ZSL London Zoo Aye Ayes
- Thread starter JamesB
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zoospud
Well-Known Member
Personally, I do not remember seeing them in any other building.
By the way the Aye Aye at West Midlands Safari Park was looking in good condition when last I visited (last month). I was surprised when he was placed with them, however, fully credit to them for good care and an enclosure with easy viewing (I find London's a little too dark).
By the way the Aye Aye at West Midlands Safari Park was looking in good condition when last I visited (last month). I was surprised when he was placed with them, however, fully credit to them for good care and an enclosure with easy viewing (I find London's a little too dark).
as far as I know the answer is yes- the enclosure would have been specially prepared for them.
'He' means the Aye Aye, its only a single animal......
I didn't see any mention of it when I visited recently- where's he kept?
'He' is the male Aye-Aye which is at WMSP.
the aye-aye at WMSP is in the complex which has the insect house, nocturnal house and aquarium. He shares an enclosure with Madagascan Jumping Rats and their enclosure is surrounded by a walk-through bat cave.
Oh, right, I missed all that but I really went to see the Hippos(what a filthy lake- the water is black!) and I didn't have a lot of time...
I thought it was rather a 'tacky' place but accept it for what it is...
The gorillas have not lived in the Roundhouse (although originally built for them) since the sixties when Guy was still alive. They (he) was moved to the gorilla enclosure in the Sobell pavillions which was on the site now occupied by Gorilla Kingdom (small bits and pieces of the Sobells still exist around the edges of Gorilla Kingdom inc. colobus).
The Roundhouse has also, in the more distant past, been used for Kodiak bears, Chimps, Sulawesi Macaques, and even an elephant. It It was then shut for a time before housing Koalas then Sand Cats then the Aye-Ayes (I think).
The Roundhouse was originally built for Gorillas but only one pair (Mok & Moina) were ever kept in it, during the 1930/40's.
'Guy' never lived in the Roundhouse. From the time of his arrival he lived in the old Monkey House- on the same site as both the Sobell Pavilions & now Gorilla Kingdom- until he was moved into the Sobell Pavilions when they were built.
During the 1960's the Roundhouse held a breeding chimpanzee colony for some years, later it was used as extra housing for Orangutans too.
johnstoni
Well-Known Member
The aye-ayes arrived after the Roundhouse held binturong for a time. Before this it was the Koala exhibit until one of them died of cancer and they sent the other away. As late as the mid 80's it was still holding surplus orang-utans.
Is it true there was some kind of mechanical rotating wall that opened up in good weather?
Is it true there was some kind of mechanical rotating wall that opened up in good weather?
I have posted this youtube video before it shows the Gorilla house mechanism in action.
YouTube - Film Preview: The New Architecture & the London Zoo, 1936
Yes, it was built so that the gorillas could have a larger winter enclosure, but still have a summer enclosure.
Basically, in summer half the house was covered for the public and the other half was open to the elements (much like it is now, with half for aye-aye and the other half for ring-tail lemurs). In winter, the wall would rotate so that the gorillas had the whole exhibit area covered.
Deja vu! I'm sure we've talked about the round house before, but yes, that video is good. I think this is the first time sand cats in the Roundhouse has been mentioned. I imagine that probably worked pretty well when dimly lit. I think sand cats certainly work best in nocturnal exhibits- the only time i've seen them active is at Bristol in their night house.
Semi-roundhouse related, but nothing to do with aye-ayes, is it true that the koalas at london lived on a diet of Eucalyptus cough-sweets? That's got to be a myth?!
Yes, it was built so that the gorillas could have a larger winter enclosure, but still have a summer enclosure.
Thats not quite true, if you watch the video Kiang has posted, you'll see. In winter the gorillas will have just the indoor half, and the visitors will view from the other half which is now covered. When the summer comes the wall over the visitors area will fold away to give the gorillas an outdoor cage. The wall seperating the indoor/outdoor area was the viewing window during winter, so the public can see right through from the outside during summer.
It is certainly a very innovative, design, I so wish it still worked. It could be suited to housing a very big reptile, that would be okay outside in the sun, but would need to be shut inside during winter.
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johnstoni
Well-Known Member
It really should be restored as an architectuaral piece in its own right. What an incredible function for a building of that kind. There should be funding available to places like london and dudley to maintain buildings as architectural pieces without the pressure to need to use them as exhibit space for animals. While I'm sure the current occupants do okay, I'm sure they'd flourish with access to fresh air, live plants and moonlight elsewhere in the zoo.
thanks for the info...
a few questions
1. are the ringtailed lemurs stil housed in the outdoor section of the roundhouse?
2. is the westmidlands aye aye on breeding loan from jersey same as the london ones?
3. does the moving door in the roundhouse still work?
a few questions
1. are the ringtailed lemurs stil housed in the outdoor section of the roundhouse?
2. is the westmidlands aye aye on breeding loan from jersey same as the london ones?
3. does the moving door in the roundhouse still work?