Yes, just saw his box being unloaded by gibbons, never saw him out when returning towards the end of the day, it was a long journey of course for him. No doubt he will get regular solo runs of Gorilla Kingdom throughout the days at various points while being slowly introduced to the females one by one. Hopefully he will do well and finally get some long overdue success for the gorillas at London Zoo.
ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2013
- Thread starter Newzooboy
- Start date
Yes, just saw his box being unloaded by gibbons, never saw him out when returning towards the end of the day, it was a long journey of course for him. No doubt he will get regular solo runs of Gorilla Kingdom throughout the days at various points while being slowly introduced to the females one by one. Hopefully he will do well and finally get some long overdue success for the gorillas at London Zoo.
I wonder if he was tranquilised for the journey i.e. fully sedated, or only lightly and so alert/awake?
Gigit
Well-Known Member
When Damisi left for Chessington he was awake, so presumably lightly sedated. I don't know but would have thought Kumbuka was treated in the same way. He must have been very used to the crate after all the false starts.
Certainly not fully sedated. Kesho moved from Ireland awake. Being sedated has a high risk of during transport to move around and end up in a position where you block your airway. It also means you can feed and drink while moving. The two new tigers at London Zoo did there around the world trips awake and just kept calm using the smell of feliway. Sure there are similar methods for gorillas, even if it is just the keeper they know being present with them.
Very nice - glad to see these make an appearance at one of the UK 'big boys'!
So that's what they were! They weren't labelled as far as i could see when i went a few weeks ago. I heard some schoolkids who'd been on a guided tour refer to them as chipmunks & i'm not enough of an expert to know the difference!
I was at Regents Park today. I saw Kumbuka briefly this afternoon, or to be exact I saw his head in the overhead corridor. He was looking around, seemingly taking things in quite calmly. Earlier on it was quite funny watching Effie and Mjukuu jostling each other to get the best spot in the day room to look at him down the corridor. Zaire spent most of the day outside - she's seen it all before no doubt.
I spoke to a couple of volunteers. He has been into the dayroom (without the females there of course). They have put up extra hot wires around the moats for when he goes outside. They like him already (no surprise to his fans from Paignton, of course) - but of course things will have to go step by step. His photo is already on the information boards.
It's been a couple of years since I visited, so I have a few random observations.
The Mappins look barer than ever, apart from the new lawn, just emus and Bennet's wallabies - not even any waterfowl.
I like the new amphibian exhibits in the Reptile House - although I was a little puzzled to see a mudskipper and an Australian lungfish there too. I saw a new Tanganyikan cichlid in the aquarium (quite a rarity for me as I have seen so many) Haplotaxodon trifasciatus unfortunately not as pretty as H. microlepis. The leopoldii stingrays are now huge and looking very well in the big Amazon tank at the end, together with giant turtles (Podocnemis) and many other fishes. I also liked the pipefish & seahorse display where the amphibians used to be.
Tiger Territory is good, but it's no surprise that the planting looks very scruffy after the 'spring' this year. The male tapir was out in the old elephant/camel paddock - I couldn't work out which bits of the (rather ugly) fencing were temporary and which were permanent.
I have spotted a pattern in the newest developments. You leave Gorilla Kingdom past a kiosk selling fluffy gorillas. You leave Penguin Beach past a kiosk selling fluffy penguins. Guess what you have to pass as you leave Tiger Territory? I know it's the way of the world and I know it raises money for a good cause - but if your craving for cuddly toys is still not satisfied you can buy a second round of assorted fluffiness when you exit through the giftshop anyway. To use the catchphrase of the late and unlamented Sir John Junor (for younger ZooChatters, he was a Scottish prototype for Jeremy Clarkson) "Pass the sickbag, Alice".
Rant over and I feel better now
So I'm going to download my photos.
Alan
Last edited:
Gigit
Well-Known Member
Perhaps because she's the oldest(and still most dominant?) of the females, she seems to take longer to adapt to the various changes. Last time with Kesho I remember she was still not fully integrated with him for quite some while after he was happily living with the other two.
I guess the extra hotwires are the modifications that were talked about. I hope he doesn't prove to be another 'Bokito'.
By my reckoning this is male No 9 since(and not including) the old 'Guy' days! Though Kumbuka is probably the most impressive one they've had, at least recently.
Last edited:
A female Colobus Monkey was born 2 weeks ago and has been named Anvil.
https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/news/baby-colobus-monkey-born,1072,NS.html
https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/news/baby-colobus-monkey-born,1072,NS.html
johnstoni.
Well-Known Member
The colobus were marked for going into the snowdon in the 2007 masterplan, I hope this is still the intention for what is now quite a large group.
In principle this sounds good as you imagine them leaping around spectacularly in the huge space. In reality they might spend a lot of time all huddled together inactive in a favourite spot, as Colobus everywhere in Zoos seem to show very low activity levels, presumably as they don't need/have scope to actively forage for long periods. So would it be worth doing?
Last edited:
johnstoni.
Well-Known Member
I think it would be worth giving them more space than the current cage, even though this is better height-wise than their previous one. Also, I imagine a walk-through colobus exhibit would be a real draw, its only been done one other time that I know of in Europe:
ZooLex Exhibit
ZooLex Exhibit
I agree and it would be a great opportunity to have a high-profile media and family friendly new enclosure with not too much expense. I can see the posters in the tube now.
Overall I guess its not a bad idea- they do breed like flies so will continue expanding in group size unless they are prevented from doing so-and the more there are, the better the exhibit they make. Perhaps they could do it with some other active species- e.g. birds? mixed in with them to provide activity when they are dozing?
volvox
Well-Known Member
Kumbuku seems to be settling in well – he has been introduced face-to-face with both young females now (one at a time); this week Mjukuu was grooming him in the indoor gym and both looked very relaxed. Zaire was at the far end of the outdoor area ignoring all goings-on!
Gigit
Well-Known Member
I think using the Snowdon for primates is a wonderful idea. I've always thought it needs a change of focus and it would work well alongside the other African theming in this area.
Paignton attempted to mix Anoa with Sulawesi Macaques and even talked about mixing the Diana/Colobus groups with Duiker (to highlight their research work in Africa) - so could London consider small antelope, otter or hog to keep the new exhibit 'busy' as Pertinax suggests?