Drusillas has officially opened its new £500,000 monkey habitat. The new area, which is the largest investment the zoo has made on an animal habitat, is designed for the colobus monkeys who have settled in well. The zoo, which is near Alfriston, said the habitat has been custom designed and built specifically for these "energetic" monkey residents.
READ MORE: Two pubs taken over by Admiral Taverns Inside there are custom-built enrichment facilities including jungle-style huts and branch-climbing structures for the monkeys to play on. There is a hand-carved rockwork terrace with space for the monkeys to climb, rest and hide and a heated tree where they can keep warm and comfortable in colder weather. Treetop viewing platforms have been built so visitors can observe the monkeys and CCTV monitors have been put in place so zoo keepers can keep an eye on their behaviours such as feeding and breeding.
This will be used to help research and conservation efforts in co-operation with other zoos and associations worldwide. Drusillas said the jungle huts inside the habitat have been installed to promote eco-tourism after the zoo's recent partnership with Colobus Conservation. The charity was established in 1997 in response to the high number of deaths of colobus monkeys on the Diani Beach road in the Diani region in Kenya.
Over the last 25 years, Colobus Conservation has worked to promote the conservation, preservation and protection of Colobus monkeys and their coastal forest habitat..
