If you asked at the Gorilla Talk you would be told that it is actually beneficial for his mental health and physical wellbeing to be solitary. He did a good job overseeing the other gorillas when they were younger but now he'd be unable to maintain his dominance. So he's 'retired', as he would have done in the wild.
Gentle lemurs are due to arrive by the end of the month NEWS:Bosses at Paignton Zoo have... - The Breeze South Devon
The above video is slightly mistaken, as gentle lemurs will be the fourth species lemur species at Paignton and not the third. Not mentioned were Mandy and Mango, the elderly red-fronted lemurs.
.....or the house originally intended for Gibbons to have access to the Lemur end of Orang Island, later rumoured to be for Bamboo Lemurs having access to Lemur Wood, and eventually retirement home for the recently deceased Naomi (Grey Gibbon)! How do you know Thomas that it's the Swamp Monkey (formally Red Ruffed) island, if you don't mind me asking? Cheers.
The house is really good. Lots of mixed species exhibits, crabs, mantis, spiders etc. There must be lots of breeding off-show space behind, like in the reptile nursery building and nocturnal house. The signage in the new bug house is also excellent, as is the planting of the exhibits.
Visited today, just as the rain ceased. I only counted 12 other visitors - amazing! A few things I noticed: New mock-rockwork walls in the Tropical house, a new species of parrot or parakeet (maybe a Rosella pair?) but couldn't identify, the ex-swamp monkey house now looks ready for the Gentle Lemur, the Eagle Owl is now in the first aviary walking towards the cassowary, I have only seen one roadrunner on my last 3 visits including today (I hope all is well and it's just hiding), the new indoor house for the Spider Monkeys looks great (well done to the team), the new Bug House is excellent and they're just awaiting the Upside Down Jellyfish, the yellow monitor enclosure in the tropical house now only has one animal in it. The new signage around the zoo looks good and the staff on duty today were working so hard to clear leaves and remove dead branches in horrible conditions. Here's an idea (very random but....) - could they convert the old Lechwe hillside into a Hamadryas Baboon exhibit? They could dig out some caves and add some rocks and use a moat with electrified fencing pretty cheaply. The old rock could then be demolished or netted over for Macaws?
At least one is now in situ in the former Swamp Monkey house. One window has been boarded up and the other is covered in condensation, but I managed to spot and snap one this morning.
Both new gentle lemurs are now in their house and they look good together. As far as I can tell, one marabou stork, one lesser adjutant stork and one ostrich are missing - from being on show at least. But there are now two sarus cranes ( a new pairing, I think) on pelican lake. The mishmi takin have what is presumably a target training device in their paddock, maybe to help them get to the quarry enclosure at some point? If my photo is any good, I'll post it in the gallery (now done). The whole bar/picnic area/toilets end of the restaurant is off-limits. It looks as though it's being gutted to enlarge the restaurant. A new disabled toilet has been built at the end.
The Gentle Lemurs have been confirmed as 1.1 - the female has made the (very long) journey from Shaldon. The male is from Szged in Hungary. The keepers have named him Jim (the female is called Rosie)
Haven't been able to get to the zoo in recent weeks - any updates on the Spider Monkey move or the Colobus that were still in the quarantine area? Also, has anyone seen the giraffe in the elephant paddock yet?
The spider monkeys were still in their familiar enclosure on Monday 2nd December. The indoor part of the former mangabey section of Monkey Heights has been planted up, so perhaps they are giving the plants time to establish: the outdoor area was knee deep in twiggy branches, which I guess are destined for various enclosures around the zoo. Both roadrunners were in the Desert House, probably for warmth.
