Maintenance Update, 17 November 2013

A second weir under construction on the left of the Swamp Monkey island. Gorilla island in the background, with a new platform.

The new platform for the Gorillas looks only half finished with top- boarding on a small section at one end only. Is it completed? The whole area looks a bit of a mess and very 'mucky' Why are there bare areas of soil on the nearest side of the Gorilla island, but not the rest of it. Do they use this side more often? I reckon they would benefit from a nice pile of big treetrunks/logs to climb on also.

The weirs are a bit of a mystery- is it to do with improving the waterflow perhaps?

It is indeed all a bit of a mystery. The muddy areas on the gorilla island are where the digger was working when the moat was dredged and the platform was built. They had the temporary bridge here too.

The platform does have an unfinished air about it. If you look at slightly earlier photos, you can see that the uprights were taller - they've been shortened and the excess used to connect the platform to the older climbing frame.

Have you spotted the fence behind the platforms? The rear of the island has been fenced off

What would be good would be a couple of basic shelters - something along the lines of Pertinax's old one would be better than nothing. The orangutans could do with some on their islands too.

All very strange; have there been no announcements, or have you 'cornered' any staff Gigit (or do they see you coming, like they seem to see me before hiding) to ask?
Long shot, but......, do you think the island will be the site of a 'mixed' Ape/Monkey exhibit, using either or both the swamp monkey island or the new fenced off area?

They run for cover so they don't have to answer awkward or intrusive questions.

Maybe they connected the two platforms to each other to make them stronger/more secure. Some big logs wouldn't need that sort of attention and the Gorillas would have fun stripping all the bark off too.

Regarding the fence, is it an electric one? Was it perhaps so they were confined to the other half while the work was being done? Or some other reason I cannot come up with.(racks brains)

There was a sign saying the apes were being kept indoors (and they were) due to 'essential maintenance' so it's probably nothing more exciting than that. It is an electric fence. I wasn't able to visit much while the work was going on, but I think there was some sort of digging in that area before the fence went up.

You will recall a large tree near the water's edge where Kumbuka used to sit. It fell down and the trunk was left where it fell, but it was moved away when the work started. They did play on that. They were also amusing themselves by dismantling the climbing frame for a while.

There's an article in this week's local paper, the Herald Express, about the works. I can't find a link so will summarise with some quotes:

Workmen have dredged the gorilla moat, redecorated the outside of the ape house and re-modelled the Swamp Monkey island.

A rubble bridge was built so a 20 tonne swing shovel digger could be brought to the island. It's thought that up to 100 tonnes of material was dug out. The water system which flows through the zoo carries a lot of silt. Access is restricted so the silt can build up, reducing the depth of the moats.

The large steel framed windows were painted and fascia and guttering were repaired.