Well its animal themed crazy golf, with holes such as Gerald the walrus, does that make a difference?
There was me thinking my Fellowship goes towards the upkeep of the animals. How wrong I was. I feel like I’m getting increasingly mugged off! The ZSL AGM should be VERY interesting this year!
Another species bites the dust!! I thought the enclosure may have been a new walk-through exhibit, would never have put money on crazy golf!! Crazy management...
Thats being incredibly diplomatic! It seems whoever’s now operating ZSL clearly has no care or understanding for the Living Collections unless it can make them a quick buck. I dread to think what else is in the pipeline, because you can forget about any new species arriving-unless it’s of the animatronic variety! Raffles would be spinning in his grave. That Hamerton membership is looking increasingly more appealing.
I appreciate that you feel very defensive of London zoo, Robert, and that is excellent. But, please, go easy on the sarcasm – it simply isn’t necessary. We’re all friends here! It’s not that there is, as you put it, nothing that I approve of. I’m not sure that approval is the issue. Rather, as has been discussed here at length, the collection is much diminished, with very little to excite. Mammal wise? Okapis are great, obviously, but not the rarities they once were. Aye aye are fabulous. After that, I’m struggling a little bit. And there is a lot of focus given to the most straightforward of species. Meerkats, short-clawed otters, ring-tailed lemurs. Birds? At the moment, really very little to excite. Reptiles and amphibians? Probably the best area in the zoo, but even here slipping. Fish? Hmmm. Invertebrates? Yes, fine, I suppose. So, no, I really don’t think the collection could be described as ‘great’. However, that is only my subjective opinion, to which I am entitled; your subjective opinion, to which you are equally entitled, is that it is “great“. And that is fine, Robert. No need for unpleasantness.
Apo Apologies for the comment. But I think they are going throwa ruff patch with the entire site at the moment so they just need a little time
Narrow-striped mongoose, potto, and water rat... Bearded pig are pretty unusual but don't have long left I fear.
Won't be visiting again for quite a while as I am bird lover and the bird collection as unfortunately shall we say lost it's come and visit us look. Just the everyday species that can be seen at many other collections it's a shame as I use to love going to London the only mammal I would say is a pull to me but soon to be gone Bearded Pigs will miss those when they eventually go, here's a thought send them to Dudley Zoo and use Inca's old exhibit that would kill to birds with one stone. Can;t wait to see what they do with the old aviaries by the Snowdon Building here's hoping they refurbish them or even knock them down and make a bird walk through.
I think the remaining big highlights are potto, water rat, slender loris, bearded pig and narrow-striped boky .... possibly the moholi galago and red-faced spider monkey too. But only about half of these have much of a future, with one certainly doomed
London, for me, still excite me. They do seem to be making questionable decisions about the collection however. The reptile house is still very good but I would like to see it modernised and B.U.G.S is a great exhibit. The ever diminishing collection of birds and mammals is a concern for me and they don't seem to be replacing them.
London Zoo has the only southern tamandua (nominate subspecies), Lake Oku clawed frog, Congo and two-lined caecilians, Iberian midwife toad, common driftwood catfish, blue-striped dottyback, dusky narrow hatchetfish, flag and garnet tetras, grime rainbowfish, lipstick and Y-bar leporinus, Mezquital pupfish, orangspot metynnis, pink corydoras, red-tailed brycon, staghorn damselfish, Tanganyikan cichlid unicolor coralgoby and blackstripe rasbora listed on ZTL.,
I wonder how many of the freshwater fish species on your list will be transferred to the Whipsnade aquarium; presumably they'll all leave London Zoo when the aquarium closes anyway.
ZTL = www.zootierliste.de (a homepage that lists animal species - except invertebrates - found in European zoos)
I think this patch started around 1985 with the closure of the Mappin Terraces, that is a lot of time surely?
