ZSL London Zoo A review of London zoo

F

foz

Well-Known Member
I've only been away 3 days and there is so much to catch up on! Visited london zoo yesterday as it was a birthday treat (its my birthday today! :D )

Anyway, here is what i hope an honest and fair review of the oldest scientific zoo, london zoo. This was the first time i've been and i couldn't find everything (the round house for example) or get round to doing the area around the snowdon aviary.

Arrived at the zoo (after being on a combination of megabus and tube for 3 hours) around 11 and found the the line well organised and fast moving. After the basic wooden stalls we came to the first enclosure a netted cage for the very pretty red bishops. I found the map of the zoo was rather too simple and this was the source of alot of unnecessary walking. i went around to the large bird of prey cages thinking I could get to gorilla kingdom that way. The bird of prey cages housed four species in one long large cage that was seperatted into four parts for the different species. in the first cage (nearest the toilet block) was striated cara-cara which as a large group, made an interesting and complimentary exhibit for the large and spectacular white-backed vultures in the next cage. Next to them was an overgrown and undisturbed enclosure for nesting african harriers (which I didn't see) and then finally on the end were a pair of king vultures looking very dashing in the vaiary. all the enclosures were the same height and some were slightly different in width. Overall these cages were very good for the brids and were large enough for flying and to get away from each other (something I think is very important in bird of prey enclosures).

Opposite the first two avairies is the enclosure for colobus monkeys which is near enough identical to the golden cheeked gibbon, hanuman langur and diana monkey enclosure. Opposite the enclosure for king vultures (but some distance away) were a pair of golden cheeked gibbons in the a large but i felt quite limiting cage. I thought this cage was not tall enough but other than that was fine. Next was the diana monkey enclosure which i think was slightly taller and then the hanuman langur enclosure which again I thought could of been taller. the hanuman langur enclosure had through glass viewing of the indoor night areas (as did the colobus and the diana monke from gorilla kingdom). Next to the night area for the hanuman langur was vieiwng windows for the white anped mantgabey indoor area. behind us now was the large ampitheatre for the animal displays. here is started to rain whilst trying to get around to gorilla kingdom. It tipped down. So we took shelter in the reptile house.

The reptile house must surely be the gem in londons collection. This had got to be the best reptile collection in the Uk (better than both chesters and WMSP). With a unique display of reptiles and amphibians, often the only ones in europe, the reptile house was a large and amazing buildling. There are normal glass fronted exhibits running along the outside of the building, in a rectangle and then more exhibits running on a smaller ectangle inside. These glass fronted enclosures were of varying length and size ranging form the very large (caiman and crocodile) to the quite small (posion dart frogs). My sisters and I particularly liked seeing the very active himalayan newts and the snake necked turtles. I was very much impressed with the reptile colection at London and again say that it is the very best reptile collection in the Uk.

The rain finally stopped and we ventured out into gorilla kingdom. we were first met by the walkthrough avairy for african birds. for the very pretty gloossy starlings, superb starling, white faced tree duck, red crested turaco and madagascan teal. After this avairy is a rather nice area showing the skills, behaviour and biology of gorillas (for example measuring your weight in comparrison to a gorilla. i liked the island enclosure for the gorillas which is well planted the one end (the raised area nearest the walkthrough) but is less so nearer the house. I thought the island gave excellent views of the gorillas (we visted the exhibit once again at the end, there were less people and the gorillas were outside). I wish london speed in finding a male for the three females as they looked rather incomplete without a male. opposite the moat views of the island is a through glass view of the colobus monkey outdoor cage and then views into the night quaters. in terms of gorillas we come to the huge glass windows to the outdoor area giving spectacular views of an amazing ape. next to the colobus indoor is glass viewing for the indoor enclosure for the african bursh tailed porcupine I beleive this is the only enclosure for the porcupine (though i may be wrong, so please correct me if i'm wrong). caarying on we enter the gorilla indoor area here I thought the indoor areas was a bit small although the gorillas certianly seemed to enjoy it playing and either Effie or zaire (I think it was effie) beating its rear much to the ammusement of the captivated young audience. also in the indoor area is glass views of the diana monkey outdoor and indoor enclosure. leaving the building was the large netted enclosure for the white naped mangabeys which gave excellent opportunities for the mangabeys (quick question: do they only have two mangabey's as they were all I saw for the entire time?) finally we leave gorilla kingdom.

