London zoo news 2012 » ZSL London Zoo

London zoo news 2012
16-02-2012

Starting the year of (again!), with a review of last year.

16-02-2012

Thank you. A really nice link.

16-02-2012

Yes, nice link. I think whoever chose the tiger enclosure impressions as the header must study this site & have a sense of humour though!

17-02-2012

I was at the zoo today (thought it would be nice and quiet, didn't realise it was half term). A couple of things to report:

The African Safari aviary was closed and, I think, empty of birds - is this related to preparations for Tiger Territory?

Couldn't see pelicans anywhere (unless I missed them and they were in the Snowdon).

There is a black and white mural of a giraffe eating leaves and a tree branch in the giraffe house. It's on the wall dividing the main house from the side stalls on the zebra side and is actually rather well done.

But what really got my interest... in the Clore, the block behind the rain forest (to the left of the yellow mongoose or to the right of the rain forest hall as you enter it) there appears to be an enclosure (with labling in current fonts and branding) for Alaotran lemur - this at the mongoose end, and peering through the doors at the other end there was what looked like another rat enclosure. Does anyone know what is going on here?

Downstairs in the nocturnal area a couple of enclosures (one between the cloud rats and Australian water rats and the cave fish enclosure) were gone completely with signs saying they were under rennovation.

So it seems like something is going on in the Clore.

23-02-2012

Sorry if it has already been posted elsewhere, but I haven't seen it! Are the sealions still at London, & if so for how much longer? Thanks

23-02-2012

The sealions went yesterday, I'm afraid, back to their renovated enclosure at Whipsnade. The whole area is now being fenced off for the Tiger Territory building work to start (um, I think we've covered that subject elsewhere, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it!). The African Safari aviary is now closed and the birds moved elsewhere (sorry, don't know where), also for the duration of the building of Tiger Territory, as the building noise and disruption behind the aviary would be too stressful for the birds.

Now, the Clore: the enclosure where Shirokuma saw the Aloatran gentle lemurs is nothing new and always houses something. These particular lemurs have always been in the zoo but for some reason they get moved about. The enclosure is nothing secret – it's on the way to the education area – so although it says "no entry" at the door, in fact school groups are taken through there for their rainforest education sessions. It's a nice enclosure with an indoor bedroom and a semi-outdoor bit too – plants and sunlight. But nothing new or exciting!

Downstairs in nightlife I believe they are constructing a way of seeing the Australian water rats actually under water, which explains the disruption there. in the meantime, one of the inhabitants, a potoroo, has been moved upstairs and is sharing the first enclosure on the left as you enter the Rainforest, the home of the goeldi's monkey (who ignore it). It looked a bit shell-shocked at first but quite happy and relaxed this week, pottering around on the floor, and nice for visitors to see up close and in daylight conditions.

23-02-2012

Sorry to hear the Sealions brief sojourn at London is now over- that was a little bit of History repeating itself!

So Tiger Territory is starting to happen. But we should stay off debating the why's and wherefore's now I think!

23-02-2012

Those three original courtyard enclosures in the Clore really ought to have something done with them. There was talk of howler monkeys 12-15 years ago; the three could easily be linked together for a mixed species exhibit.

To have half of the ground floor closed to the public really isn't on, IMO; off exhibit species could so easily be done at Whipsnade.

23-02-2012

I agree with Ian about the off-show exhibits. There was a notice outside the Roundhouse for many months saying that the aye-ayes were off show on that day. That may be acceptable to a one-off visitor, but was irritating to regular visitors. When the Biome was revamped a couple of years ago, much of the ground floor was closed off, including the area where the aye-ayes were rehoused. If the aye-ayes are too shy to adapt to people, couldn't the zoo use CCTV with an indoor enclosure. I saw this used with kiwis at Stuttgart Zoo years ago and surely this would be better than having such an unusual and endangered species permanently off show.

23-02-2012

The Aye-Aye set-up baffles me; they had no less space or privacy in the Round House than the pair at Bristol have.

24-02-2012

...or indeed any of the other zoos in which they seem to do pretty well. While I have defended London in previous threads, I do find the apparent policy of making it hard to see (a number of the) animals rather annoying. It's notable that on the film review linked-to above, there is very little in the actual zoo - the majority of stuff is about what is happening in various conservation projects here, there and everywhere. That's great, of course, but most visitors want to see interesting animals presented in interesting ways, doing interesting things.

24-02-2012

A mere detail, I know, but the aye-ayes are no longer in the Round House – no idea where they are (though I believe still in the zoo). The Round House has been home to Rodriguez flying foxes for many months now.

24-02-2012

This is slightly (well completely) off subject, but I watched the video and hearing the people pronounce ZSL made me realize something I never knew. The letter Z is pronounced zee by us Americans, but you Brits pronounce it zed.

Anyway, back on topic, the new tiger exhibit looks promising.

24-02-2012

Thanks for the reply on the sealions volvox, a shame I was thinking of snatching a visit & return to my youth before they left!

At the risk of repeating what I've said about Marwell, zoos need to utilise the space they have to a maximum and in the case of one as small as London this is of even greater importance. When people visit London, they expect to see animals & lots of them, not empty enclosures or empty space. I agree the Clore is a prime example of this, more than half of it shut off when the building can't be beyond renovation given whats been done with the rest. Although many single enclosures are too small by todays standards, they could easily be combined, as some had been for tamarins when I visited about 3 years ago before that wing was shut off.

Other areas that come to mind as under used are the Mappins and areas on both sides of the canal and along the boundary between the cat terraces and the penguins. I know some of these areas couldn't accomodate large animals, but could be used for smaller mammals or aviaries.

24-02-2012

If it's any reassurance, it's just as weird the other way around!