ZSL London Zoo giant pandas for London?
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
Probably the pandas could be temporary thing in 2012. One example is the LA zoo getting pandas in two different olympics for six months each time.
I do think you have some good points. I respect a lot of the "behind-the-scenes" work that ZSL do, but they are NOT the national zoo anymore by a long stretch. I would argue that Chester, Colchester and probably Edinburgh are all miles ahead in teams of the zoos themselves, off the top of my head.
The new exhibits at London, particularly Gorilla Kingdom, seem to have met with almost universal criticism from zoo enthusiasts, and the Mappins being used to house wallabies and emus is a joke! I have never seen a Giant Panda before but I'm not half as excited as I should be about this news... to be blunt, I don't think London has the facilities to house them well enough. I feel sorry for Edinburgh as well, this is really going to steal their thunder!!
MARK
Well-Known Member
So you are saying that the London zoo is not the National zoo in the UK?, the last pair of Giant Pandas which they had went to London because they are THE National zoo, even if their are zoos in the UK that are bigger or have more species it still would not make them the National collection 
So you are saying that the London zoo is not the National zoo in the UK?, the last pair of Giant Pandas which they had went to London because they are THE National zoo, even if their are zoos in the UK that are bigger or have more species it still would not make them the National collection
I don't know as there is a national zoo. If there is, I'd say there's a good case for Chester being it - they get more visitors than London, have far more land, better enclosures and it just generally fits in with the general perception of a good modern zoo. I'm not entirely convinced that London does. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good zoo but I think it's a trend-follower rather than a trend-setter these days. Personally I think that they're after pandas because they're scared of Edinburgh taking some of their glory!
Also don't forget that London used to keep pandas in what was basically a monkey cage, so I still think many other collections could keep them better. Just my opinion though!
MARK
Well-Known Member
I think you may of missed the point I was trying to make, the last pair of Giant Pandas given to the UK from China went to London zoo because it's the National collection, as I said other zoos maybe bigger, others may carry a bigger collection of animals, others zoos may have a larger attendance but that still does not make them a "National collection", As you can see with America the Washington zoo there is the National collection in the USA, in fact when China gave a pair of Pandas to Nixon way back in 1972 they were in fact shipped to the Washington zoo.
One of the problems with London zoo was they way it was managed in the "past" with not enough focus on the exhibits and it's animals by the management of the day, in fact "it was reported in the press" at the time when the British Goverment gave the zoo 10 million pounds to help the zoo lift it's self up most of the money was wasted on Management staff and flash cars, I guess those days are now long gone.
One of the problems with London zoo was they way it was managed in the "past" with not enough focus on the exhibits and it's animals by the management of the day, in fact "it was reported in the press" at the time when the British Goverment gave the zoo 10 million pounds to help the zoo lift it's self up most of the money was wasted on Management staff and flash cars, I guess those days are now long gone.
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I'm still sceptical.
I can believe that someone in the ZSL has wondered about pandas for 2012. I can make myself believe that someone else has costed it on the back of an envelope. I cannot believe that the sums add up, so unless there is a panda fairy godmother (or godfather) waiting in the wings with £5 million in her (or his) hot little hands, I don't think there is much justification for getting excited by a vague report from the Australian media (no insult to our members from Oz is intended - but I can't forget where Rupert Murdoch comes from).
On the other hand, I could be wrong . . . .
Alan
I can believe that someone in the ZSL has wondered about pandas for 2012. I can make myself believe that someone else has costed it on the back of an envelope. I cannot believe that the sums add up, so unless there is a panda fairy godmother (or godfather) waiting in the wings with £5 million in her (or his) hot little hands, I don't think there is much justification for getting excited by a vague report from the Australian media (no insult to our members from Oz is intended - but I can't forget where Rupert Murdoch comes from).
On the other hand, I could be wrong . . . .
Alan
Exactly. Washington is by no mean the largest or most modern American collection but its situated in the political capital so is the 'National' Zoo of America. Same applies at London/UK.
And it seems in Australia too- though I never knew Canberra had a zoo until I joined this Forum!!...
Zoos pay for golden monkeys as well???