Have you contacted the zoo? All the articles I have read talk about the introduction of orangutans within two years, or at the time in 2020.
I have a contact at the zoo, but that's not the person who told me that the construction would be starting this year. It's logical: They had a pair of male orangutans offshow at the zoo for a year or so, but at the beginning of the year/end of last year they were sent to Wingham in the UK. Presumably they are there temporarily as Wingham already have a male/female pair of orangutans, so that Vallee des Singes can work on their enclosure. So I would probably argue that no, the enclosure is not opening this year but next year, and that that was the plan even before the COVID crisis.
Thank you ShonenJake13 for these interesting informations. The arrivals of orangutans was not mentionned anywhere and the last newspaper's article speaking about the future exhibit was two years ago. I was thinking it was postponed for many years but you told the contrary. Will see what happen now with the current crisis !
Ok thank you very much for this information. No doubt a communication error then because all the articles spoke of an opening in 2020. Do you have more information on the installation which should be the best?
Birth of a gelada baboon a few days ago. It's the third births in six months. https://fr-fr.facebook.com/pg/valleesinges/posts/?ref=page_internal
Great news for la Vallée : - the park will reopen May 29th, - birth of a baby gorilla May 16th. It's the first baby for Mahmah. - birth of a baby bonobo yesterday. The mother is Khaya and it's her second baby. I think la Vallée keep at the moment 26 or 27 bonobos (until Rhenen's group leave). Vallée des Singes
Some news from my visit last friday : - the meerkats and radiated tortoises are not on display. A new house has been built in the first lemurs territory for the tortoises and it seems that there is not a lot to do until they arrived. For the meerkats, a small sandy enclosure is taking shape in the children farm. From what I see, nothing good for these small creatures. - unfortunately I didn't see the baby gorilla and the baby bonobo. - the two bonobo groups were visible, the major part in the building. I didn't see a keeper so I couldn't ask when the Rhenen group leave. - I saw the three gelada babies. Really a pleasure to see the small group growing. - there is a single pygmy marmoset, a female. She's not on the pygmy marmosets island but with red lion tamarins and coppery titis on an island in the first territory. - red-handed tamarins and coppery titis are on rotation on the small territory near the colombian brown spider monkeys. - I just saw a chimp but it's always difficult to see a lot on this wooden island. - the roloway monkeys have now access to the entire island as the colobus monkeys are now with the gorillas. A really good choice. - due to covid-19 crisis the second squirrel monkeys territory was not open. it's a shame as this is the only place where you can see easily the brown spider monkeys and the wooly monkeys. - the barbary macaques area was closed. An information panel was put on the doors telling that it was closed for works. At the beginning I was thinking it was for orangutans but the same panel was put for the squirrel monkeys territory (see above) and I didn't see any work arround the area. In conclusion, the park is still really good for the monkeys but, as for my previous visits, I think not so much is done for visitors. The collection plan is a little bit boring and the visitors can see too few monkeys. I am not sure the additions of meerkats and radiated tortoises will change something. In my opinion, arrival of orangutans in the future will not be enough and we need to see other type of enclosures and monkeys.
How different is this park from Apenheul then, given they come from the same guy. The collections are quite similar in size and scope, but Apenheul has been a tremendous success over the past 10-15 years and has been operating at around max. capacity for the past years. How much could be due to the fact that Romagne basically has no hinterland, so relies on tourists / people who live much farther away.
@lintworm Sister parks but not really the same. Here the land is flat and consists only on a chestnut grove. All around, there are just fields. So the environnement is different. Moreover, the owner want to keep the park as natural as possible. In this way, the primates are only presented on islands or in woodland free contact areas. He does not want aviaries or artificial landscape so some species can't come (sifaka, langurs...). Of course, the location is not good and they can't reach the same visitors number but it is not normal to cross the park without seeing a single primate and always having the same presentations. Good for primates but boring for visitors.
Opening of the new meerkats enclosure : It's really awfull. I can't understand a such choice and a such realization.
I can't either, but meerkats are a "crowd favourite" so a lot of zoos go for them specifically because of this mass appeal (including sadly the more serious institutions like Jersey zoo).
Birth of a bonobo on November 11th. It is a male. https://www.facebook.com/valleesinges/photos/a.878580155537714/3651204084941960/
Two females black howler monkeys left the park for a zoo in Italy (name not specified). Other news : birth of the first two meerkats for the park.
