Back when the Mappins were worthwhile..... granted I never saw them in the days when they were used to house caprine taxa, but having seen very similar exhibits at Tierpark Berlin and Zoo Berlin the fact they are being left to rot, more or less, feels like a sin.
I dont know what makes more angry looking at this picture-a well used/stocked Mappins or that that wonderful looking aviary in the background is no longer around!
The Southern Aviary was still there not that long ago wasn't it? I remember trying to photograph some ibises in there - I thought that was in the 1990s (I have not been to Regent's Park since 1999).
they appear to be Humboldt's penguins on the right of the photo, but there are also a couple of king penguins at the left end where the pool curves round.
In the early days of the Mappin Terraces the pool was used for flamingoes; as I remember it as a young child it housed king penguins; in later years it was used for pelicans.
From memory that Aviary held species such as Ibis, Egrets, Cormorants, maybe some Eider or similar sea-type ducks as there was a very shallow 'pond' with running water. Pelicans may have been in there too. Possibly seagulls also although they may just have all been on the outside as the rocky edifice of the Sealion Pool abutted the far end of the Aviary! The big Willow trees dominated this aviary, as can be seen in this photo.
I dont know what makes more angry looking at this picture-a well used/stocked Mappins or that that wonderful looking aviary in the background is no longer around!
The Southern Aviary suffered from the same defect as the Snowdon: no lock-up. Consequently, any delicate birds could not be kept there, nor could birds be trapped easily for veterinary purposes or for moves to another zoo or elsewhere.
I think that the Wild Boar in the photo would have used the den that was subsequently used by "Ceylon" and "Lanka", the pair of Sloth Bears kept on the Mappins when they were, all too briefly, returned to serious usage.
