Hello ZooBeat members

sooty mangabeys?
11-07-2008

What can you tell us about this place? I've been trying to discover for a long time what happened to the Sooty Mangabeys that used to be at Penscynor, near Neath, after it was closed. Perhaps they came here? The group at Penscynor were originally a breeding group from London. Manor House at Tenby also had an elderly pair that later went to Newquay zoo(they aren't there anymore) but they weren't the same animals as were at Penscynor. Not sure how many Penscynor had but it was several.

Sooty mangabeys
11-07-2008

I have often wondered what happened to the Penscynor mangabeys when it shut down . Thay had a very big breeding group - probably at least 12 -with the ZSL animals , at least one rescue animal and I have a vague feeling that some zoo-bred stock was imported from the States . I knew Rob Colley the curator but have not been in contact since Penscynor's closure . He is still in the area but no longer working in zoos . His name came up recently on a Bat and Owl Survey that he had carried out for a planning application . I tried to contact him with the e-mail address shown but the address was not valid . I will try again . The Penscynor gibbons and chimps together with their cage ended up at Cefn-yr-Erw .

Begelly certainly did not get the mangabeys . Their web-site is www.begellycountrysidegardens.co.uk - Home , this gives details of the monkeys they have . I do not think the current owners of the gardens have been there long and probably brought the patas and marmosets with them . Larger enclosures are planned for the rhesus and Barbary macaques but not open-top . I had an interesting discussion with the owner who is against the use of basic open-top enclosures due to the risks of escapes . The setting of Begelly's sanctuary is very peaceful and totally different to the much bigger Cefn-yr-Erw .

Melody
11-07-2008

Thanks Pertinax , that makes more sense now .

sooty mangabeys.
12-07-2008

I'd be really interested if you can find out what happened to that Sooty Mangabey group. I can only presume they were exported after Penscynor, as there's no sign of them in any of our other zoos.....

12-07-2008

I've just looked at the Begelly website and wonder if anyone who is more knowledeable about monkeys than me can confirm that the patas are different subspecies?

12-07-2008

They are about the fattest Patas(it nearly rhymes...) I've seen. I looked in a couple of Monkey books and there's some debate as to whether there are any real subspecies in Patas monkeys. 'Nisnas' which is often used as a subspecific name may not describe a seperate subspecies. The colour of face can vary with region, age and condition apparently.

I can see where you're coming from though as the front one is a plain foxy- ginger colour and the rear one has more peppery grey in the coat.

Patas at Begelly
12-07-2008

Just had a look at the photos I took last week , none particularly good , but I could not see any obvious difference in colour between them .

Thay are certainly fat and have lost the end of their tails , perhaps due to exposure to the cold . They remind me of the pair that lived in very basic cages in Brynmill Park , Swansea when I was a kid , there was also a male hamadryas baboon who used to 'waltz' and some rhesus macaques .

The Begelly owner did not know much about the history of the patas but he thought they were probably aged mid to late teens .

12-07-2008

the front one doesn't seem to have the grey flecking in the coat. I've noticed this same colour difference in individuals in Colchester's larger group but it doesn't appear to mean anything.

Patas aren't very popular anymore, are they? They always look rather thoughtful to me....

Thoughtful patas
13-07-2008

I know what you mean . I wonder what they are thinking about ?