Come and Monkey Around (Monkey World)

Member Name: salem_witch

Product:	Monkey World
Date:	03/10/06 (1903 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The primates have been rescued and have plenty of space

Disadvantages: None that I can think of

For Christmas last year my Dad handed us all an envelope as a present whilst having a huge grin on his face. I just thought it was money and was pleased with that. I opened it up and there was a card with an orangutan on it. Not very imaginative I thought but never mind. I then opened it and it was an invite to Monkey World for my Dads 60th and he'd also rented a cottage in Dorset for the week to celebrate the occasion (getting a free bus pass hehe). So ever since then I had been looking forward to going.

So in September we all went to Dorset and it was Monkey World which I was most looking forward to. For those who have seen the TV programme 'Monkey Business' then you'll have seen a little about the Centre and what they actually do. I had seen a couple of them before going and thought they were really cute. I hadn't seen enough to know all the primates they had and I was only aware that they had chimpanzees and orangutans. I did know that is was a rescue centre as opposed to a zoo and that made me want to go more knowing they actually help animals that need it.

Monkey World is set in 65 acres near Wareham in Dorset. It is one mile from Wool on the Bere Regis/Wool Road. It is easy to find and there are plenty of signposts. Those of you who know the area it is very close to the Bovington Tank Museum.

On entering the park there is plenty of parking spaces all of which are free. There are disabled spaces near the front for those with mobility problems. You need to queue at the kiosk for the tickets. They must have been efficient as my Dad did this and before I knew it he had paid for us all to get in. For those of you like me there are toilets near the entrance and that was my first port of call. This was right next to a shop and a café so those who have come further afield don't need to traipse miles to have a cup of tea. Seeing as we came from very near we were eager to see the monkeys and on we went.

***Chimpanzees***

The first thing we stumbled across was one of the Chimpanzee enclosures. There are plenty of these dotted around and they keep different groups together. This is mainly because chimps are social animals and have a pecking order. They interact together and this can end up in fights and alpha male having to take order. During my visit I learnt that the female chimps do have birth control. The idea of the rescue centre isn't to breed them and they try to avoid births (although as with us humans this doesn't always work!) This doesn't follow for all of the primates though.

The first group of chimps we saw were part of Hananya's group. This is to the left of the park as you enter. They have a clear viewing point so you are above the chimps and can see down on them. This is wheelchair and pushchair friendly as it is a ramp going up to it. We did get there when it hadn't been opened long and there were already a few people milling about. It wasn't too crowded though and we all got to watch them for a while. This viewing area is covered so if it were raining a good place to be! On the walls there was plenty of information on the individual chimps. I wasn't sure if this related to the chimps in that particular enclosure though. Having looked up the finer details online my memory isn't good enough to recall if all the chimps in Hananya's group were all listed or if others were included there as well.

We stayed a while watching them. One was swinging about on the climbing frame and they all looked happy enough. I suppose there could be times where they don't do much and other times where they are cheeky and get up to no good. Speaking of which this brings me on to a chimp called Gamba. He is part of Paddy's group and he caused a commotion when the keeper was giving a talk on the chimps. This was funny as the keeper was just explaining that Paddy tried to keep the peace between them all and usually sorted any commotions out.


***Orangutans***

I think the orangutans were my favourite. Before going I would have said the chimps were my favourite. I spent longer watching the orangutans though. There was one in particular that I really liked. He (or she) is a juvenile orangutan and was amusing us by banging two stones together. Now and then he'd look up to see if we were watching. They are fascinating creatures and they look so cute. From the various talks you learn that they have been rescued because they were usually kept as pets and then when they grow they become to strong to control. This applies to other primates as well as the orangutans. From watching this young (he wasn't quite a baby) orangutan you can see why this happens as they are adorable.

There is a main Orangutan enclosure and then a Nursery one. This is the one which I spent more time watching. In it was an adult orangutan, the juvenile one I've mentioned and another young one. The two enclosures are connected and they can climb along. When we visited this was blocked off so they had to stay in the enclosure they were in. I'm not sure why this was but I suppose they can integrate them if they wanted to in the future. The talk was fascinating but I wasn't near the keeper when he gave his talk. This didn't matter but he was pointing out the individuals so I wasn't sure which orangutan he was referring to. I recognise Tuan though as he is in the leaflet I had and it is obvious from the picture it was him.

