Golden monkeys » Los Angeles Zoo

Golden monkeys
24-02-2007

The Los Angeles zoo will be getting a trio of the RARE Golden moneys from China under a ten year loan plan where Los Angeles zoo will pay $100,000 to wards monkey reserch in China.

wasting money
24-02-2007

the LA zoo also paid more than $5000 US to an expert in Feng Shui to ensure the animals would be relaxed in their exhibit.
money would have been better spent on either a concultant primatolgist or in-situ conservation.

24-02-2007

I agree with you on that, it is a waste of money. The fee to China for the loan of the Golden monkeys is US$100,000 per year.

28-02-2007

remarkable that a zoo is willing to spent so much money on an animal that is not that charismatic... These animals are also on the wishing list of two dutch zoo's, but neither is willing to pay...

Quite an impressive array of monkeys they are having, only zoo outside their home-continent to house both golden snub-nosed langurs and red ouakari...

28-02-2007

yeah agreed that its a supprising amount to pay - china is now doing the panda loan thing with monkeys! interestingly, its the same price that thailands chang mai zoo get their discounted panda rental $100,000 per year instead of a million a year)..

i would have thought golden monkeys would have been more of an asset to a temperate zoo than sunny LA zoo. in a cold climate they could be a valuble attraction in winter as they can be exhibited outdoors...

01-03-2007

Jwer. I thought Rotterdam were soon to receive Golden Monkeys in return for the trio of Gorillas that are going to Shanghai later this year? Despite all the row about this last year, I think the Gorillas (but not Bokito, instead its now Dango and the two females Astra & Quenta) are China bound so that Rotterdam will get the monkeys- which members of the public will hardly bother to look at- for them a common easy- to- manage species like b/w Colubus would be just as effective...

01-03-2007

why is everyone so convinced that golden monkeys are such a disappointment. i think zoos make animals drawcards or not based on the way they display them. japanese macaques are about the only other primate other than these monkeys that can not only tolerate, but is in fact adapted to cold climates. in a city that snows that can be a major advantage.

give them a good exhibit and promote them well and you can make these animals celebrities...

look what the disney did for meerkats..

02-03-2007

I think you are right Pat, they are interesting animals and can be a big draw card.

03-03-2007

There's no denying they are very impressive. I'm just a bit concerned about very rare animals like this being exported to foreign zoos where their long term survival could be compromised (especially if the initial groups are small, when the odd death is enough to tip the balance as far as breeding is concerned). This was the situation with both Proboscis Monkeys and Douc Langurs, both species entered European and American Zoos a few decades ago, but being difficult to maintain in good health, they didn't prosper in the longterm and have been virtually abandoned now....

04-03-2007

As far as i know Shanghai was willing to send the golden monkey's but in China, they are not to decide but the gouvernment is and they stick to their money-driven policies. The latest news is still that if Rotterdam wants either panda's or golden monkey's, they still need to pay.

Rotterdam zoo fans are now gambling on gettin one or more fresh takin's because the founder male died recently, but as far as i know nothing is sure at this point. BTW Rotterdam already has colobus monkey's and their curator loves rare and exotic species, a trade that seems to have become rare amongst curators these days as animal collections seem to become more and more the same. I would love to see this species but they'll all stay in the chinese breeding program, as far as that is arranged in China...

04-03-2007

Dont they have some Takins in Berlin zoo and a few other germen zoos

04-03-2007

colobus and langurs are related families of specialist leaf eaters. while i know a few species of both have become well established in captivity, they can be very difficult to feed in temperate zoos that cannot provide fresh fodder year-round. i met a german biologist in vietnam who studied the red-shanked doucs at a zoo in germany somewhere (can't remember which zoo). she had travelled to the country to do comparisons with the doucs at the EPRC. we had a long conversation on a beach about the primates and she said that the doucs had bred in germany, but didn't really thrive there. apart from the fact that they were dying out from inbreeding she said in the winter the animals lived on a diet of foliage that was frozen from the summer. apparently the monkeys barely picked at their food and preferred to go hungry for most of the time as they hated eating the soggy, defrosted leaves.

not supprisingly both doucs and proboscis langurs do well in singapore i believe.

i often say that temperate zoos should focus on temperate species. and i think it is slowly happening. i remember reading recently a zoo in the states (chigaco?) swapped its caribbean flamingo colony for a chilean colony with another zoo. the chileans can deal with very cold weather whereas the caribbean species had to be captured and put indoors for much of the year - a stressful experience for the birds.

golden langurs would do well i would guess. black gibbons are adapted to quite cold environments in the mountains of yunnan in china. dhole, golden cats, tigers, leopards - there are lots of species we consider "tropical" that actually are quite well equipped with the cold northern asia.

lots of possibilities for cold-tolerant exotic charismatic species in that part of the world. i'm supprised their isn't more zoos interested in golden monkeys... (or maybe there is?)

04-03-2007

with sensitive species of primates like these ones it would seem a logical consideration to focus on another, more cold-hardy species. if a zoo ever opened in tasmania it would be a great opportunity to showcase temperate species...instead of an emphasis on the SEA rainforests of the mainland zoos an asian highland theme would be a good alternative. and could utilise regional collection species.

04-03-2007

Golden monkeys are absolutely beautiful and could very well be a huge attraction if the LA Zoo gives the species ample coverage. I won't say more about the money issue. I believe that endangered species shouldn't come with price tags, but the Chinese govt seems to believe otherwise.

I think pat made a great point about the golden monkeys being one of the few primates species which are cold-tolerant, and would be perfect for temperate zoos.

04-03-2007

Jwer. Do you think the Rotterdam gorilla trio will still go to China, even if there is to be no straight exchange for other animals?

Patrick- fair comment about the douc langurs and proboscis. They had Douc langurs at Cologne zoo the longest- maybe still have a few there, I can't remember. But in the long term both species have proved difficult to keep successfully in temperate situations.

Agreed that Golden monkeys would be a very different prospect. They can obviously thrive in cold climates for a start. What about diet? But its unfortunate that Chinese animals are 'rented' out to foreign zoos nowadays- it means even if the zoo is successful keeping, even breeding with them, it can't be a longterm thing if there's a time limit for them to leave again- apart from the high costs and stress to the animals of being moved back and forth.