ZSL London Zoo London Zoo News 2023

At London zoo today good visit but I think the zoo was very packed being the half term and £3 offer!
Saw tiger family.. mum and cubs were fine dad didn’t spend anytime with them he was asleep !
I have a feeling their maybe lion cubs due! Male was very vocal roaring constantly.. distracting you away from his female who was asleep on hidden platform not even on the floor looking larger but time will tell!
Met giraffe keeper who confirmed young giraffe (presume Nuru) arriving whipsnade to apparently stabilise the herd at whipsnade as she isn’t settled currently! And yes both Maggie and Molly are hybrid giraffe so won’t be breeding even age 12 and 15 currently! Their is plans to combine with Zebras in the summer but apparently Zebras caused the issue before being very stubborn running directly at the giraffe which startled them.. and they were scared someone would get hurt.
Gorilla all together in morning Male asleep females relaxing all around .. under watchful eye of keeper.. later just younger male visible couldn’t see anyone else! Baby sloth was adorable although again visitors trying to get too close which scared mum..
Wanted to see baby porcupine but hidden under mum!
 
equidae said:
Giraffe enclosure has been split ready for the new arrival.

One of the hunting dogs is lame so maybe some scuffles going on there. Was good to see them all out and about though.

There's a pop-up art gallery exhibition ("Refugia") going on at the Huxley building until the 19th. Mix of art and some ZSL collection pieces.
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we only saw one hunting dog and he stayed in the hut eating a bone for like 4hrs, could this be because was lame and so they kept the rest of the pack separate so he could rest/ recover?
Also saw the two Pygmy hippos swimming next to each other indoors so seem to be very happy of each other company,
 
LucasRyan said:
A female pygmy hippo is arriving from Edinburgh this week to join the male, after the female died a couple of months or so back
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New female Pygmy hippopotamus:

The new female is named Amara and is two years old. Keepers are hopeful they’ll breed once Amara has matured.

Pygmy hippo trots into London Zoo as part of conservation breeding programme

"Unsurprisingly, Thug - whose name is a purposefully ironic one as he is actually a gentle giant - was really excited about having a new lady in his hippo hot tub, while Amara was cool, calm and collected; she's definitely going to have the upper hoof in the relationship. All the signs we've seen so far have been really encouraging and in a few years' time, when Amara comes of age, we have our fingers crossed we'll hear the trot-trot of tiny pygmy hippos."
 
How old is Thug now? He’s been at London quite some time, so I’d assume there’s limited time left to breed from him? Thought there’d be a better chance with Tapon at Whipsnade.
 
Panthera1981 said:
How old is Thug now? He’s been at London quite some time, so I’d assume there’s limited time left to breed from him? Thought there’d be a better chance with Tapon at Whipsnade.
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Thug was born May 1996, so will be 27 years old this year. This species commonly lives into its mid 30’s and both males and females have bred in their 30’s.

Cows can give birth as young as three years of age (Amara is two), so London Zoo presumably have her on contraception since they state they hope for calves in a few years.
 
On the 21st of February, Ganas the Komodo Dragon was euthanised after he was discovered to have an untreatable form of degenerative arthritis. It is tragic news, as he was a stunning animal, one of the most active komodos which I have ever seen and not afraid to bask right in front of the glass, fascinating visitors of all ages. He was the last individual of his species housed at London Zoo, and the collection won't be the same without its Komodo Dragons...

Some more positive news, it has been confirmed that Nuru will arrive from Whipsnade early next week.

Source: Member's email
 
What sad news :( Must be awful for keepers when you have to make that decision. Thoughts with those at London Zoo.
 
Kalaw said:
On the 21st of February, Ganas the Komodo Dragon was euthanised after he was discovered to have an untreatable form of degenerative arthritis. It is tragic news, as he was a stunning animal, one of the most active komodos which I have ever seen and not afraid to bask right in front of the glass, fascinating visitors of all ages. He was the last individual of his species housed at London Zoo, and the collection won't be the same without its Komodo Dragons...