end of part one ( i dont know how many parts there will be)
to be continued...:D
 
Thanks for the review, foz. I haven't been to london for about five years so am hoping to get back at some point. Until then, this makes a healthy substitute so keep the parts coming!

:D PS. happy birthday! :D
 
I visited London a few months back but never got round to writing a review, but so far id say i agree with pretty much everything your saying. Oh and happy birthday aswell lol.

Im pleased somebody else has noted the Red Bishop aviary, on my visit i think i was the only person to take any notice of it. Shame you never got round to the aviaries next to the Snowdon, some of them are actually of pretty good quality if you ask me. I agree with you on the reptile house, unfortunetly on my visit i was running out of time so had to rush it.

A quick note, the gibbons are White-Cheeked Gibbons i think, well 1 is, the other is a hybrid. Golden Cheeked Gibbons are much rarer.
 
Okay part 2;

leaving gorilla kingdom we headed towards the penguins (my sister's fav) and Barclay’s court area. But not before noting the large and ultra-cool bearded pigs. Seeing that London had quite a few of these pigs I was surprised there were no others in the Uk. the penguin enclosure was really nice though we only saw around 6 birds (rockhopper and Black footed penguins) which made for a disappointing display, however i presumed there were far more around feeding time :rolleyes: . from there we saw the aviary for the ground hornbill which I thought could of been bigger and taller but was OK. The butterfly house was next, I still dislike the large inflatable exterior but the indoor area was nice with many butterflies and volunteers on hand. i particularly enjoyed seeing the large atlas moth and an unidentifiable leaf - like butterfly hanging on the wall.

from here we headed towards B.U.G.S exhibit. I found this a fantastic, educational and ... erm...fantastic exhibit. The exhibit is a large building holding small animals from Golden headed lion tamarin to bird eating tarantula. The exhibits ranged in size, I particularly enjoyed the huge tank for crickets (which would be a good size for dwarf crocodiles) just showing the might of a plague of crickets. Each animal in the exhibit showed the various dangers faced by species, for example introduced predators (partula snail) to deforestation (tamarin). Other animals showed a place in society eg, pests or put to work. out of B.U.G.S i rushed to try and catch a glimpse of the giant anteaters in the outdoor yard only to find one snuggled up sleeping through glass. I thought the giant anteater enclosure was a very good space ranging in height and width and good views. The enclosure is set high because at average level is a toilet block (so effectively the enclosure is an extended roof of the toilets) The indoor viewing could be better as you are looking down at an angle to the anteaters below. After a quick toilet stop we headed into Meet the Monkeys. I found the small squirrel monkeys very hard to find in the large walkthrough and couldn't help thinking there should be a really large established group or another species like a small group of Barbary macaque. right at the end of the walk we could see two squirrel monkeys we had massed a crowd. right outside the walkthrough is a viewing area into the indoor area for the monkeys which gave closer and better views of the charismatic squirrel monkeys. onwards from there is the Blackburn pavilion, I really appreciated the fact that this area still looked quite antique and Victorian showing the heritage and history of the zoo. Outside the pavilion is several large netted areas for various species such as scarlet ibis, Victoria crowned pigeon and toco toucan. the indoor area was really good for the birds with large netted areas (this sprung to mind the bird side of the tropical realm at Chester). The walkthrough area of the bird exhibit was a little disappointing mainly because I couldn’t find a lot of then birds, for example the Socorro doves, and the pool area wasn’t looking particularly great. However the walkthrough area presented many unusual bird species though I could imagine its not that exiting to the average visitor. I really liked the hummingbird room but we where unable to get close the hummingbird aviaries as the path around the pillar the aviaries are centred around was shut off. We were still able to enjoy the hummingbirds though (just from a distance).

