ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2010

I'd heard a new entrance complex was planned on the East side behind the shop, it looks like these are now very much scaled down plans to divert the exit route out of the zoo.

Very good news about the penguins, the enclosure is attractive but really the pool is lacking for a zoo the standard of London. I am very interested to see what they do with the Whipsnade rockhopper chick, I am convinced all previous chicks have gone to London but been lost, possibly to foxes, before the Whipsnade numbers also reduced down to the last pair, which this year produced a chick.
 
From the 2005 book The Zoo - The Story of London Zoo:-

Appendix C

Listed Buildings in London Zoo - 1999

Casson Bridge
Clock Tower
East Tunnel
Elephant & Rhino Pavilion (now Casson Pavilion)
Giraffe House
Mappin Terraces (now Bear Mountain), including the Aquarium, Goat Hills and Mappin Cafe
North Gate Kiosk
Penguin Pool
Primrose Hill Footbridge
Raven's Cage
Round House (Gorilla House)
Snowdon Aviary
'K3' Telephone Box

Isn't the telephone box in front of the schools lunchroom? - so will probably wil need to be worked into design / moved?

Shame about the Tigers delay as i'm really looking forward to it (but they always said that it was more likely to me done then) but really great they are doing something in the meantime, sounds really good.

Is it planned to open (the penguins) Easter 2011? Are their any plans anywhere you can view?
 
Thanks for that "listed" list – just what I needed! We're always told there are 13 listed structures in the zoo so that adds up right, I was never sure what they were... though I'm sure I have that book somewhere. Yes, the telephone box is in front of the schools' lunchroom, we'll have to see what they do with it. This was just word-of-mouth news, so I have no official dates, but Easter 2011 sounds likely (new openings usually aim for Easter)... I'll keep you posted.
 
Interesting article, looks like the fallout from another inspection:

Warring tigers, escaping birds, marauding snakes: it's chaos at London Zoo - Home News, UK - The Independent

Its interesting that most of the points have been discussed on here. I had long suspected a fox attack to explain the sudden disappearance of the rockhopper penguins. However, I was surprised to find out how things ended for the Arabian gazelle.

There is no reason why ZSL couldn't keep a single tiger in retirement in the current enclosure, empty the North Bank aviaries and plant them out, net over the flamingo and penguin exhibits for relatively minimal cost while they fundraise for future developments.
 
The Independent's article does seem a bit over-excited. Obviously all zoos need to be inspected and comply with recommendations, but "chaos at London Zoo"! I don't think so. We know about the tiger enclosure, and foxes and the odd escaping bird; but "marauding snakes"!!! The population of Aesculapian snakes has been living peacefully and harmlessly on the canal banks for at least 20 years and there's no indication that they escaped from the zoo in the first place. I'm not sure what they mean about the squirrel monkeys staying away from the public... in my experience it's quite the reverse, the monkeys are all too keen to approach baby buggies and inspect them for biscuits and other hidden goodies!

Perhaps the clue is in the editorial which uses the "shocking" report to wonder whether zoos themselves are any longer appropriate, which is obviously a valid point of view but quite a different agenda from keeping the existing ones up to standard.
 
volvox said:
The population of Aesculapian snakes has been living peacefully and harmlessly on the canal banks for at least 20 years and there's no indication that they escaped from the zoo in the first place.
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Are there really Aesculapian snakes living on the canal banks? It is fascinating for me. Could you please write me more information about it? How long are living there? How many individuals? Do they reproduce?
 
volvox said:
The population of Aesculapian snakes has been living peacefully and harmlessly on the canal banks for at least 20 years and there's no indication that they escaped from the zoo in the first place.
Click to expand...

Poor old ZSL, gets the blame for everything! I think the original snake(s) are far more likely to have been released by someone who didn't want them/know what to do with them anymore.

Are they on both sides?
 
Yes, I think the general consensus is that an individual released them, ages ago. I don't know whether they're on both sides of the canal – good question. I've only had reports of them being seen on the southern side – mostly basking in the sun on the edges of the path that runs past the Rainforest etc, or popping out from the drain that runs through the western tunnel. A visitor told me about an 18" long one sliding across his path a few weeks ago (when the weather was still warm). Considering he assumed it was a zoo escapee, he was wonderfully calm! I've never spotted one, though I'm always looking!

