Mappin Terraces= Hagenbeck style concrete terraces complex built over aquarium at London Zoo. Lowest terrace- pigs/wild boar. Middle terrace. Range of Bears. Upper terrace- sheep and goat mountains. Now closed and in semi-derelict state. Lower areas now turned into an Australian bush exhibit.
Mappin Terraces= Hagenbeck style concrete terraces complex built over aquarium at London Zoo. Lowest terrace- pigs/wild boar. Middle terrace. Range of Bears. Upper terrace- sheep and goat mountains. Now closed and in semi-derelict state. Lower areas now turned into an Australian bush exhibit.
I first saw the Mappins in 1997 when it had been refurbished as an Asian forest exhibit with sloth bears, langurs (species?), and some bird species(?).
What was this exhibit like in the 1980s-1990s prior to that? Were there still several bear species and boars?
Semi-derelict is putting it mildly! Considering it's central locality at the zoo, I'd like to think ZSL would have some form of long term plan for the ENTIRE terrace rather than let it collapse (or maybe that IS the plan!). In this day and age, and with the amount of corporate money floating around, it surely wouldn't take long for funds to be raised for a renovation if credible ideas/plans are put forward?
I too would like to know the species history of the Mappins, particularly the goat hills. Im aware that the terraces were closed from the late 80s to early 90s (cost-cutting?) and that ideas for polar bear, panda and gorilla were mooted that ultimately came to nothing. How far did these plans get?
Semi-derelict is putting it mildly! Considering it's central locality at the zoo, I'd like to think ZSL would have some form of long term plan for the ENTIRE terrace rather than let it collapse (or maybe that IS the plan!). In this day and age, and with the amount of corporate money floating around, it surely wouldn't take long for funds to be raised for a renovation if credible ideas/plans are put forward?
I too would like to know the species history of the Mappins, particularly the goat hills. Im aware that the terraces were closed from the late 80s to early 90s (cost-cutting?) and that ideas for polar bear, panda and gorilla were mooted that ultimately came to nothing. How far did these plans get?
When the Mappin Terraces were closed in 1985, it was with the intention of refurbishing the whole area, more or less, for Polar Bears. The Goat Hills would have kept their flock of Bighorn Sheep (they only left London two or three years later, en route to Bison Hill at Whipsnade where they rapidly died out), and there would have been supporting exhibits (Snowy Owl? Arctic Fox?) nearby. This plan also encompassed the Aquarium, source of so many of the Mappins' problems, being relocated on the site of the Parrot House. Westminster wouldn't countenance the demolition of the latter, and the money wasn't there, so the whole scheme died.
Some time after this, there was also a plan to mesh over the Terraces and use them for birds of prey, their aviaries having been flattened as part of the abortive Aquarium plan. But the money wasn't there really, and this was now the era of Andy Grant, an American theme park devotee who lived for expensive masterplans and employing men in suits with two way radio sets.
Step forward the Sichuan Experience. Chia Chia, to ZSL's everlasting credit, had been sent to Mexico via Cincinnati, so the Zoo no longer had Giant Pandas. The Sichuan Experience would have seen their return, housed near to Asiatic Black Bear, Red Panda, Bharal and Takin, together with a range of pheasants. But the money wasn't there for this at all, nor indeed for the Zoo itself; as the recession of 1990 bit, paying for expensive masterplans and men in suits with two way radio sets nearly caused the Zoo's closure.
When the dust settled and a much leaner London Zoo re-emerged in 1993, the thought was something had to be done for the Zoo's Western Gorillas. So the Mappins would have been used for a big enclosure for this species. But the money wasn't there, and the then Curator of Mammals felt that for the home of Winnie, the animal to have so captivated Christopher Robin, to be without bears, was an outrage. So he came up with a quick, cheap plan that saw the Mappins become home to a pair of Sri Lankan Sloth Bears, who lived alongside a group of Sri Lankan Entellus Langur.
The bears bred, but the adult male died, and the female had not shaken off the stereotypical behaviour that she'd acquired in her previous, grim accommodation. Moreover, there had been a change of management at ZSL, and EAZA had decided that Sloth Bears weren't to be bred for the foreseeable future. Off went the bears to Whipsnade, and the lower Terraces were levelled to provide the exhibit that we see today.
Maybe something more spectacular will take its place, although with £5 million allocated for a new Lion exhibit, it will be some time before the money will be there....
What was this exhibit like in the 1980s-1990s prior to that? Were there still several bear species and boars?
From memory, the species held on the Terraces in 1984/5 were as follows. Goat Hills: Chamois, Aoudad, Bighorn Sheep and Markhor. Middle Terrace: American Black Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear and Sloth Bear. Lower Terrace: Wild Boar, Warthog and Collared Peccary. Occasionally overspill stock from the Cotton Terraces were held here too - I can remember seeing Vicuna. Pond: Great Cormorant and Eastern White, Dalmatian and Brown Pelicans.
Ian- a very good potted recent history of the Mappins, it contains a lot of information I didn't know, and some that I did. I remember the mooted 'Sichuan Experience' and also the 'Europe's Main Centre for Gorilla breeding' plan (pull the other one...... )
Your lucidly written item also demonstrates very clearly just how the fortunes of the Zoo (any zoo) are dictated by those in charge and in this case, how the plans repeatedly changed as the personell did too. Where are all those men-in-suits with two-way radios now?
The 'Bears are Back' which actually came to fruition wasn't a bad idea, but the reality was a pretty messy exhibit. I always thought a different choice of species might have helped there.
From memory, the species held on the Terraces in 1984/5 were as follows. Goat Hills: Chamois, Aoudad, Bighorn Sheep and Markhor. Middle Terrace: American Black Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear and Sloth Bear. Lower Terrace: Wild Boar, Warthog and Collared Peccary. Occasionally overspill stock from the Cotton Terraces were held here too - I can remember seeing Vicuna. Pond: Great Cormorant and Eastern White, Dalmatian and Brown Pelicans.
