ZSL London Zoo London Zoo News 2023

Kalaw

Kalaw

Well-Known Member
I thought that I would start a new thread, given that it is the 1st of January, for London Zoo-related news, after my visit today.

A few notes:

- The Pygmy Slow Loris now have complete access to another enclosure, that formerly housed slender loris. I saw one in each habitat, and am not quite sure if they are separated or not.
- Bird Safari and the Gorilla Walkthrough Aviary both remain closed, but their inhabitants are quite easily visible from outside. Thankfully, both Blackburn Pavilion walkthroughs are open.
- The pair of Sulawesi Hornbills at Blackburn Pavilion appear to have vanished, perhaps to join the larger group at Whipsnade.
- I am not sure if this is necessarily news, or if I simply hadn't noticed it, but there were squirrel monkeys visible in a decently sized netted habitat behind Rainforest Life from the spider monkey windows.
- A few more species appear to have moved out of the Reptile House, but around half of them were still present, including all of the amphibians.

And a few comments that are certainly not news, but I think are worth mentioning somewhere in the forums:

- I saw the Wreathed Hornbill (in Blackburn Pavilion) and the Congo Caecilian (in the breeding rooms beside the Aquarium) for the first time ever at the zoo.
- The adult tigers were very visible, although with little interaction between them; the cubs were nowhere to be found.
- Although I was critical at first, Monkey Valley is starting to grow on me; I did not enter, but watching from outside showed some wonderful colobus activity.
- Brilliant activity from the outdoor aviaries of Blackburn Pavilion, particularly among the Javan Green Magpies and Red-crested Turaco. The former in particular was wonderful.

Overall a brilliant visit and a great start to the year, that will hopefully be a good one for ZSL and London Zoo!
 
Kalaw said:
I thought that I would start a new thread, given that it is the 1st of January, for London Zoo-related news, after my visit today.

A few notes:

- The Pygmy Slow Loris now have complete access to another enclosure, that formerly housed slender loris. I saw one in each habitat, and am not quite sure if they are separated or not.
- Bird Safari and the Gorilla Walkthrough Aviary both remain closed, but their inhabitants are quite easily visible from outside. Thankfully, both Blackburn Pavilion walkthroughs are open.
- The pair of Sulawesi Hornbills at Blackburn Pavilion appear to have vanished, perhaps to join the larger group at Whipsnade.
- I am not sure if this is necessarily news, or if I simply hadn't noticed it, but there were squirrel monkeys visible in a decently sized netted habitat behind Rainforest Life from the spider monkey windows.
- A few more species appear to have moved out of the Reptile House, but around half of them were still present, including all of the amphibians.

And a few comments that are certainly not news, but I think are worth mentioning somewhere in the forums:

- I saw the Wreathed Hornbill (in Blackburn Pavilion) and the Congo Caecilian (in the breeding rooms beside the Aquarium) for the first time ever at the zoo.
- The adult tigers were very visible, although with little interaction between them; the cubs were nowhere to be found.
- Although I was critical at first, Monkey Valley is starting to grow on me; I did not enter, but watching from outside showed some wonderful colobus activity.
- Brilliant activity from the outdoor aviaries of Blackburn Pavilion, particularly among the Javan Green Magpies and Red-crested Turaco. The former in particular was wonderful.

Overall a brilliant visit and a great start to the year, that will hopefully be a good one for ZSL and London Zoo!
Click to expand...

Was about to do pretty much exactly the same but you beat me to it :D
Think the hornbill is Wrinkled, not Wreathed, but otherwise I can confirm everything you've said above.

The sulawesi hornbills have been gone a while now, though I'm not sure where - having said that a fair few of the species in the outer aviaries are unsigned. Turacos and magpies were also active for me - I wonder if we might have passed each other :P.
 
amur leopard said:
Was about to do pretty much exactly the same but you beat me to it :D
Think the hornbill is Wrinkled, not Wreathed, but otherwise I can confirm everything you've said above.

The sulawesi hornbills have been gone a while now, though I'm not sure where - having said that a fair few of the species in the outer aviaries are unsigned. Turacos and magpies were also active for me - I wonder if we might have passed each other :p.
Click to expand...

There are unsigned pink pigeons in the second to last aviary towards the lions, I think. What else have you noticed?

(Happy new year all!)
 
Kalaw said:
- I am not sure if this is necessarily news, or if I simply hadn't noticed it, but there were squirrel monkeys visible in a decently sized netted habitat behind Rainforest Life from the spider monkey windows.
Click to expand...

These are the males from Whipsnade and the adult males from the walk through, as the walk through is currently not a breeding group due to overall number of them in Zoos now. They have been there for about 9 months now or so.

