ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2025

I visited in November and there was a sign that the hunting dogs were off display. Where have they gone to?
 
- Red-cowled cardinal bird seen in the Rainforest Kingdom
The cardinal, the last remaining female from when they were kept in Blackburn, has been there for probably just under a couple years now, unsigned. Has never made sense to me why it is the only bird in there - I had always assumed it was due to fears that the titis or sakis would eat them, but the cardinal seems to be doing fine.
- Amara the pygmy hippo was out and active. The keepers said she has a potential mate lined up to arrive in the future but he's currently very young (like a medieval betrothal!)
That's brilliant news. Was worried that ZSL would decide to pair Amara with Tapon at Whipsnade and London would go out of the species as a result. Interestingly, this 'betrothal' you describe of deciding the future partner before the individual in question is of breeding age is the same thing that occurred with Amara herself; when she came from Edinburgh, she was too young to breed and yet they intended for her to do so with Thug down the line. Hopefully, this means that, as was the case with her, we won't have to wait long before this new male arrives at the zoo, especially with the recent improvements made to the separation options, even if the pair won't be introduced for some time.
 
The cardinal, the last remaining female from when they were kept in Blackburn, has been there for probably just under a couple years now, unsigned. Has never made sense to me why it is the only bird in there - I had always assumed it was due to fears that the titis or sakis would eat them, but the cardinal seems to be doing fine.
That's brilliant news. Was worried that ZSL would decide to pair Amara with Tapon at Whipsnade and London would go out of the species as a result. Interestingly, this 'betrothal' you describe of deciding the future partner before the individual in question is of breeding age is the same thing that occurred with Amara herself; when she came from Edinburgh, she was too young to breed and yet they intended for her to do so with Thug down the line. Hopefully, this means that, as was the case with her, we won't have to wait long before this new male arrives at the zoo, especially with the recent improvements made to the separation options, even if the pair won't be introduced for some time.
let's hope! it would be great to see a new pygmy hippo arrive
 
The cardinal, the last remaining female from when they were kept in Blackburn, has been there for probably just under a couple years now, unsigned. Has never made sense to me why it is the only bird in there - I had always assumed it was due to fears that the titis or sakis would eat them, but the cardinal seems to be doing fine.

I can answer this one, purely as someone happened to ask a volunteer whilst I was stood there back in February. She bullied other birds in the Blackburn so they moved her to stop her doing it.
 
I went to the London zoo today and I only saw one of the tiger either Zac or Crispin wasn’t sure if one of them have left the zoo already and half of the Pygmy hippo was closed off and that includes the off show area so could London zoo have a new Pygmy hippo that would be great
 
I went to the London zoo today and I only saw one of the tiger either Zac or Crispin wasn’t sure if one of them have left the zoo already and half of the Pygmy hippo was closed off and that includes the off show area so could London zoo have a new Pygmy hippo that would be great

Both Zac & Crispin were visible today as were their parents in the other enclosure. Whilst Amara (Pygmy hippo) appears to have access only to one of the two enclosures currently this seems only to be due to what seems some maintenance . Wouldn't be surprised if she swapped over for similar work to the second enclosure later.
 
Both Zac & Crispin were visible today as were their parents in the other enclosure. Whilst Amara (Pygmy hippo) appears to have access only to one of the two enclosures currently this seems only to be due to what seems some maintenance . Wouldn't be surprised if she swapped over for similar work to the second enclosure later.
Thank you I didn’t know if anything happened with the tigers as one was meant to move to a different zoo in the spring and I didn’t know if anything will happens with the Pygmy hippos if they want to get breeding pair
 
Just got back from a visit to ZSL London today. These are the things I noticed:
  • Got my first-ever view of the baby gorillas outside, one of which was jumping off its mother's back to explore for a while.
  • The hooded merganser is no longer signed in Bird Safari, and I did not see any.
  • A curtain was drawn down over the Darwin's frog breeding room window when I visited in the morning.
  • Managed to see every single on-show species in the reptile and amphibian house today, including two mossy frogs.
  • In Tiny Giants, the jewel wasp tank is currently empty. The golden weaver ant tank also remains empty.
  • Quite a few birds from the larger Blackburn Pavilion indoor walkthrough - the blue-crowned laughingthrushes and silver-eared mesia spring to mind - have been moved into some of the outdoor aviaries.
  • The path up behind the otters was open again, although I did not manage to see the dik-diks. Going up there did give a good view of the otter pups though.
  • For whatever reason, there are no slender lorises on-show in Night Life - the single enclosure near the entrance is just home to Malagasy giant rat, while the row of three enclosures in the 'loris room' is now home to more Senegal bushbabies. I did manage to see every species in Night Life apart from the tree shrew.
  • Finally, managed to see one of the small Indian mongooses for a second time - like my last sighting, it was sunning itself in the separate outdoor cage. There is now a hutch-like shelter in their main outdoor enclosure as well, presumably to tempt them out further.
 
Are there any updates on the gorilla kingdom construction and whether or not they are having black mangabey or not?

Construction is still continuing at the moment - it is pretty well boarded off, so I could not see anything. The hoarding covering the normal entrance pathway to Gorilla Kingdom mentions the black crested mangabeys, and has two big cartoon drawings of them alongside the gorillas, so I think they are still very much in the plans.
 
There is construction ongoing for the ZooTown in the old reptile house. Believe the Gorilla redevelopment is in the planning process although the site is secureed.
 
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