Animals who get the short end of the stick

That´s in Ostrava, and you are completely right, their group is always one of the highlights during my Ostrava visits.

Well it could be, or it could be related to the fact, that the exhibit in Pilsen, where I ´ve been told about it, is quite small and with 6 animals (breeding pair + 4 offspring and the female is pregnant again) is slowly reaching it´s limits. But I don´t think it´s an issue of old recommendation, otherwise, they wouldn´t be in rush to find new holder for the 2 oldest offspring. I also heard they genuinely fear that they will have to put them down, if they don´t find suitor for them until the end of the year.

 

I hate to hear that sort of option being discussed. But if cage space dictates then it is understandable if they need to split the small group. A pair of (non-breeding) De Brazzas in the UK nearly ended up the same way but at the last minute were saved by an Animal Sanctuary.

I saw video of the Ostrava Diana monkeys- so busy and active compared to the very small groups. Wish more zoos would keep them like this.

 

Any idea what the average actual group size for De Brazzas is in the wild?.

 

They tend to live in groups from between five and thirty individuals.

 

I'm no expert on primates nor have I visited many zoos that hold De Brazza's so I did a quick check online.Although Arkive states that De Brazza's live in groups of between eight and ten individuals.That is why I said it was an average.

 

I've just modified it.

 

That's an unfortunate circumstance, which surprises me. If the eldest offspring are young males they may be getting too old to be tolerated by their father and if they are females they may mate with him or with their brothers. Of course all of these circumstances are undesirable. The old-fashioned 'Monkey House' solution would be to move them to a different enclosure, perhaps sharing with another guenon species; which is far from ideal. A better solution would be to remove the father and older male offspring to form a bachelor group, perhaps at another zoo, and then to bring in an unrelated male to breed with the females, perhaps in exchange for one of the males. In other words to manage the species in a similar way to gorillas, zebras and antelopes which are normally kept in groups with a single male. De Brazza's monkeys are so attractive that I would be astonished if no other zoo is interested in taking the surplus animals.

 

Which is why I was so surprised a non-breeding pair- (female with health issues) pair in the UK where nearly put down some years ago now but rescued at the last minute by the Porfell Animal Sanctuary in Cornwall where I presume they still live....

 

I think that lemurs in walkthrough exhibits are sometimes give the short end sometimes.While the exhibits are nice and can offer some nice interactive experiences,it seems as though some visitors think the animals are there to amuse them and can handle,stroke or attempt to feed them,it can sometimes just degrade the experience sometimes.

 

De Brazza's- So 5-35; average about 10. Meaning small groups ranging into considerably larger ones. I think in Zoos any number over 6 would probably consitute a decent-sized family group. One of the limitations on further growth is that inbreeding may then occur leading to individuals being rehomed to avoid that, so the group never increases to a greater size. On the other hand there's a Red-capped Mangabey group(not Guenons I know,) somewhere in France that numbers about 30, but the ratio is about 2.1 in favour of males- I suspect its a group that is not husbanded by EEP/Studbook guidelines.

 

That seemed to happen with a pair in the UK a few years ago. They were nearly put down until Porfell's Animal Sanctuary in Cornwall took them. I've p.m'd you about it.

 

It does seem that way. I think the 'top end' total for some of these Primates is when one or more groups merge temporarily- as in the highest Mountain Gorilla totals and species like Mandrill where 'megatroops' of hundreds of them are sometimes recorded together. Obviously the normal-sized Mandrill social group is a lot smaller than that. So for DeBrazza's a 6-8 sized group sounds pretty ideal in a zoo then...

 

I believe they live in rather inhospitable locations- swamps from memory..... You could tell us how big the wild troops you saw really are too.

 

Pinnipeds are often only used as animal show props in many zoos. I'd really like to see a zoo that houses pinnipeds without using unnecessary trick shows.

Smaller primate species exhibit are usually very small, has no adequate vertical areas, or just plain unattractive.

Reptiles, especially large constrictors, often housed in ridiculously small exhibits with no adequate lighting.

Savannah themed animals, such as antelopes and gazelles, often have no shade in their open plain habitats, when it is often very hot in the zoo.

Birds of preys often housed in ridiculously small enclosure, restraining their ability to span their wings and even fly.