Tierpark Chemnitz: Spider monkeys emigrated to the south
Facility to be redesigned for new monkey species
Last Sunday, two female Geoffroy's spider monkeys moved from Chemnitz Zoo to the Canary Islands.
The zoo has kept the Geoffroy's spider monkey, an endangered Central American primate species, since the tropical house opened in 2002. There were no offspring, as the animals were predominantly older. As the group became smaller and smaller due to its age, the zoo decided to stop bringing new animals to Chemnitz and to discontinue keeping this species. However, to ensure that no animal ends up alone, the last two animals were transferred together to the Oasis Wildlife Park on Fuerteventura, where another representative of this species lives. The two females "Ginger" and "Guayana" have arrived there safely and are gradually settling in.
The zoo will now be renovating and remodelling the enclosure in the near future. An interesting and lively species of monkey will then move back in. As it is currently not possible to enlarge the enclosures, a smaller Central American species was deliberately chosen. Visitors to the Chemnitz zoo can look forward to seeing which one it will be.
The coming and going of animal species in zoos is a normal process. Many factors play a role in deciding which species to keep, e.g. the space available and the conditions that can be offered to the animals, whether it is an endangered species, whether animals from other zoos are available and also whether the European Zoo Association recommends keeping this species or not. As space in captivity is limited, not all animal species can be kept. It makes sense to limit ourselves to certain species in order to provide them with sufficient space and to be able to plan sensible population management with the individuals kept. This decision was therefore also made together with the coordinators of the relevant breeding programmes.
Opening hours of the zoo and wildlife park in March:
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last admission 4 p.m.