I agree, Monkey Valley works just as good as a regular enclosure, the walk through seems unnecessary given the views from outside. And just imagine if you didn't have to factor in the walk through area could use the space for the animals with additional ropes and climbing areas. Given the cost to manage it due to the staffing needed, I see it operating for less and less hours as a walk through.
 
oflory said:
There are unsigned pink pigeons in the second to last aviary towards the lions, I think. What else have you noticed?

(Happy new year all!)
Click to expand...

I remember there being at least one or two more, but it’s changed a fair bit even over the last few months so I’ll have to have a look back over my notes in due course. I wonder what happened to the Violet turacos as a side note? I’m sure they were still in that aviary until about four months ago…
 
amur leopard said:
I remember there being at least one or two more, but it’s changed a fair bit even over the last few months so I’ll have to have a look back over my notes in due course. I wonder what happened to the Violet turacos as a side note? I’m sure they were still in that aviary until about four months ago…
Click to expand...

True, I haven't seen them for ages. Maybe they are in the Gorilla Kingdom aviary?
 
oflory said:
There are unsigned pink pigeons in the second to last aviary towards the lions, I think. What else have you noticed?

(Happy new year all!)
Click to expand...
In the third to last aviary (also featuring Pink Pigeon, Emei Shan Liocichla, Edward's Pheasant and White-crowned Robin-chat), I saw a Socorro Dove on my visit yesterday. But aside from that I haven't noticed anything else. :)
 
We went last Sunday (January 8th), and I just wasn't really impressed, to be honest.
We were in London for the weekend and on the 7th for a musical, and needed something to do for the Sunday. I suggested Battersea, but from where we were staying, it would have been too much of a hassle go get there, and needed to be somewhere else on time later afternoon, so boyfriend suggest London Zoo, as we were fairly close, and I saw a 25% discount on FB Saturday evening and, he really wanted to see the Tiger cubs.
The first time we went was back in 2010, so immediately saw that a lot had changed, and wasn't at all what we remembered.
A few animals I had never seen before (maybe they were there in 2010, but I clearly didn't remember that then), such as Babirusa, Bokiboky and Malagasey Giant Jumping Rat (looked more like a rabit to me, lol).
I hadn't seen an Okapi since I left Belgium in 2018, so that was actually nice, to see one again. I always liked Okapi's.

Tigers were all sleeping at the beginning of the day, inside on the rocks, and later in the afternoon, they were sleeping on the other side, where you go up the hill and they have a platform right at the glass, one cub was lying against the glass.

The Coati's were out and about, and the enclosure is nice for pictures.
Both Lions never seemed to have moved places all day, every time we walked past, they were lying against the glass/in the hammock.

And then for me, personally, that was kind of it.
I don't know, at the moment I have no intention of going back for another 10 years, kind of thing, where as with other zoo's I usually feel like "oh yeah, I'd come back here".
 
A two-toed sloth was born January 1:

Baby two-toed sloth born at London Zoo on New Year's Day nick-named Nova

Nick-named Nova - meaning new in Latin - they won't know the new arrival's sex until it is confirmed by vets with hair DNA.

Zookeepers kept a close eye on pregnant sloth Marilyn over Christmas, and were thrilled to finally spot two brown eyes peeping out through her fur.
 
Not really zoo news either, but kudos should go out to the new DG of ZSL. He appears to be very engaged with social media as well as building relationships within the wider zoological community. A recent meeting took place between himself and the boss of Kew Gardens for example.

Still, early days and actions speak louder than words. But an improvement on the previous few regimes.
 
Where's the more complete species list? Half a dozen bird species listed, looks like a Caribbean Flamingo and male Splendid Sunbird, do they have either at London?
Apparently Splendid Sunbirds can hoover like hummingbirds!!
Looks like they've also removed the inventory list, which is a shame!
 
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aquilla1 said:
Where's the more complete species list? Half a dozen bird species listed, looks like a Caribbean Flamingo and male Splendid Sunbird, do they have either at London?
Apparently Splendid Sunbirds can hoover like hummingbirds!!
Looks like they've also removed the inventory list, which is a shame!
Click to expand...
London does have a pair of Splendid Sunbirds, although they are both females, whereas the individual pictured is a male. London only displays Greater Flamingos.

The zoo's stocklist can still be accessed as a PDF: pdf, although you are right, it does appear that there is no way to access it on the website. Perhaps this is a good sign that the 2023 list will be released soon.

Overall, I do rather like the website's re-design. Very different to the previous one, but very nice!
 
A real improvement on what they had before. There are some spelling errors etc which I imagine will get tidied up before too long.
 
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