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Russell Tofts
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Developments At Jersey Zoo
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It is remarkable the amazing strides that have been made in the last few years by British zoos, especially in view of the fact that successive governments have always regarded them primarily as places of entertainment and so, unlike major museums or botanical gardens, they are denied subsidies from central government, which is nothing short of scandalous. Despite this handicap, Britain has some of the finest zoological gardens in the world. I would go so far as to rate at least four or five of them as being the best in the world (I won't embarrass any zoo director by listing them).
Jersey Zoo has been described in at least one book as being the 'Rolls-Royce of zoos'. When founder Gerald Durrell died in January 1995, the honorary directorship of the Jersey Zoo passed into the capable hands of his widow, Dr Lee Durrell. At the zoo's fortieth anniversary, on 26 March 1999, the name of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (the charitable organisation Gerald Durrell formed in 1963 to take over the zoo) was changed to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in honour of the man who did so much to change our perception of zoos and who gave the world zoo community a new sense of purpose.
The first thing to greet visitors in the new entrance court is a slightly larger-than-life statue of Gerald Durrell in an informal pose. It replaces the pottery model of a dodo that stood here for many years. On the rock by the figure's feet is a carving of a Round Island Gecko, a rather drab and insignificant little lizard from a tiny island off the coast of Mauritius that the Trust has done so much to champion. Round Island may be a pinprick on the map, but it represents a major conservation achievement. As a result of Jersey's involvement, this ravaged island, once resembling a moonscape, is recovering slowly and its unique plant, reptile and sea bird inhabitants have been pulled back from the brink of extinction.
The day the Trust changed its name also saw the opening of the largest, most ambitious and expensive project to date. Costing £1.2 million, 'First Impressions' is a huge landscaped environment surrounded by a water-filled moat. This, the Zoo's first multi-species enclosure for carnivores, is home to the Andean (formerly called Spectacled) Bears, Ring-tailed Coatis and Oriental Short-clawed Otters. The coatis (which have bred on several occasions) and otters are new arrivals. They are 'model' species, added to the collection to allow staff to refine techniques which can then be applied to closely related, but much rarer, species. Rare Mountain Coatis are being considered as future replacements for the Ring-tailed Coatis, whilst the Short-clawed Otters may, at some future date, make way for the more deserving Chilean Marine, Giant, or African Clawless Otters.
A year before he died, Durrell instigated a strategic review of all the Zoo's operations to see where improvements could be made and to ensure that it was ready to meet fresh challenges as it prepared to enter the 21st century. As a direct consequence, the last few years have seen a number of exciting new developments that auger well for the future. Several new species have arrived including Meerkats (another 'model' species, this time for other, rarer social carnivores), Madagascan Narrow-striped Mongoose, Lar Gibbons (a 'model' species for endangered Pileated or critically endangered Silvery Gibbons), Maned Wolves, Echo Parakeets, Vietnamese Pheasant (the most recently discovered - in the year of my birth, 1964 - and least-known of all pheasant species, having been seen in Britain only since 1999 when the first specimens arrived at the Cotswold Wildlife Park), Oriental Pied Hornbills, White-rumped Shamas, stilts, and Yellow-throated and Red-tailed Laughing Thrushes. The old nocturnal house has been converted into a Conservation Research Centre, not open to the public, and in the reptile house (or, to give it its full title, the Gaherty Reptile and Amphibian Breeding Complex) changes have been profound, including the removal of the old nursery cages, more imaginative graphics, and the arrival of a number of new species. Caiman now peer up at you from quiet, limpid pools; there are several species of poison-arrow frog, each no bigger than a thumb-nail; Blue-tongued Skinks from New Guinea and, for the first time in over twenty years, venomous snakes are on exhibition. Every year sees scores of students from around the world coming here to study. The hope is that techniques they are taught here they will put into operation at ad hoc breeding centres set up in the animals' own countries of origin. Many of the students come from areas of the world where snakes in general, and venomous ones in particular, are persecuted. With the Gaboon, Eyelash and Milos Vipers safely ensconced in the reptile house, Jersey has a unique opportunity to teach people from developing countries that snakes, even venomous ones, are really very beautiful, beneficial creatures and an invaluable part of the natural ecosystem.
When the volcano on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat blew its top, covering much of the island in a layer of choking ash, Jersey was quick to step in to remove some of its precious fauna for safe-keeping. The Montserrat Oriole (an extraordinarily beautiful bird) and the enormous Mountain Chicken (actually a type of frog, so called on account of it being widely eaten on the island as a substitute for poultry) are now established at Jersey Zoo as a safeguard against possible extinction in the wild, and both species are breeding very well. When Gerald Durrell visited Montserrat in 1979, he encountered some of these huge frogs and resolved then that one day this marvellous species would be seen in his zoo. It is a shame he did not live to see his ambition fulfilled.
