ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2022

Oh damn what a terrible thing to happen. Such powerful animals, even a light tap (for them) would kill a person.

Probably rough-housing that went too far. Nobody's fault. Thoughts go out to the keepers.
 
Sadly, the female tiger cub has died.

"Inca, one of three cubs born in June to parents Asim and Gaysha, was discovered dead in the Tiger Territory enclosure on Wednesday morning.

She had been seen playing happily with the rest of her family earlier that morning with no evidence of illness or injury.

Shortly after the tigers went into the outdoor paddock after breakfast as usual, keepers doing their standard checks saw Inca lying unmoving behind a log. They immediately called the tigers inside and made their way into the enclosure, but she had already died.

Nobody saw what happened, but the physical evidence suggests Inca was likely injured by a single swipe from another tiger. It’s not uncommon for tiger parents to give cubs a warning swipe in the course of normal parenting, but sadly this caught Inca in a delicate area of the skull, and she is thought to have died instantly."


Oh wow. Visited today and could only see two. Mother was howling a lot too. Overhead keepers talking about Loki so assumed it was something she was still doing infrequently since he passed :(

Horrid accident. I feel like a bit of a grim reaper when it comes to these tigers. I’ve only visited twice, Loki died a few days after I went last time and now Inca…

Other two seemed okay though, were quite happily playing while mum was pacing and howling.
 
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I saw that email as well. Such sad news.

I plan on visiting tomorrow, and was just wondering what areas are affected by the avian flu restrictions. If I remember correctly from last year, the bird safari and Gorilla Kingdom aviary were closed, but the Blackburn Pavilion remained open. Is this the same for this year?
 
I saw that email as well. Such sad news.

I plan on visiting tomorrow, and was just wondering what areas are affected by the avian flu restrictions. If I remember correctly from last year, the bird safari and Gorilla Kingdom aviary were closed, but the Blackburn Pavilion remained open. Is this the same for this year?
Blackburn is open. The ibis/Abdim’s stork aviary is closed.
 
Had another quick look over the reptile house design and plans - I have to say I'm cautiously optimistic about where the zoo is going with this. In terms of collection, the zoo appears to be conserving a decent percentage of what they already have, and the new house has a pretty comparable species count to what the old reptile house displayed over the past few years. Species which will now be fully on show include - if I am looking at the right plans - Mallorcan midwife toads, Chapa bug-eyed frogs, Ethiopian mountain adders, as well as Mountain chickens apparently visible but in an off-show area. The new exhibits seem more spacious, particularly for King cobras (around 7.5 sqm) and the giant salamanders (18 sqm in total), both sizeable improvements to previously. While I will miss a few species, particularly the water monitors and spotted pond turtles, the adders and mountain chickens in particular are lovely species and the retention of some of the rarest species (RI skinks etc.) is nice to see.
 
I agree. I too am cautiously optimistic. I know we will be losing such an iconic part of the zoo and one of the world's best reptile houses in its prime, but with the plans for a new reptile/amphibian house at Whipsnade planned for the near future, I am hoping some of what isn't included at London's new house will be kept for Whipsnade.
 
For those that missed it, “London Zoo at Christmas” is repeated on C4 on New Years Eve.

It’s not a bad programme, easy viewing without being too sappy and quite gorilla-centric! The one point that stuck with me however was the astronomical rise in energy costs the zoo now faces.
 
For those that missed it, “London Zoo at Christmas” is repeated on C4 on New Years Eve.

It’s not a bad programme, easy viewing without being too sappy and quite gorilla-centric! The one point that stuck with me however was the astronomical rise in energy costs the zoo now faces.

Did it feature the new male Gorilla and if so, is he with all four of the others now?
 
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Oh wow. Visited today and could only see two. Mother was howling a lot too. Overhead keepers talking about Loki so assumed it was something she was still doing infrequently since he passed :(

Horrid accident. I feel like a bit of a grim reaper when it comes to these tigers. I’ve only visited twice, Loki died a few days after I went last time and now Inca…

Other two seemed okay though, were quite happily playing while mum was pacing and howling.


Terrible news; she was smaller and a bit wobblier than the other two when I saw them.
 
Had another quick look over the reptile house design and plans - I have to say I'm cautiously optimistic about where the zoo is going with this. In terms of collection, the zoo appears to be conserving a decent percentage of what they already have, and the new house has a pretty comparable species count to what the old reptile house displayed over the past few years. Species which will now be fully on show include - if I am looking at the right plans - Mallorcan midwife toads, Chapa bug-eyed frogs, Ethiopian mountain adders, as well as Mountain chickens apparently visible but in an off-show area. The new exhibits seem more spacious, particularly for King cobras (around 7.5 sqm) and the giant salamanders (18 sqm in total), both sizeable improvements to previously. While I will miss a few species, particularly the water monitors and spotted pond turtles, the adders and mountain chickens in particular are lovely species and the retention of some of the rarest species (RI skinks etc.) is nice to see.
Have you seen a proposed species list? The plans I have seen have far fewer display enclosures.
 
Have you seen a proposed species list? The plans I have seen have far fewer display enclosures.

The species list was on the drawings - I’m sure you can find them in one of the earlier threads but if not they’re on Westminster Council Planning applications website. It’s a slightly reduced species list but the species that have left are fairly common and I think the terraria will be more spacious and better suited to the inhabitants in the new house. This being said, I will miss the old reptile house.
 
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