In early 1984 I travelled to Europe to see some of the more well-known zoos in that part of the world. Almost a year later I intended to give a slide presentation to zookeepers at the Australasian Society of Zoo Keepers annual conference and wrote a commentary on each of the zoos. This is the review of one of those zoos. At many of the zoos I visited I took notes of the exhibits and the different species I saw – due to Australian laws the zoos in Australia are somewhat limited in the species available for display. The text for each zoo’s review was written several months afterwards and was based upon my notes and from what I could remember. As I said, it was to be delivered to zoo keepers in Australia so there are occasional references or comparisons to Taronga Zoo and its exhibits. In the early 1980’s many zoos around the world were ‘modernising’ their exhibits to look more natural and be more beneficial to the occupants, as opposed to keeping the public happy at the animals expense. Behavioural enrichment was a new concept, too, so there are sometimes frequent references to enclosure design/construction and furnishings. I have copied the text verbatim, and resisted the temptation to correct my grammar, to re-word or rephrase sentences and paragraphs. I was 21 at the time and my writing skills were underdeveloped (by my current standards). However, if for the sake of clarity I feel the need to add words or additional information, I have done so in [brackets]. The scientific names are recorded from labels on exhibits at the time, and I have not updated them to current usage for posterity’s sake. Measurements are all estimates. I have created a thread covering all the zoos on my trip, found here A Look at Some Well-known European Zoos - in 1984 and I’ll be posting the individual reviews in the appropriate forums. Finally, the opinions expressed here are mine and often reflect the views of the day. Some reviews are not complimentary, but I’m hoping that in the intervening 35 years these zoos have improved. ___________________________________________ I really enjoyed my day at Köln because it was the first zoo I had been to since Jersey that had a sunny day. The Zoo itself is pretty good, too. It has a few large lakes in the grounds and some big enclosures, too. Just after I had entered the zoo I saw a sign saying “No Feeding Please!” in nine languages. The Flamingo colony comprised more than one species, possibly three. It was a big colony, too. Walking through the grounds were Demoiselle Cranes, Grey Cranes and one or two Stanley Cranes, free-ranging. The Banded Mongoose cage has a light for heat shining down on a log that the mongooses lie on. While I was there two of them started mating. Right beside them was the only outdoor exhibit for Fennecs I had seen apart from one in Melbourne about seven years ago [1977]. In Köln they have a heat lamp shining on top of a log and the Fennecs were quite content to sit there in full view. The cat cages weren’t all that thrilling, just a rectangular cage but it’s very similar to the cages Whipsnade breed their cheetahs in. What I really wanted to see was the famous Lemurenhaus. The animals not only had indoor cages and outdoor cages with wire roofs and glass fronts, but also large wire spheres with interconnecting tunnels that they can fly through the way lemurs do. It’s not just for lemurs though; Colobus monkeys can also play in the spheres. The Lemurenhaus has, apart from Ring-tailed, Brown, Black and Ruffed Lemurs, also houses Proboscis Monkeys, Douc Langurs and the three species of Uakari – Black, Red and Bald. Aquarium Very large. Includes a large school of Piranha, three species of sea turtle in a large tank that was still overcrowded. Reptile House On average, most cages quite large enough, except for the iguanas. Highlights included: Baby Cook’s Garden Boas (Corallus enhydris cooki) Several large and thick Reticulated Pythons (Python reticulatus) and Burmese Pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) Three Tusked Bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus) in mud. Tank a little on the small side. Each frog larger than my palm and fingers spread out. Archaic Toad (Megophrys monticola nasuta) that was invisible Yellow-spotted Toad (Pedostibes hoseii) that was also invisible. Two Baby Steindachner’s Softshell Turtles (Trionx steindachneri) hatched on 16/9/83. Tockay Gecko (Gecko gecko) – about 10-12 inches in length. Four Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) born 11/8/83 Surinam Toad (Pipa pipa) Poison Arrow Frogs (Dendrobates auratus, D.lehmanni, D.leucomelas) Lemurenhaus Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) x many Red Lemur Black Lemur (Lemur macaco) x several Mongoose Lemur (Lemur mongoz coronatus) x several White-fronted Lemur (Lemur albifrons) x several Mayotte brown Lemur (Lemur fulvus mayottensis) x several Collared Lemur (Lemur macaco collaris) x several Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) x many White-nosed Saki (Chiropotes albinasa) x 6 Black-headed Uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus) x 1 seen Bald Uakari (Cacajao calvus) x 2 Red Uakari (Cacajao rubicundus) x 2 Abyssinian Colobus (Colobus guereza) x 4 (including 1 baby) Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus) x 9 Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) x 3 Of the nine Doucs, four were juveniles born in 1981, 1982, and two in 1983. [No label for the Red Lemur, but I suspect they were Red Ruffed Lemurs] Apenhaus Cages are large enough. Glass-fronted, concrete floor, tile and glass walls, wire roof. Plenty of climbing structures. Gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla) x 3 Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) x 6 Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) x 4 Cottontop Tamarin (Saguinas oedipus) x many Goeldi Monkey (Callimico goeldi) x many Apes appear very bored.
That really was quite some collection in the old Lemur House. When I first saw it, 10 years later, the Doucs remained, but the Uakari and Proboscis Monkeys had gone - but the lemur collection had expanded. The house itself, though, seemed very stark and clinical, with none of the “natural” additions which are visible today.
I didn't know the uakaris were kept in the Lemurenhaus. At my first visit (in 2001) I saw the last remaining one in the Sudamerikahaus with the other neotropical monkeys.
As I mentioned in your Antwerp thread, I've found your recollections of European zoos from 1984 very interesting; they brought back many memories of my visits to the same collections during the 1980s. What a wonderful collection of primates there were in Cologne's Lemur House back in the 1980s; proboscis monkey, douc langur, rare saki monkeys and rare uakaris in addition to all the lemurs. As well as those animals you've listed, I recall red-backed saki monkeys and red-backed saki x white-nosed saki hybrids too. I believe that, although labelled as Cacajao melanocephalus, Cologne's black-headed uakari is now considered to have been Cacajao hosomi. In those days crowned lemur were scarce in European collections and I remember those in the Lemur House were labelled as a sub-species of mongoose lemur rather than a distinct species.
