Why have great apes no acces to trees ?

I assumed they wouldn't be ideal for the apes as well. Keepers wouldn't want the apes eating things that aren't part of their regulated diets.

 

What!? I've been told this my whole life!

 

No. Raw cashew nut kernels are perfectly edible - although some people do have an allergic reaction. Their shells contain toxic compounds, so always buy the kernels; cooking them is optional.
When I was lad, many years ago of course, I read Ivan Sanderson' s book about monkeys which said that green nuts are a major part of many monkeys' diets in the wild. I was reminded of this by @ThomasNotTom's photo of a red howler eating green acorns.

Red Howler, YWP by ThomasNotTom posted 3 Sep 2020 at 7:32 PM

 

That's unfortunate, trees would make more naturalistic enclosures. How is tree destruction avoided in the wild?

 

I think that in a way we're both right. The shells can be removed after some combination of steaming and roasting, which probably does affect the kernel to some extent. But as far as I know the kernel would be wholesome if the shell could be removed in another way.

 

Gorilla mountain at Blackpool Zoo has trees

 

That can be climbed?
Gorilla Island at Blackpool Zoo, 26/05/13 - ZooChat

 

Glad I wasn't the only one

 

I think they can yes, though not sure...they are quite scrubby growth though. This used to be a bare island with rocks, designed for Chamois. The trees have have grown up in recent years so there is nothing mature on there.

 

And then there's this from Chimp Haven

 

Or you check out the la Vallée des Singes gallery which has this Bonobo enclosure:



Their Gorilla and Chimpanzees also have access to plenty of living trees
La Vallee des Singes - ZooChat

They can do that because of the huge amount of space they give to their animals...

 

I see what looks like some dead trees at the back though. Work of the Apes, or something else?

 

I've seen great apes given access to dead trees in captivity to climb on in a number of zoos but haven't seen any provision of large live trees.

 

Melbourne Zoo has a very naturalistic gorilla exhibit with many large mature trees (including some very mature Moreton Bay figs) I'm not sure if all the trees are hot-wired or if the adults just generally don't climb them but I do know that when there are infants in the troop they do have access to the trees. And after a couple of years you really notice the damage. Many, many years back they had three infants all born at once and between them they absolutely trashed the trees. Killed a couple and others took a long to recover and look full again. I've noticed they now make use of a lot of silk floss trees, which have a lovely topical look but no doubt where planted for the thorny trunks which offer a natural climbing deterrent.

 

Yes, it very much depends on the activity levels and number of the inhabitants. Adults of both sexes climb far less(in zoos anyway) and silverbacks hardly at all, but youngsters are a different matter. So the overeall number of young and size of a troop will have a big effect. I've seen Melbourne's enclosure and liked it a lot.