Orangutans » Jardin des Plantes

Orangutans
27-08-2008

Has anyone been to the Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris lately so would know how Twycross's orangutans, Theodora and Tamu, are getting on?

27-08-2008

I saw them back in March , housed next to the Paris 1.2 and able to interact through mesh , they were moving around a lot . I would say this old enclosure in Paris gave them much more opportunity for movement away from the ground than they had at Twycross .

27-08-2008

Sounds good. What is the enclosure like?

27-08-2008

UNLESS they have been moved... It is a Really, really really really old House- built god knows how long ago, possibly the 19th Century... so a real antique as most of the rest of the Jardin des Plantes Zoo is. The outside cages are tall and roofed and dark but may have been refitted/internally modernised for the inhabitants and as Bele said, the Orangs can climb around far better than they could at Twycross and possibly they have more space too.

In the 1960's they had four Gorillas living in this house too, but they've never had any since.

28-08-2008

Yes the orangs are housed in the verrrry old Monkey House in the Jardin des Plantes . They have made improvements where they can . One side of the building is used for the orangs , I suspect a number of smaller cages have been knocked together to make a few larger ones , the outside area has also been changed . There are plenty of ropes etc. for climbing and the animals were active and well above ground . What the cages lack in floor space thay make up for in height . I would say better for the orangs than sat on the floor at Twycross draped in old clothes .

I was pleasantly surprised by my visit , much more enjoyable than Vincennes where not much was left . Only the sifakas made that visit worthwhile . The collection of sheep and goats is still excellent , a couple of very impressive takin , breeding binturong in the old bear pens etc.

28-08-2008

Just checked the gallery here , no pictures of orangs unfortunately but nice ones of takin , bharal and a few others . Getting good pictures of the orangs would not be easy as they are behind glass then mesh - I did not take any in the Monkey House .

28-08-2008

I hate to see Twycross's orangutans(and gorillas) like that. It takes away their dignity and still smacks of the 'TV chimp' era.. Orangs naturally like to cover themselves but I wish they would give them natural materials- bamboo, branches or other large leaves for that purpose.

28-08-2008

I've only been there once, a very long time ago. The cages both indoor and outside had both mesh and glass screens in those days,with deep straw bedding, giving a horrible claustrophobic effect. I can't remember any Orangutans at that time but there were two silverback gorillas(Nero & Horatio) and two females- all living singly! I don't think they ever got any of them together before they died...

I've seen photos of the Orangutan caging quite recently and though its the same old building you can see its definately a whole lot better.

28-08-2008

Thanks for all the information. It's good to know that Theo and Tamu are in better surroundings.

28-08-2008

It comes to something where a 100year old cage is 'better surroundings'- but in this case I think its true..

29-08-2008

Yes - I hadn't quite thought through the implications of my comment! They couldn't have wished for a better keeper at Twycross, but as for their enclosure.........

29-08-2008

I just mentioned this in the thread about Twycross's record with Primates- I've always thought all their animals are very well cared for i.e. quality of food, general well-being, cleanliness, bedding etc. Its the design of housing and animal Management(e.g. moving animals about, getting new breeding partners in etc) that is rooted in the past and seriously lets them down I feel. They also have a very good record for handrearing(virtually 100% in apes) though that's not necessarily something to be proud of... so I'm not completely against Twycross(well, not quite.)

I thought last year's 'improvements' to the Orangutan enclosure were abysmal- ugly fire hoses and a solid log climbing structure-useless for them as climbing materials really and made the enclosure look worse than ever....