because it is a smal space, not because of the primates.
 
Milwaukee County Zoo currently has the bonobo and lowland gorilla exhibits open to the public. This is likely due to the fact that the virus cannot be transmitted to their troops through the glass. The outdoor exhibits for both species are currently closed to the public.

The other species in their primate building cannot be viewed at the moment. The other primate species are housed in another building, which is also closed to the public.

The only other primate species that can be viewed is the Japanese macaque, which is exhibited in a classic "primate island" type of exhibit, leaving lots of space between the guests and macaques.
 
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