news at Paignton zoo » Paignton Zoo

news at Paignton zoo
20-07-2008

I'm waiting....

20-07-2008

I actually thought you'd have some news! Hahaha

21-07-2008

Nope, just got the thread ready for Gigit...

21-07-2008

I'll do my best to find some later in the week!

23-07-2008

I've been to the zoo this morning but didn't manage to unearth anything new. Another pole has been planted on the orangutan island opposite the gibbon house. I think they are working on it in slow motion though, and meanwhile the orangs have to stay indoors. Demo and Mali haven't been outside since they arrived and Demo is looking a bit threadbare in places.
Quote of the day from a small girl to her father: " I don't want to see the boring monkeys".

23-07-2008

Will this bridge mean both species can travel across it to each enclosure? Or just the gibbons into the outdoor Orangutan enclosure?

23-07-2008

It's just for the gibbons. As yet, we can't work out how they'll stop the orangs climbing up the poles (maybe it won't matter if they do) but I imagine the link to the gibbon house will only accommodate gibbons.

23-07-2008

They could try a wide metal disk(like they used to stop rats boarding ships or climbing bird tables) or alternatively grease the bottom to make it slippery. But knowing what Orangutans are like these would probably merely present temporary challenges for them to overcome.

Where is the 'Gibbon House' situated? I don't remember this- only the ones on the lake islands.

23-07-2008

Could be fun! The gibbon house is below the bongo enclosure and just before the entrance to lemur wood, in one of the areas previously just used for viewing the far end of the orang island. It is 'fairly' new and just houses 2 gibbons, Naomi the grey gibbon, and Blondie the lar gibbon. Blondie was removed from the main gibbon island to prevent her breeding with her father. Naomi is her companion and is in her 40s, so is not very active. They have a small outdoor enclosure attached to the house where they can swing around a bit. I understood they were looking for a mate for Blondie some time ago. She responds enthusiastically to people and as a result has to endure a lot of banging on the glass, flashes in her face etc.
There are now only 3 lar gibbons on the lake island, with another house near the train station for a pair of pileated gibbons, with access to a different island. Not a lot for a zoo that has a gibbon as its emblem.

24-07-2008

as you said its a shame as the gibbon collection used to be pretty good, is there any plans to expand it in the future?

24-07-2008

Historically Paignton have never had a lot of Gibbon species(unlike Twycross which does)- they are just well known for them- I think because of the Lar family(or several families) which has lived for a very long time on the island in the Lake. I've seen a single Pileated gibbon in the old Monkey house, there may have been other species in the past but I don't remember them. I'm glad they have a pair of Pileateds now.

Maybe the young female Lar can get a mate and these will then use the Orangutan's island. It would make a good display. Jersey mixed Lar gibbons with their Orangutans too-again I think it was to make the outdoor exhibit look more 'used' and it works okay as far as I know.

24-07-2008

I would prefer they will start with breeding their pileated gibbons and get another gibbon species.

Perhaps Mueller's from Borneo in. The latter are vulnerable in the wild and could do with a lot more attention from western zoos. On Kalimantan there is a great project for rehabilitating orphaned and confiscated gibbons (both agile and Mueller's) and at the moment they are in dire need of short term support. I wish zoos would step in to counter the shortfall and invest in a sound gibbon conservation project at Kalaweit.

24-07-2008

Paignton have had many gibbon species....as well as the muellers, pileated and lar, they have also had agile and moloch gibbons. Their collection was second only to Twycross in the UK for a while. Not all the gibbons were maintained on the islands....some were housed up behind the old monkey house at different points in time.

Are there many Mueller's left in captivity? Banham was the last viable UK group but they seem to have vanished...now there are only two elderly animals at different UK zoos.

24-07-2008

I've seen the mixed exhibit at Jersey and thought that both species benefitted from it so hope the same will happen at Paignton. I believe the 3 Lar gibbons left on the lake island are a mother and 2 youngsters, the father having died, so no chance of any breeding there at the moment. I haven't heard of any plans for acquiring new gibbons - but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

24-07-2008

I can't ever remember seeing more than the odd single or pair of Gibbons in the old Monkey house- though I'm not disputing the've had the variety of species you mention over time. I wouldn't have classed their collection on a par with Twycross though.

As Jelle said, I'd like to see them concentrate now on the Pileated in particular. As they obviously only want to keep Gibbons on open islands nowadays, maybe they've only really got room for one or two species(on the island Lakes and with the Orangutans?)