Animal adventure, the newest exhibit at the zoo, was next. The area was fantastic for little kids, the coatis were extremely comical and active (whereas the red panda was an red ball of fluff asleep). I love how everything builds on a childs love of animals and then really allows the children to express this. For example the treetop zone, when I was a kid I used to love pretending to be monkeys and climbing on anything I could, here children can do this while the animal is right next to them! The root zone was really good allowing children to experience Meerkat and aardvarks on their own, privately without their parents. I really loved seeing the aardvarks (asleep but cool none the less) and thought all the animals here had really good enclosures. The splash zone was also good for kids, I thought some water orientated animals like penguins or ducks should be on display to link in with the splash zone. I thought it was good for the children to let off steam with the stimulus of the zoo around them. The farmyard area was a bit pointless (ie the kune kune pigs and the llamas/alpacas) and the land could have been used of been a bit more use to an endangered species. I thought the black hornbill aviary around the red panda enclosure was a bit pointless, the hornbill would have been better placed somewhere else in the zoo and replaced with something more identifiable in the children’s area (ie a macaw or other sort of parrot).


End of part 2 (and less then half the way ‘round the zoo!)
To be continued…
 
Part 3
Leaving Animal adventure we saw the impressive Bactrian camels in their okay exhibit outside the casson building (which we’ll visit later). We went to the big cat terraces first finding the tigers, I was quite disappointed by the enclosure and think they should be refurbished and re-made as soon as possible (if I had my way the whole tiger area would be knocked down and built again.) two small kids one after each other, seemed to find the need to climb onto the small waist height stone wall in front of the viewing glass, making viewing the tigers rather hard. We walked up to the lion terraces which held no lions as the enclosure was under refurbishment. I thought the enclosure looked very good from the onset (not having seen any lions within the enclosure). We then had a rather ambitious picnic in front of the Serval enclosure in which the Servals were very active this enclosure could have been bigger but was very good with indoor viewing as well. I enjoyed watching the servals chase each other and swiftly bound across the netted enclosure. The Serval enclosure could be viewed from the large glass panels (with B.U.G.S behind you) and through netting, with celebes crested macaque in a basic netted enclosure behind you. Around here was the francois langur enclosure which should have been bigger and I couldn’t find any indoor viewing unlike other monkey exhibits, this resulted in a no show of langurs.
Leaving this area we went around the lubetkin penguin pool which was huge to what I had previously imagined and made a delightful fountain. Around again to see the pair of Bactrian camels and into ZOO world. The re use of the casson building as ZOO world was a really good idea (well done whomever thought of that). Inside is small glass fronted and wooden wire exhibits for animals that are used in the shows such as striped skunk, burrowing owl, ferret, Meerkat etc. as well as indoor areas for camels, bearded pigs and the pygmy hippos. The Hippos were a delight to see (visited twice) and the second time both hippos were awake from their aquatic slumber and up and about. I found the hippos fascinating and comical and it seems the public thought so too as here was the largest crowd in the exhibit, which was very quiet compared to the rest of the zoo. It seems the pygmy hippos would rather spend time indoors than out as both times I checked on them they were in. the quarters for the hippos was quite good with clear large pools just the land side was lacking slightly. Zoo world shows the day to day work of zoo keepers and zoo vets through useful and interesting demonstrations (for example showing the different heart rates of humans, elephants, mice and squirrel monkeys).
After zoo world we embarked on the African bird safari, I was really looking forward to this exhibit though was underwhelmed by the exhibit once inside. Practically all the birds were on top of the roof of the entrance building, the von deckens hornbill was a no - show and the feeling I got from most other visitors was ‘just another bird exhibit’ having already seen the amazing Blackburn pavilion this was almost a bit bird overdose, I think the safari could be relocated to the aviaries outside the Blackburn pavilion and the spaced used for something else (perhaps leopards), this would mean down scaling the bird collection slightly but I think the area would be improved because of this. Anyway back to the review, so I found the bird safari a little disappointing and smaller than I imagined, with all the birds congregating in one spot it seems there was little else to see once passed this area. Leaving the bird safari we travelled down to the komodo dragons and the newly built giants of Galapagos (I’ve just realised this is the newest exhibit not animal adventure). The tortoises were breathtaking especially the huge male. They were slow (as can be expected) and I found less people had found this corner of the zoo making it a bit of peace from the crowds. The komodo dragon area was really good and I would say easily as good (if not better than) Chesters. The komodo drgaons made a very good display in both their quarters with natural planting and education showing what an awesome predator the dragons are

