Do any zoo's in the USA keep Proboscis Monkey? Do Bronx zoo still keep them, if not, what happened to them?
Many zoos have kept them in the past. I believe Cincinnati had them at one point as well as several other zoos. Not anymore though.
According to data from the 1976 and 1998 issues of the International Zoo Yearbook: * In 1975 Basle Zoo, Switzerland, had 3 proboscis monkeys. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975, Berlin Zoo, Germany, reported 6 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Cologne Zoo, Germany, reported 2 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Colorado, USA, reported 1 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Dallas Zoo, USA, reported 5 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Frankfurt Zoo, Germany, reported 2 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Milwaukee, USA, reported 2 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 San Diego Zoo, USA, reported 3 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1975 Stuttgart Zoo, Germany, reported 4 proboscis. In 1997 it reported none. * In 1997 Twycross Zoo, England, reported 4 proboscis. In 1997, it reported none. * In 1975 the Bronx Zoo, USA, reported 8 proboscis, seven of them born at the zoo. Sadly, most are now dead. From the website Dutch monkeys (accurate or not, who knows?)
I'm pretty sure all the European Zoo's mentioned did keep the species in the 70's and many of them did die, Zootierliste's "Former" list is also pretty similar. They where kept in quite a few numbers but I don't think any zoo managed to breed them faster then they died. In the last 20-odd years, only Singapore managed to accomplish that, which culminated in three of their offspring (three surplus males) moving to Apenheul Primate Park a few months ago. These three are now the only ones outside Asia.
I'm sure that this has been discussed in other threads, but generally what went wrong with proboscis monkey husbandry in captivity? Diet? Disease? If 8 of then were born in the Bronx, what went wrong with their program?
@jwer: Apenheul did a good job. I have seen the monkeys 2 months back. They sended one of their keepers to singapore for a few months to learn how to work with proboscis monkeys. I have to admit, it's one of the coolest species of monkey that I have ever seen(along with douc langur)
I expect that an animal specially adapted to eat mangrove leaves will have trouble adapting to easier fare. A similar problem exists with koala and giant panda, but their special diet is easier to produce. Mangroves are slow growing and thrive in water that is brackish at least. I guess that proboscis monkeys may survive on other leaves but they do not thrive.
The captive diet for Proboscis Monkeys consists of very few mangrove plants. The Southeast Asian zoos that devised their captive husbandry have managed to substitute their diet with a variety of forest or coastal plant species. Singapore for example feeds them over 25 different types of leaves gathered mostly from the zoo's surroundings (with some non-plant supplements added). The monkeys have also acquired a taste for Mulberry leaves which are not native to their home range, so it is not impossible for them to thrive on an "exotic" diet in temperate zoos.