Some more positive news, it has been confirmed that Nuru will arrive from Whipsnade early next week.

Source: Member's email
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Very sad news, he was a very impressive specimen. The dragons are sort of a star species for the zoo, hopefully they will have a new pair soon.
 
It is sad news. Amazing looking animal. Haven’t been to London in a couple of years but the Komodo was a highlight.

It was good to see the zoo email being open about that as well as writing about all the good news. Hoping that this along with the new designs and updated site signals a new period of open and interesting correspondence.
 
Wonder why it’s Nuru leaving whipsnade and not her grandma Ijjma with two other non breeding females.. why when she is of breeding age and I don’t think her dad is bashu haven’t they used her for breeding the giraffe population?
 
I visited today, arriving just after lunchtime and immediately making my way to the Pygmy Hippos. I visited Amara and Thug several times across the day, with the latter not leaving the pool once, while the former did on the final visit, venturing outdoors, where she was rather inquisitive and appears to already be settling in rather well. There were occasional negotiations between them across the the metal fencing which runs through the centre of their enclosure, but that was all.

I then made my way towards the Reptile House, fearful that this may be my last time setting foot in that building while herptiles occupied it. It was rather bitter sweet, in that sense, and it was about aa good as I could ask for from a final visit, with every animal visible barring the caecilians, who I have seen plenty of times prior. I managed to locate six Titicaca Water Frogs in the breeding room with the salamanders and midwife toads, beside some Lake Oku Clawed Frogs. I have never noticed the species before, and wonder if the zoo aims to display them in the new House.

As usual, I spent a considerable portion of the day in Blackburn Pavilion admiring the birds. The thing that struck me the most were the Collared Trogons. One of the males from Chester was still in the second walkthrough with the Splendid Sunbirds, but the other had moved to one of the aviaries in the main hall (the one with the Silver-eared Mesia), where it shared with what appeared to be a female trogon! She is a new arrival if this is the case, and it would be wonderful if breeding was the ultimate goal, given how rare this species is in European collections.

Then passed by the lions, who were roaring very loudly, and the Reeve's Muntjac, which I got my first good view of in several visits. A major highlight were the tigers; I have only seen the cubs from quite a distance via the boardwalk, but today, two of them were indoors, being extremely playful while their father slept, occasionally chasing each other outdoors, much to the frustration of their mother who was nearby.

The next thing of note came in Rainforest Life. All five Bokyboky dens are currently under construction and were devoid of inhabitants. The wording of the sign seems to imply that the euplerids are still at the zoo behind-the-scenes, and that the enclosure is planned to return to them once construction is finished. Got great views of most of the animals, including a very inquisitive Coppery Titi climbing above visitors. Missed the slender lorises in Night Life for the first time in several visits.

A particular highlight came from In With The Lemurs, where I saw the Lac Aloatra Gentle Lemur for the first time since it moved from the Roundhouse. The Aye-Aye was visible, although it was only a fleeting glimpse. Something interesting to note is that the light has been turned on, and construction tools were present, in the empty enclosure within the Aye-Aye room, so it will be interesting to see what they plan on doing with that.

Overall, a very enjoyable visit to London Zoo!

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There were cracks in the windows of the bokyboky displays so believe it is simply essential maintenance .. I suspect that the glass windows will be replaced with an alternative maybe similar to the middle section mesh arrangement.
 
tennisfan said:
There were cracks in the windows of the bokyboky displays so believe it is simply essential maintenance .. I suspect that the glass windows will be replaced with an alternative maybe similar to the middle section mesh arrangement.
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That seems very plausible, given that the middle segment was the only den not being renovated, with the vegetation and substrate still intact!
 
Interesting article in the Guardian this morning, more engagement from Matthew Gould, who may be shaping up to be a very good thing indeed for ZSL.

I have my doubts about the sustainability of the £3 scheme and it has meant I have stopped visiting for a bit, to let the crowds ebb away. But good to have a positive article about zoos in the press, especially without the cute new baby animal angle.

Letting thousands of poorer families into London Zoo for £3 has changed us for ever | Matthew Gould
 
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