Jambo, the zoo's magnificent patriarchal silverback gorilla, died suddenly in 1994, quite literally from a broken heart (his aorta - the main artery from the heart - had ruptured), and his place has now been taken by Ya Kwanza from Melbourne Zoo. A life-size statue of Jambo (pronounced 'Yambo', the name is Swahili for 'Hello' or 'How do you do?') was erected in the Zoo grounds as a permanent memorial to the zoo's most popular animal character. It was originally placed a lot closer to the gorilla enclosure, but had to be moved to a new location a short distance away when younger members of the clan started displaying to it.
The old 'gorilla walk' adventure playground for younger visitors, built in the early 80s, has been replaced by a new amenity close to the orang-utan complex that mimics the climbing facilities provided for the orang-utans. The Home-Habitat for Sumatran Orang-utans and gibbons consists consists of two large grassy islands surrounded by a wide moat in which swim Red-eared Terrapins. The orangs would probably benefit from the addition of a few more climbing frames, but it is still a remarkable advance on anything they had previously. The gibbons are much more agile and athletic and have plenty of space for showing off their brachiating skills.
The old orang-utan complex has been redesigned for Livingstone's Fruit Bats. This enormous enclosure, aptly nicknamed the Fruit Bat Empyrean, meaning the 'Highest Heavens', must surely be the largest bat enclosure in the world, entirely appropriate for this, the largest, rarest and most spectacular of the fruit bats.
All the new exhibits are spacious and well-designed. Some, like the gorilla and Sulawesi Macaque enclosures, Aye-aye house, First Impressions, and the new Home-Habitat for orang-utans and gibbons, rate among the finest in the world for their respective species. The tamarin accommodation has recently been rebuilt. Now these diminutive Neotropical primates have up to four times as much space. There are three separate tamarin complexes. In each case spacious aviary-type enclosures have been built around a central building, and the tamarins have access to enclosures on both sides, so that these sun-worshipping animals can follow the path of the sun. In the mornings they are more likely to be found on the eastern side of each complex and in the afternoon they migrate to the western cages. Species here are nearly all Red Data Book listed, including three species of Lion Tamarin, Pied, Cotton-topped and Emperor Tamarins, as well as the closely related Geoffroy's and Silvery Marmosets and Goeldi's Monkeys, the latter thought to be a link between the tamarins and the higher New World monkeys. Several species of callitrichids are allowed the freedom of a copse, which enables them to perfect locomotive skills essential should they ever be chosen for reintroduction into the wild.
The Rodrigues Fruit Bat house has been completely refurbished to represent a Mascarene woodland; endangered Aye-aye lemurs share their accommodation with Giant Jumping Rats, and the old terrapin pen has been rebuilt for Sand Lizards. The woodland walk, always a quiet, reflective part of the zoo, has been transformed into a miniature Madagascar, with a vast open-plan enclosure for Alaotran Gentle Lemurs and, nearby, an enormous aviary for critically endangered Madagascar Teal and other Madagascan and African wetland birds. The aviary is secluded on all sides and public viewing is restricted to strategically placed hides, ensuring the birds remain as undisturbed as possible.
The central valley of the Zoo, which had become degraded in recent years because of overgrazing by geese, has been restored as a natural haven for indigenous local wildlife (Red Squirrels, Bank Voles, dragonflies and damselflies are among the wild animals that have established themselves in the valley), Blue Cranes, and a flock of thirty Greater Flamingos. This ambitious project, including an innovative water-recycling facility and an expansive reed bed which cleanses the water naturally without resorting to artificial means, took three years to complete at a cost of £1 million.
In 1992 Jersey achieved a coup when it recorded the first birth of an Aye-aye conceived and born in captivity (one was previously born at Duke University in America to a female that was already pregnant on arrival). Since then, births have occurred at the rate of about one a year, a not inconsiderable achievement. The Giant Jumping Rats, which arrived from Madagascar at the same time as the Aye-ayes, have been so successful that breeding is now strictly controlled by contraceptive implants to prevent the population getting out of control.
The limitation of space is a perennial problem. Jersey Zoo seems a lot larger than it really is. The careful landscaping helps, as do the winding paths and the fact that, unlike most other zoos, the enclosures do not border the perimeter. On an island such as Jersey, it is unlikely the zoo would be granted extra land. Jersey is a small island with relatively few exports (potatoes, tomatoes and cows are the things that come most readily to mind), and the States of Jersey, as the local government is called, is anxious to retain as much land as possible within the farming community. Even when, in 1979, the Trust bought the neighbouring property of Les Noyers - comprising a fine old Jersey farmhouse, spacious granite outbuildings, and some five acres of land - with a view to using it as student accommodation, educational complex and ordnance supply store, planning permission was granted for the conversion of the buildings but strict limitations were imposed on how the land was to be used.
Being based on a small island in the English Channel does have its advantages, not least of which the islanders and local authorities are proud and supportive of their zoo, which is frequently voted the most popular tourist attraction on the island, but it does mean that the majority of us cannot visit as often as we should like.
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