To answer Cockroach's questions: I don't know how many there are, but they must reproduce successfully or they would have died out by now. There is one other colony in the UK and that's (coincidentally) near another zoo, this one in North Wales. You can google aesculapian snakes and Wales and find out all about them!
 
Interestingly it's not another inspection, it's the last one and therefore not really 'news', my understanding is that Aesculapian snakes have nothing to do with the zoo and once again the Independent seems to be anything but. I think I have read all of this in the Independent before, although I missed the comments about the Arabian Gazelle.
 
Having read the 'related articles', all written by the same person, I note the dangerous fox waited eleven months before it attacked again! Sounds about like someone clutching at straws to me...
 
Blinkered reporting by a journalist with a PETA agenda. How sad and pretty old hat! ;)

If he/she had been serious, the individual would have reported on the plans for the new tiger exhibit and that whole area instead.
 
johnstoni said:
Interesting article, looks like the fallout from another inspection:

Warring tigers, escaping birds, marauding snakes: it's chaos at London Zoo - Home News, UK - The Independent

Its interesting that most of the points have been discussed on here. I had long suspected a fox attack to explain the sudden disappearance of the rockhopper penguins. However, I was surprised to find out how things ended for the Arabian gazelle.

There is no reason why ZSL couldn't keep a single tiger in retirement in the current enclosure, empty the North Bank aviaries and plant them out, net over the flamingo and penguin exhibits for relatively minimal cost while they fundraise for future developments.
Click to expand...

Another article

Bloodbath at London Zoo caused by urban foxes report reveals | Mail Online
 
Food & Souvenirs Together

During this year Christmas Holiday, the Main Zoo Shop on Barclay Court will be having a little refurbishment. Therefore a temporary Gift/Souvenir Shop will be placed inside the Oasis Cafe in Barclay Court.

I don't know for how long the expected refurbishment will take.
 
Del250 said:
I have noticed that the Independent has now published a brief 'correction' to their article from last week

Please see the link here.

Derry
Click to expand...

That is all well and good ... on Page 18 or so. Newspaper corrections on inaccurate reporting should be blasted on Page 1 instead. Now, the damage done, the PETA;s partying in the Blackadder WWI trenches eating a plump pigeon :D and the zoo left blemished beyond repair :(. That is what sets itself in the minds of people that read (as sadly most read and think the printed version to be correct and think no further).
 
volvox said:
In the meantime they are going to redevelop and enlarge the current penguin pool, not the Lubetkin one obviously, but the Barclay Court one; it will be much bigger with better viewing facilities and there will be a glass wall to the pool so you can see the penguins swimming about underwater. I gather they will be demolishing the old 1869 "parrot house" to the side of it, which has the schools' lunchroom at one end and the ground hornbills in front. I'm quite surprised because I thought it was listed, but obviously not, it's just old! That's all I know for now, but will post any news I hear.
Click to expand...

Went Saturday, I don't know if this is elsewhere but there is a notice in front of the Bird Safari:-

VISITOR
INFORMATION

Penguins on the move

In advance of our new development,
Penguin Beach (opening in April
2011) many of our penguins will be
going to Whipsnade Zoo. A small
group of penguins are being
introduced to this aviary.
 
That's interesting to know. I saw they were working on the aviary a week or so ago, did you notice if any significant changes had been made in there?
 
They have already put a couple of young penguins in there (probably ones that have never been in the Barclay Court pond) and will be adding more when they start work on the new penguin enclosure. What they are doing in Bird Safari is making more of a gentle slope to the existing pond so that penguins can get in and out easily. However, while the penguins are in there, the aviary will not be a walkthrough because of the p-p-p-pick-up-a-penguin temptation! You can't really mix unsupervised humans and penguins, it's asking for trouble. Once the new enclosure is finished all the penguins (and possibly an extra species too) will be returned to it and the bird safari reopened as a walkthrough.

By the way, one of the female hunting dogs was heavily pregnant last week, ready to give birth any day!
 
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