***Gibbons***

I never thought I'd be interested in gibbons. They just don't seem as cute as other primates but I was proved wrong. In an enclosure very near the entrance was a couple of golden-cheeked gibbons called Peanut and Pung-Yo. They had a baby called Tien who I believe was 9 weeks old when we saw him. He was clinging to his mother, Peanut the whole time we were there and Pung-Yo was with them occasionally as if he was protecting them both. I wasn't aware of Tien's name so I actually emailed Monkey World to ask them and they informed me that he was named after Tien Island in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam. Here they are building a small endangered primate rescue centre and one day hope that the family may be able to go back to the forest they were most likely stolen from. It was lovely to see them and how Tien manages to cling on whilst Peanut was swinging about the enclosure!

Further into the park there is another gibbon enclosure and this is where the talk was held. The talk was very informative and one of the gibbons was being very noisy at the beginning of the talk much to everyone's amusement. I don't know they particular gibbon's name as I've forgotten but if you're ever there and one is being loudest it is probably the same one! One of the Mueller's gibbons, Nini only has one arm but still managed to swing about his enclosure.


***Ring Tail Lemurs***

The lumurs are in their own little park known as Malagasy. You have to enter through two separate doors to get in so that they can't escape into the main park. They run around freely and they can come very close to you. One of them called George was very sociable and wasn't bothered about people getting close. In fact, he sat on the path for a long time and let people take his picture. It was as if he were posing! George is rather overweight and although the keeper said why I don't remember why. He is on a diet though and this is very obvious why! They do ask that you don't bring any food or drink into Malagasy, as they don't want them to be fed.

***Other primates***

There are other primates dotted around the park. I won't go into detail with these, as I never attended any of the talks. This is not to say they weren't as fun to watch though. They have Marmosets, Capuchins, Woolly Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys and Stump Tail Macaques.


***Other animals***

There is a Pets Corner and some donkeys as well. I never made it to this area of the park but I'd imagine that this is great for young kids.


***The Great Ape Play Area***

I never actually saw the Play Area as it was at the back of the park and never went as far as it. From the pictures I have seen in the leaflet it is a fair size and I'd imagine it would keep children happy. In fact, after a quick search online I found out it is one of the biggest adventure play areas on the South Coast. So they can have a go on the climbing frames and do their very own monkey impressions. Near the entrance there is an amusement section, which they have little, go-carts. Sadly, this was just for children or a few of us would have given it a go. I didn't notice if this was free or not though.


***Talks***

As mentioned earlier they give talks on the primates. I won't list the times of them as this can be found out when you are there. They last on average for half an hour (I didn't think it was as long as that though) and a keeper will tell share their knowledge on the particular primate. They also hang about at the end to answer questions in case there was something specific you wanted to know. All the keepers I came across were friendly and knowledgeable. My favourite talk was the chimp one because the keeper was very clear and he didn't just ramble off facts. When things happened in the enclosure he'd integrate it into what he was saying. The talk on the gibbons was good as well but I was right near the keeper when she was speaking. Had I not been then I probably wouldn't have heard all of what she was saying as her microphone was playing up. She handled it well and tried to raise her voice as much as she could though. The talks are never at the same time and the way they've done it is good as the first talk starts at one part of the park and works its way across. There are 8 different talks in total and I managed to see 4 of them, which wasn't bad. If I ever go back I'll make sure I go to the ones I missed!

***Where to eat?***

There are plenty of picnic areas dotted about so if this is what you wanted to do then it is ideal. They are covered and we sat in one whilst having an ice cream. This was bought from one of their kiosks, which they have plenty of all around the park. If you don't want to take your own food then the Treetops Café is adequate. They have a selection of food from jacket potatoes, pasties and burgers. This is what we did and I had a jacket potato, which was very filling. They also have Wateringhole Café, which is near the donkeys, and Pets Corner. I never made it to this part of the park so I can't comment on what they have there.


***Gift Shop***

There is a lovely gift shop, which contains the usual things from batteries, clothing, cuddly toys, to mugs. I ended up getting a mug with a baby orangutan on it. The prices are reasonable and well worth looking around for gifts for friends and family or something for yourself.


***Prices***

It costs £9 for adults, £6.50 for Senior Citizens and Children (ages 3-15). Students will be pleased to hear they can get in for £8. Under 3s are free. Group rates and family tickets are available. The family ticket is £27 and that is for 2 adults and 2 children. What I thought was good was they offer a Single Parent ticket (1 adult and 2 children) for £20. They also do birthday parties. For further details it would be best to look at this on their website.

