Still largely given over to events animals, in other words. I know people enjoy these demonstrations, but if London ever is going to significantly develop the main garden some hard choices will need to be made.
...and also the redevelopment of the Cotton Terraces and the Clore, and the Boring Animals Area near the Clore (meerkats, short-clawed otters). And extensive renovation and development of both the aquarium and the reptile house.
Not everything that has been done at London over the past ten years has been done as I would have chosen to do it, but a very large amount has been done - and the zoo is infinitely better now than it was at the the turn of the century.
Shirokuma's list covers the period from 2000. If one were to make a similar list for the previous 13 years, or the 13 years before that, they would be considerably shorter:
1987-2000: Macaw aviary; children's zoo; minor development of Clore; development of Eastern Aviary
1974-1987: Cat Terraces
What I meant to point out was that London doesn't currently keep a large spotted cat species, bears, deer or antelope (that elderly Lowland Anoa is actually the only wild bovid on site). I'm not even going to suggest rhinos. The arenas could make way for some of these animals.
And the dramatic loss of smaller mammals - tree shrews, squirrels, slow loris, for example - COULD be offset by using the dens for event animals.
I suppose it depends on how you think people are best "turned on" to conservation - lots of activity, or a display of diversity.
