ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2021

SHAVINGTONZOO said:
Regent's Park is able/ chooses to follow a completely different model to any other British collection due to its location and the perception (to overseas visitors) that it is the "national" collection.

Whether that is wise is another matter.

Given the current state of the place it's just as well it doesn't need to rely on repeat visitors.
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It hasn’t been the ‘national’ collection for many years. That’s Chester.
 
Daubentoniidae said:
Anyone interested in old photos / illustrations of London Zoo here are a few links, I think I may have posted one of the links in another thread a while ago.

http://www.avictorian.com/zoological_society.html

Brilliant Pictures of a Trip to London Zoo in 1967 - Flashbak

Striking images from the 1870s capture the earliest animals at London Zoo
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I like the 1967 photos. Remember meeting a schoolfriend on the tiered seats at the back of the Lion House in the late 1950's. The big flower baskets and house sparrows chirping... Also the Casson Pavilion photos with the Black and White Rhino pairs. The photos labelled 'Rhino and Vetinarian' is not actually the vet but one of the Elephant/rhino keepers, I think his name was (something like) Matthew Hennesey.
 
FBBird said:
I would be very interested to see photographs of the inside.
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I can visualise it but sadly no photos. Its interesting how the indoor Antelope stalls in the Cotton Terraces(below the Giraffe building) were similarly open to the public initially, and then later closed off.
 
Pertinax said:
I can visualise it but sadly no photos. Its interesting how the indoor Antelope stalls in the Cotton Terraces(below the Giraffe building) were similarly open to the public initially, and then later closed off.
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When I visited the stalls in the Cotton Terraces the deer and antelopes down there always seemed very nervous and surprised to see visitors. I don't think many people bothered to go down there, except for zoo-nerds like us who wanted to see everything in the days when the animals spent alternate days in the outdoor paddocks and the indoor stalls. Once this nasty practice ended there was no point in allowing visitors down the stairs.
 
gentle lemur said:
When I visited the stalls in the Cotton Terraces the deer and antelopes down there always seemed very nervous and surprised to see visitors. I don't think many people bothered to go down there, except for zoo-nerds like us who wanted to see everything in the days when the animals spent alternate days in the outdoor paddocks and the indoor stalls. Once this nasty practice ended there was no point in allowing visitors down the stairs.
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Exactly. Yes, always quiet and sometimes they would almost panic at the sight of a visitor. I remember seeing those indoor stalls being featured in a zoo book chapter about bad zoo designs- the water/food troughs were sunk into high blocks with sharp protruding angles which were a potential hazard to the inmates as well. I should add that I've seen similar behaviour in some of the little-visited ungulate indoor areas at Whipsnade too.
 
FBBird said:
I would be very interested to see photographs of the inside.
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Regrettably, I have no photographs of the inside of the Deer & Cattle Sheds.

I last went inside that building in the early 1960s so we're going back nearly sixty years to when I was a small child.

If I remember correctly after all these years, there was an interior partitioning wall, running the length of the building, separating the cattle side from the deer side. There was at least one arched doorway (maybe more?) in this wall enabling visitors to pass between the two halves of the building.
 
Pertinax said:
Exactly. Yes, always quiet and sometimes they would almost panic at the sight of a visitor. I remember seeing those indoor stalls being featured in a zoo book chapter about bad zoo designs- the water/food troughs were sunk into high blocks with sharp protruding angles which were a potential hazard to the inmates as well. I should add that I've seen similar behaviour in some of the little-visited ungulate indoor areas at Whipsnade too.
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I remember a long time ago when I was very young you could still go into other parts of the Cotton Terraces where they had the indoor section for the Malayan Tapirs and they had Oryx down where the African Wild Dogs were. Didn't they have a single antelope or oryx or something up until quite recently which lived partially off show next to the Giraffes?
 
