I was thinking of all the species the society has held over the decades, what would you say is the most "mainstream", never to be held by ZSL? First one i can think of would be giant otter or bonobo perhaps?
When I first visited London Zoo (I think back in 1996 possibly?) I seem to remember that they had Leopards on the Lion Terraces. Am I correct in thinking London Zoo had Persian Leopards? I think around that time they had a hand reared tiger cub who was kept company by a dog/puppy? That sounds as though im making it up, but im sure that was there!
I believe there were Persian Leopards in the Lion Terraces- they certainly had them in the old Lion House. The Tiger cub did indeed have a canine companion- I think it was an Akita puppy. The tiger was I think called 'Hari' and had lost most of his tail before being removed for handrearing. I also seem to remember he later went somewhere like Australia for breeding. I believe he was the only cub born to(or at least reared from) the previous pair of Sumatran tigers and the only one for many years at ZSL until the new Tiger Territory exhibit was opened.
Worth adding that "Hari" is the father of London Zoo's current female tiger (who was born in Australia). See link below:- https://www.zsl.org/menu-position/15/tiger-profile-melati
Considering I have copies of the International Zoo Yearbook to hand, I figured I would get up relevant information here while I still have the books. In this case, I am uploading the species list of the then Insect (or more correctly Invertebrate) House from 1991. As well as the species list (with scientific names), I am including what the basic habitat type for each exhibit and the dimensions of the exhibit. The list is divided up by each of the themes in the old house; the species marked with a * are ones that have not bred in the collection. Biomass Italian honeybee Apis mellifera carnica - Observation hive with three frames (47×71×8cm) Red wood ant Formica rufa - European pine forest with soil/peat (420×180×127cm) Evolution Upside-down jellyfish Cassiopeia andromeda - Marine (120×80×60cm/400 litres) Land hermit crab* Coenobita clypeatus - Mangrove swamp (110×60×110cm) African field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus - Top level of an African Plains split-level exhibit with shallow sand/soil (110×60×110) Tanzanian red-legged millipede Epibolus pulchripes, Asian giant millipede Scaphistostrepus sp - Bottom level of the African Plains exhibit; a subterranean display with peat/leaf litter (110×20×20cm) Feeding Strategies Leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes - Stylized ant colony (585×76×50cm) Giant blue centipede Rhysida afra - Individual glass tank with sand/moss (20×40×20cm) African praying mantis Sphodromantis centralis - Individual glass tank with sand (20×40×20cm) Assassin bug Platymerus biguttatus - Individual glass tank with sand (20×30×2cm) Defence Malaysian jungle nymph Heteropteryx dilatata, Macleay's spectre stick insect Extatosoma tiaratum - Tropical forest with peat soil (50×70×50cm) Spiny stick insect Eurycantha calcarata - Forest floor with peat (20×40×30cm) Sri Lankan bush cricket Vetralla quadrata - Tropical forest with peat (100×60×100cm) Adaptability Red-kneed bird-eating spider Brachypelma smithi - Scrubland with sand/soil (50×50×40cm) Pink-toed bird-eating spider Avicularia avicularia - Bamboo forest with moss (50×70×60cm) Brazilian bird-eating spider Lasiodora parahybana - Forest floor with moss/soil (50×40×50cm) Sri Lankan tiger spider* Poecilotheria formosa - Human habitation with matting (50×40×50cm) Fat-tailed scorpion* Androctonus crassicauda - Desert habitat with sand substrate (17×17×20cm) Black widow spider Latrodectus mactans - Silhouette (17×17×8cm) Madagascar hissing cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa - Buttress root with soil/leaf litter(50×70×30cm) Imperial scorpion Pandinus imperator - Jungle stream with moss (50×50×70cm) African cave cricket Pholeogryllus geertsi - Cave with sand/soil (100×60×100cm) African giant land snail Achatina/Archachatina sp - Tropical garden with sedge peat (110×60×100cm) Silkmoths (various spp) - Moonlight/silhouette cylindrical net (80cm diameter, 90cm high) Life Cycles Damselflies (species unknown) - Jungle pond (320×236×100cm) Desert beetle Tenebrionidae - Desert with sand (110×60×100cm) Global Significance Jewel wasp Ampulex compressa - Indian scrubland with sand + roosting material (110×60×100cm) American cockroach Periplaneta americana - Household kitchen (110×60×70cm) Migratory locust Locusta migratoria - Desert with sand substrate (110×70×100cm) African dung beetle Scarabaeus semipunctatus - African scrub with sand/soil (100×75×100cm) Silkworm Bombyx mori - Silk products/silk backdrop (50×50×40cm) Conservation Medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis - Glass aquarium (120×50×60cm) Olimpia's ground beetle Chrysocarabus olympiae - Alpine with sand/soil (30×40×40cm) Red-kneed bird-eating spider Brachypelma smithi - Nursery/individual rearing tubes with vermiculite (10×7×10cm) Postman butterfly Heliconius melpomene - Tropical forest walkthrough exhibit British butterflies (various spp) - British garden in a seasonal outdoor exhibit The off-show breeding areas also housed five species of Partula snail and wart-biter crickets Decticus verrucivorus together with further breeding space for Olimpia's ground beetles. Another article in the Yearbook from 1991 documents the arrival of a number of coconut crabs Birgus latro, of which the largest male was put on-show in the Insect House while the others remained off display. Looking at the current 2018 stocklist, it appears about 20 invertebrate species from 1991 are no longer present in London Zoo.
