Monkey Business At The Bunny Park

New enclosure for Curly, Larry, and Mo

Ealing’s monkeys are being re-housed in a new enclosure at the Hanwell's Bunny Park. The Common Marmosets will be moved to their new home on Thursday, 19 August.

The enclosure is the first to open as part of the Priority Parks programme, which sees more than £800,000 invested in the Brent River Park after winning the Mayor of London’s ‘Help a London Park’ scheme last year. The park won £400,000, which was matched by Ealing Council with an additional £487,000 in funding.

The Brent Lodge Park Animal Centre has three marmosets, Curly, Larry, and Mo, who are estimated to be 12 years old. They came from the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow after they were seized by customs authorities. Once settled, additional marmosets will be joining the group from other zoos in England.

Several groups were involved in the development of the enclosure including the Brent Lodge Park Arts Collective, who provided interpretative pieces for the new exhibit, and the Community Payback team who helped build the enclosure. Pupils from Belvue School, volunteers from Stirling Road Centre and the local community, helped with planting in the area.

Councillor Kamaljit Dhindsa, Cabinet Member for Customer and Community Services, said:

“The Brent River Park is a great asset for the borough and a much-loved treasure for our residents. More then 4,500 residents took the time to vote for the park, which enabled us to secure the initial funding and it is great to see the community continuing to give their time to help improve the area.”
In addition to the enclosure, two aviaries are set to open later in the year to house a variety of African birds, including the Sacred Ibis.

Other projects are also underway to improve the area as part of the Priority Parks programme. Residents are encouraged to get involved by joining one of the engagement groups which will help shape the work stage-by-stage as it unfolds, and will also help decide what some of the funding is spent on. To find out more or to get involved visit www.ealing.gov.uk/parks or email priorityparks@ealing.gov.uk.

16 August 2010