End of part 3
To be continued...
 
We walked up to the lion terraces which held no lions as the enclosure was under refurbishment.
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I'm guessing this is to make the moat safer for the recent birth? When i visited, I got the impression that the land at the edge of the water wouldn't be particularly secure for a boisterous cub. Could you make out what was being redeveloped?

Good review by the way and I agree with quite a lot of what you have said (although i'm not fanatical about zoo world)
 
I disagree with you on the African Bird Safari, i personally found it to be my favorite enclosure at London.
I dont think the Hornbills are housed there anymore, they've been moved to one of the aviaries next to the Snowdon.
Im not a huge fan of ZooWorld either tbh, but other than that i agree with you on everything else.
 
ZooMania said:
I disagree with you on the African Bird Safari, i personally found it to be my favorite enclosure at London.
I dont think the Hornbills are housed there anymore, they've been moved to one of the aviaries next to the Snowdon.
Im not a huge fan of ZooWorld either tbh, but other than that i agree with you on everything else.
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I might of just caught the safari on a bad day :D Zoo world is not a spectacular breath taking exhibit but a nice quiet exhibit that houses animals well and is a really good use of old space. what dont you like about it?

Part 4 (hopefully the final part) is about half done and i'll post it tomorrow
 
@foz: Thanks for taking the time to post such an extensive review, and it makes for intriguing reading. Cheers!:)
 
Part 4 the final part

From the komodo dragon exhibit we came to the awesome mapping terraces (which were actually smaller than I thought) and the Australian bush exhibit. I thought the mappin provided a great backdrop to the section, almost like Ayers rock. Here wallabies, emus, black swans and another duck species have a large exhibit complete with Australian sign posts and other Australian themes. The one whole I was mightily impressed by the mapping terraced but can understand when people feel they are underused on the wallabies and a more charismatic animal should be in these spectacular surroundings. However I feel this part of zoo benefitted form there not being a large popular animal as it meant there was far less of a crowd in the area around the mapping and yet the visitors were still pleased to see the bounding wallabies. Perhaps if they were to build on the Australian theme and house a rarity such as koalas or wombats, than area would become even better. The Mappin mountains are spectacular and could provide a perfect backdrop to practically any themed exhibit. The enclosure is large and can be quite easily modified to different themes or for different species, that is why I see this as the place to look out for redevelopment and redesign (in terms of the exhibit). The enclosure is viewed form a raised path (with a café behind it) whereas a small moat/billabong lines the bottom of the enclosure, from there the enclosure slopes up gently towards the mountains.