***Opening times***

Monkey World is opened every day from 10am to 5pm (6pm in July and August) and is only closed on Christmas Day.

***What did I think?***

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I really do recommend it to everyone. There were no children with us (this could be arguable at times!) but we all really enjoyed ourselves. The enclosures were ample for the monkeys and they were all well looked after. This is no huge surprise seeing as it was set up to rescue them rather than as a zoo. One thing that I found was they didn't have information boards dotted about like they can do in other similar attractions. Some of them did but this was usually about the actual monkeys they had rather than background information on them as a whole. This was good though as you can read about the individual monkeys. One example of this was the gibbons that had a baby together.

The talks cover all the information you'd want to know as well. I'd strongly advise planing your day around the talks. On entering the park there is a sign stating where the talks are and at what times. These are also printed in the leaflet I picked up before getting to the park. Unfortunately they didn't seem to be handing these out when we paid though so it is worth asking for one perhaps. Having said that there are plenty of keepers around the park so if you're unsure then just ask one of them and they'll be happy to help.

65 acres doesn't sound all that much but you can find yourself walking around some sections again. For example, when it was lunchtime we headed back to the Café, which is situated near the entrance. At this point we were at least half way round so of course we had to walk all the way back. This wasn't so bad though and those who take picnics would avoid this.

If you want to adopt one of the primates then you can do so. After each talk I was at they all mentioned it and said if you wanted more information to see one of them. This can also be done from the website as well. Not only do you receive information on the animal you have adopted but also you'll get a year's free entry to Monkey World. So this could make an ideal gift.

Guide dogs are allowed around the park. However they are not permitted in the Malagasy enclosure as the lemurs run around freely here. I noticed on the website that they offer the keeper talks in writing (this includes Braille if needed) for those who have hearing problems.

The park is wheelchair and pushchair friendly as well. There are a few hilly bits so if you are pushing someone in a wheelchair then you'll need to have lots of strength and energy! My Gran was in a wheelchair but there were loads of us to take it in turns with. I can't see push chairs being a problem though. They do have motorised wheelchairs available, which are free of charge. All they ask for is a £10 deposit and some ID. I thought this was rather good and my Mum who suffers from knee problems got one. As we entered I saw them and suggested she should get one but she dismissed the idea at first. After 20 minutes or so it was playing up so we went back to get her one. They were easy to use but they do go fast. This was the first time my Mum had used one and she bumped into a few people and almost ran them over.

The website is well worth visiting as they have lots of information on the primates and they publish The Ape Rescue Chronicle three times a year. After being in contact with Monkey World via email I've been informed that they are working on a new site, which will be up, and running soon.

For further info:

www.monkeyworld.org

***October 2007 Update***
After my visit last year I have become a little obsessed with 'Monkey Business' the television programme based on Monkey World. I didn't buy any of the series on DVD whilst I was there but I popped online not long after I returned and watched that along with any repeats I found on Animal Planet. Although I thought I enjoyed Monkey World to the fullest I soon thought that I would love it even more now I got to know all the characters from Jim and Alison the park owners to Jeremy (the head keeper) to all the different primates dotted around the park. Whilst watching programme after programme I kept saying to my Mum how much I'd like to go back. I said we should pop back for the day soon. My Mum's birthday was approaching so we decided to go then. Not knowing it was half term at the time (yes it was busier!)

One of my main missions was to see my favourite resident of the park: Charlie the chimpanzee. For anyone who regularly watches 'Monkey Business' they'd probably know him. So when I did actually see him I was delighted. He was with the Bachelor boys and he was stuffing his face as usual! I also spent longer at the Chimp Nursery watching Sally, Lulu and all the little baby chimps there. This visit we went to the talks we missed last year as well as going to some of the same ones on the chimps, lemurs and orangutans. We spent longer this year as we got there just as it opened and left at kicking out time. That was with a long drive home whereas last year we were on holiday so it was a 15 minute journey. It's a place I could go back to over and over again and only wish it were nearer!
On a sadder note Jim Cronin, the man who started the park died early this year. Near the Stump Tailed Macaque house they have a memorial for him. There is also a Memorial Fund which you can donate to whilst at the park (and online) to help continue what he started back in 1987. After watching 'Monkey Business' I became very fond of him and his wife Alison as they've done so much for the primates and rescued them from various places around the world.

If anyone is thinking of visiting then I'd highly recommend it. To get the most out of it you need to make a full day of it and perhaps watch a few episodes of 'Monkey Business' before so you get to know some of them first.

Summary: A primate rescue centre