Last night I finally got the chance to look in detail at the plans for the new Reptile and Giant Tortoise exhibits.
Although I will miss the range and variety of species in the old Reptile House, I think there is much to like about these plans. Firstly, it is wonderful to see ZSL avoiding the use of big-name architects (and minor royals) and not planning buildings designed to last a century or more. These modest buildings are designed to be bright, warm, accessible and flexible. Of course they will also be cheap and easy to construct: I expect this is a consequence of the current crisis, but it is a very welcome one. I am reminded of George Mottershead's approach at Chester - build quickly and cheaply, and look for a chance to create something bigger and better eventually. Secondly it seems that most of the star exhibits from the Reptile House will be rehoused in the new exhibit and we can hope that they will be displayed better than they are at the moment. The emphasis on endangered species is welcome of course and I was pleased that there are some blanks in the list of species, because it's nice to have something to look forward to.
In addition, if I read the plans correctly, there will be large windows on either side of the entrance and exit corridor, looking into the kitchen and the breeding rooms for amphibians, reptiles and mountain chicken frogs, which should be very interesting. I was a little surprised that ZSL did not choose to separate the amphibians in an Amphibian Ark, but good accommodation and good practice matter much more than names. I did notice that they have chosen to feature some of the world's ugliest amphibians (giant salamanders, Titicaca frogs and caecilians) perhaps they will need notices on the walls saying 'Don't have nightmares' :D
I also noticed that a new species will eventually go on show in the current giant tortoise exhibit and that the plan mentions that some species which do not require special environmental conditions may be exhibited in the current Reptile House alongside the museum style exhibits. I would like to think that they might include some freshwater fishes from the old Aquarium.
 
gentle lemur said:
Last night I finally got the chance to look in detail at the plans for the new Reptile and Giant Tortoise exhibits.
Although I will miss the range and variety of species in the old Reptile House, I think there is much to like about these plans. Firstly, it is wonderful to see ZSL avoiding the use of big-name architects (and minor royals) and not planning buildings designed to last a century or more. These modest buildings are designed to be bright, warm, accessible and flexible. Of course they will also be cheap and easy to construct: I expect this is a consequence of the current crisis, but it is a very welcome one. I am reminded of George Mottershead's approach at Chester - build quickly and cheaply, and look for a chance to create something bigger and better eventually. Secondly it seems that most of the star exhibits from the Reptile House will be rehoused in the new exhibit and we can hope that they will be displayed better than they are at the moment. The emphasis on endangered species is welcome of course and I was pleased that there are some blanks in the list of species, because it's nice to have something to look forward to.
In addition, if I read the plans correctly, there will be large windows on either side of the entrance and exit corridor, looking into the kitchen and the breeding rooms for amphibians, reptiles and mountain chicken frogs, which should be very interesting. I was a little surprised that ZSL did not choose to separate the amphibians in an Amphibian Ark, but good accommodation and good practice matter much more than names. I did notice that they have chosen to feature some of the world's ugliest amphibians (giant salamanders, Titicaca frogs and caecilians) perhaps they will need notices on the walls saying 'Don't have nightmares' :D
I also noticed that a new species will eventually go on show in the current giant tortoise exhibit and that the plan mentions that some species which do not require special environmental conditions may be exhibited in the current Reptile House alongside the museum style exhibits. I would like to think that they might include some freshwater fishes from the old Aquarium.
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Interesting and optimistic perspective on the changes at ZSL.
 
Daubentoniidae said:
I remember a long time ago when I was very young you could still go into other parts of the Cotton Terraces where they had the indoor section for the Malayan Tapirs and they had Oryx down where the African Wild Dogs were. Didn't they have a single antelope or oryx or something up until quite recently which lived partially off show next to the Giraffes?
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There was an anoa in the stalls next to the giraffes for a bit, a few years ago.
 
pipaluk said:
There was also at least one giant anteater in that paddock for a while after their exhibit was destroyed for the dinosaurs and then golf. I think they were housed at the side of the Pygmy Hippo house though, not the end of the giraffe house
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I also remember seeing the giant anteater there for quite a while. I haven't even been over to the old anteater enclosure since it was removed for the dinosaurs and golf.
 
pipaluk said:
There was also at least one giant anteater in that paddock for a while after their exhibit was destroyed for the dinosaurs and then golf. I think they were housed at the side of the Pygmy Hippo house though, not the end of the giraffe house
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I'm sure they were, yes. There were also the Arabian gazelles in there, as well as occasionally mixed with giraffes.
 
Walked past the zoo today, through a very busy Regent's Park. Interestingly, the giraffes were shut in whilst the paddock is dug up and seemingly extended - getting rid of the moat and raised walkway and new fencing in the early stages of going up. The back paddock, where the anteater/gazelles etc were is being included into the main giraffe paddock. Has anyone found the plans?
 
oflory said:
Walked past the zoo today, through a very busy Regent's Park. Interestingly, the giraffes were shut in whilst the paddock is dug up and seemingly extended - getting rid of the moat and raised walkway and new fencing in the early stages of going up. The back paddock, where the anteater/gazelles etc were is being included into the main giraffe paddock. Has anyone found the plans?
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Sounds like a good move to make, extending the giraffe exhibit.
 
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