Beneath the mountains of the mappins is the London zoo aquarium. The Aquarium has a fantastic species list and is in several sections; Amazon basin, tropical reef etc. The aquarium is large and the tanks are interesting and well landscaped with appropriate amounts of rocks, coral and plants. The aquariums seems to be a rectangle design with two lines of tanks (of varying size) along the side walls, there is a large amount of empty visitor space. However if I was being ultra picky (and lets face it that is what zoochat if for) than I would say the aquarium went on a bit too far and could be more compact to make it easier and more interesting. Also the aquarium was very dark, usually aquariums have their own kind of glow which flickers and flits, but the large amount of visitor space in between the two rows of tanks meant that the glow doesn’t get very far. The aquarium could be more exiting with the edition of more decorative items or exhibit items in the empty visitor space. Perhaps fish skeletons to display the biology of different fish, a display on how vetinary work is carried out on fish, or other types of interesting items to fill the empty space. The aquarium could be as good as the reptile house if only they would spend a bit more time on it.

Okay beneath the tunnel (which was shorter and brighter than I imagined) onto the area around into Africa. First we travelled down the African wild dog enclosure. This enclosure is really long and is viewed looking down from a platform. The area is nicely planted and the long narrow enclosure is a really nice size making for an active display of colourful and interesting wild dogs. We entered the giraffe house which was a nice size however there were only two giraffes, both hovering by the doors to the outdoor area, and I found this slightly disappointing as a larger herd would of made for a far superior exhibit. Travelling back outside we saw the warthogs (a smaller muddier version of the African wild dog enclosure which they were next to but it think screened off by plants and trees). Periscopes were available for the warthogs and the wild-dogs to see them at eye-to-eye level. We continued around (the map indicated red river hogs but we couldn’t find any) to see the okapi. I thought the London zoo okapi enclosure was on par with chester’s having several quite mature trees (which the okapi was browsing on) the enclosure is a square shape with sand/dirt/grassy top and grassy banks around the side. The enclosure could do with a bit more shrubs (perhaps something spiky like hawthorn) to create a jungle feel but other than that it gave spectacular views of the okapi (which we didn’t get so much at chester) my other sister’s favourite are the okapi and having been the Chester with me last year she thought the London one was better for getting closer and having a better view of the okapi. The indoor area was also good with adequate stables, unlike chester this was un-themed without all the smaller animals to compliment the okapi. Because of this the indoor area wasn’t as good at chesters but was still good as an enclosure. In the same indoor house was the zebra holding, outside the zebra enclosure had a small moat and large loosely spaced wire fence (presumably to stop them jumping the moat) the ground was basic dirt/sand and with quite a few mature trees and shrubs. The giraffe exhibit was next a large span of flat land with dirt/sand floor, its seemed quite empty especially with only two giraffes, there was a viewing hut and a periscope this time going up to the giraffes eye height. I thought the periscopes were a really good idea and gave a different view of all the animals. The visitors could view the giraffes from a raised boardwalk (but as there were no giraffes outside at this point we decided to have mercy on our feet and skip the board walk instead walking around the Malayan tapir. I was just telling my sisters how lucky we’ll be to see one when out they come straight away. The enclosure is a square shape with a moat for the tapirs to swim in, lots of mature shrubs and trees giving a Malaya feel to the enclosure and a small area of camouflage netting suspended in the air. The Malayan tapirs also had an indoor area though at the time it was closed off to the public. The enclosure was really good and I’m glad of the experience with the tapirs. We walked on towards the Clore rainforest lookout.

The clore was a really good area with an open rainforest in the centre and smaller glass fronted enclosure to the side. The main rainforest area housed trumpeter birds, golden headed lion tamarin, dusky titi monkey, sloth and mice (though I don’t think they were meant to be there) the main rainforest area was really good with plenty of climbing opportunities and very good display. However I think a few more species might have been good, particularly birds like aracari or lorikeets. The glass fronted enclosures around the side housed small primates such as silvery marmoset, emperor tamarin, cotton topped tamarin and red ruffed lemurs (among others). The sloth seemed to draw the biggest crowd in the exhibit (which is surprising as sloth are well sloth like) towards the end of the walkthrough rainforest was a glass window looking outside, this was covered in some plastic with sets of eye-hole cut of, the enclosure outside was for agouti. The exhibit also features a night zone area below the rainforest exhibit, down a flight of stairs (there was a lift for the disabled) and continuing down on a slope into the murky world of the night. I found this area really interesting and was struck by the sheer amount of slender loris and pygmy slow loris, it seemed every other exhibit had one or the other (though I saw around 4 in total). Each enclosure in the night zone was glass fronted and well furnished, long nose potoroo made a delightful appearance and were very active, the Rodriguez flying fox also made an interesting exhibit. There was also some species of toad (which I have forgotten) and Malagasy jumping giant rat. Overall I found the night zone incredibly interesting and felt it a very good exhibit.

