Mandrill, April 2022

Spent a long time watching two mandrills 'gardening'. At the same time I tried, without a lot of success, to find a way of photographing them through the new thick wire fencing.

Do you think that the new landscaping has improved the outdoor mandrill enclosure? I like the fallen log. The new smaller outdoor section to the side should offer better husbandry when needed.

@TriUK Knowing the mandrills' fondness for digging, I had to smile when I saw small plants had been added. Sure enough, some of them didn't last long! I still haven't seen them all outside. They've seemed a bit wary, dashing out, grabbing something and dashing back inside. This one was digging quite close to the house. So although the pile of logs looks interesting, I haven't seen any of them climbing, nor have I seen them using the whole enclosure. They used to have cover from a hedge along the Avenue side whereas now they are exposed on three sides and can probably see the macaques. I think the small section has always been there but more hidden? I remember they used to have to separate a feisty female before this group was established, so it's good insurance. It'll be interesting to see how the mandrills use it all once they've got used to it.