When I last visited the London Zoo in 2001 there were still Asian elephants at the zoo. Was there any outcry when they closed down the elephant program at the zoo, or was it universally recognized that there was not enough room for them?
Has there ever been talk of building a modern elephant complex at the zoo, or is there not enough room for that to ever happen? I'm guessing the latter, but am not familiar with master plan for this zoo.
I don't remember any objectors, but as in all things I expect there were some(what is the Zoo without its Elephants? etc). As they were going to ZSL's country estate at Whipsnade there was also some mitigation in so much as the Zoo still owned them, even if not in London. It was also realised they couldn't keep a Bull in London and so were unable to breed them- the move would allow that to happen so most people saw it as beneficial on two major counts- lots more space and the chance for a breeding group too.
I don't think Elephants will ever return to London- space in the Zoo being the over-riding issue- the site isn't huge so insufficient to give a suitably large area for Elephants.
