The mandrill should back down......is this the usual behaviour between the two species at this particular exhibit?
Yes, an interesting mix. How do the two species normally get along, or is this display a rare occurence?
there are several photos in the gallery and elsewhere on the internet of the aggressive displays between the hippos and mandrills in this ridiculous exhibit
But contrary to my previous similar opinion about this exhibit, this picture appears to tell a different story... the male Mandrill looks as if he is is 'grimacing' which in Mandrills is a friendly or appeasement gesture, while the Hippo looks pretty unperturbed also. I also think they wouldn't be quite so close together if real aggression was the name of the game. So maybe this mix isn't so bad after all...
This was my only visit (I was on holiday) to South Lakes, so I can't say what is 'normal' for this exhibit. The hippo definitely seemed less bothered than the mandrill and they mostly ignored each other. When the mandrill got too close, the hippo chased him off. It looked to me like the mandrill was just trying to see how much he could get away with with the hippo, until the hippo finally had enough but maybe that's just me humanizing it. They never strayed more than a few steps from each other and I think if it was serious aggression they would have been tearing around all over the exhibit? I definitely thought it was a very weird combination of species... but I found the whole park rather odd. I took the photo because I love mandrill faces, and I was fascinated by his amazing grimace!