Um, you cut off the end of the sentence... "The off-show breeding areas also housed five species of Partula snail and wart-biter crickets Decticus verrucivorus together with further breeding space for Olimpia's ground beetles." "Together" in this context means "along with" or "as well as", as in "The off-show breeding areas also housed five species of Partula snail and wart-biter crickets Decticus verrucivorus as well as further breeding space for Olimpia's ground beetles."
I was just looking around and actually found the journal article I wrote out the contents to a couple of posts ago, listed under a different title. As well as the species list, it includes notes on some of the species and also a labelled overview of the whole house. https://www.researchgate.net/public...rogrammes_at_the_Zoological_Society_of_London
Just came along a species which was kept ( in Europe ) alone at the London Zoo. 1885 a single Sula hanging parrot was recieved. I was however not able to find any further information about this animal and don't know if it is ever kept at any other collection ( private in Europe or private / public at any other place world-wide..... (?).
I have found reference to another interesting species of invertebrate kept in London Zoo. In 1993, a survey of the terrestrial invertebrates found a relatively numerous population of spiky yellow woodlice Pseudolaureola atlantica of which a small number were collected for an initial ex-situ breeding attempt. Unfortunately, the animals in question died a short time after their arrival in the UK, testifying to their delicate nature. This information comes from page 27 of this 2016-published conservation strategy for the species: https://www.researchgate.net/public...ica_a_Strategy_for_its_Conservation_2016-2021
Wow, this is my most favourite woodlouse species and I was unaware of them being kept in captivity! There is any zoo in the world that keep some of them today?
I think that the last thylacine was kept in the North Bank's Small Mammal House, you can see it on this (conveniently recently posted) map. Zoo Map 1962 - ZooChat
Thank you Brum , very interesting to think that the last living thylacine outside of Australia was there. I deleted my last post as I double checked and information from the Thylacine museum had been posted on this froum before.
London Zoo's last thylacine was definitely kept in the old North Mammal House, not far from where the Snowdon Aviary is now.
I think it would have been very interesting if some of the keepers of the time had somehow been given the opportunity to record their memories (if any) of working with the species and its temperament in captivity etc. Of course, it would never have happened because only the big wigs of the zoological society would ever have been deemed important enough to have been interviewed and their words recorded. Moreover, probably very few of them had any direct experience with a living thylacine beyond dissecting dead specimens like the one in the Grant Museum. But it is one of those things where you are sort of left wondering "what if ?". All the same, it is really very sad to think that these memories have now long since passed from living memory. I actually wonder how many more species in this century , particularly the ones extinct in the wild, will eventually only be a vague and faded memory in some former keepers mind.
I only saw the North Mammal House on one visit, which could have well been in 1962. It poured with rain all day and the animals on display were rather bedraggled. However I distinctly remember seeing a cheetah and a spotted hyena, both for the first time. The individual cages had outside areas exposed to the elements, backed by indoor accommodation. It was similar to the Wild Dogs section of the old Deer & Cattle House. What I'd give for a time-machine to view that zoo again.Shortly afterwards the building was demolished to make way for the Snowdon Aviary.
In his book "Animals as Friends: a Head Keeper Remembers London Zoo" (1973) the author, James Aldis, records that he was working in the North Mammal House when London's last thylacine died. Although describes a number of the animals in detail, sady he provides little information about the thylacine. He wrongly claims that he must have been the last person to have ever seen a living thylacine.