Outside we headed back towards gorilla kingdom to enjoy them outdoors, before going and see the pygmy hippos. We bought a souvenir at the shop (which was amazingly small given the size of the zoo). And headed back to regents station.

Finished, hope you’ve enjoyed the review, any questions please ask.
The end.
 
Happy belated birthday Foz! great review! I totally agree with you on the Tiger enclosure, these are one of my favourite animals but they can gather quite a crowd and provide for difficult viewing due to viewing pannels being pretty much the only opportunity to see them up close. I also think they look very bored on occasions. A rebuild would be a good idea.

Penguins are also one of my faves but I also found the enclosure a little disapointing. And considering the amount of people feeding time attracts, you would have thought they would have made the standing area go right around the enclosure. To ensure you get the chance to observe feeding, you have to get there way in advance, which unfortunately most of the time I manage to miss out on, usually due to getting too carried away with other exhibits.

I particulary enjoy watching the otters and this enclosure has fantastic photograph opportunities. I think the Australian bush scene is brilliant, it looks very authentic. I find enclosures that mimik the correct habitat in this way amaizingly appealing.

I was dissapointed with the meerkat enclosure and actually think the one at Battersea Park Children's Zoo is so much better (I will have to include some pics on the BPCZ and LDN zoo gallery to compare). I only saw two or three meerkats when I last visited and at Battersea the meerkats are active outside more often than not.

I was impressed with the servals which were gorgeous. They were sat inside when I visited so I was able to view them easier. I also think their animal shows are great in... erm the big tent (forgotten the word for it lol!). but its what goes on behind the scenes which I also find fascinating! their conservation efforts are outstanding which is probably something that goes a little unnoticed by the public quite often but I'm sure you guys are quite familiar with it. Another thing that I am passionate about is their work to raise awareness of the animal trade which I find completely sickening. Its something that should of faded with the times but still happens today.

Anyway... again I must say brilliant review Foz :)
 
A fantastic review foz. Im very jealous that you managed to see the Malayan Tapirs, i visited their enclosure 3 times on my visit but no luck. The giraffes are very dissapointing i agree, which is why i think it would be a better idea to move out to Whipsnade and allow their enclsoure to be taken over by Bongos.
I liked the Rainforest lookout but i did think it would be larger. I was also dissapointed with how much was off-show. The otter enclosure however is brilliant, Meerkats though i'll agree wuth Shez, other zoos around the country have better enclosures.
The Red River Hogs have been moved to one of the Cat Terraces enclosures, but perhaps they've been moved somewhere else now?
Regarding Zoo World, i think the enclosures are too small for the hoofstock especialy for the hippos, do they even have outdoor accomodation?
 
ZooMania said:
A fantastic review foz. Im very jealous that you managed to see the Malayan Tapirs, i visited their enclosure 3 times on my visit but no luck. The giraffes are very dissapointing i agree, which is why i think it would be a better idea to move out to Whipsnade and allow their enclsoure to be taken over by Bongos.
I liked the Rainforest lookout but i did think it would be larger. I was also dissapointed with how much was off-show. The otter enclosure however is brilliant, Meerkats though i'll agree wuth Shez, other zoos around the country have better enclosures.
The Red River Hogs have been moved to one of the Cat Terraces enclosures, but perhaps they've been moved somewhere else now?
Regarding Zoo World, i think the enclosures are too small for the hoofstock especialy for the hippos, do they even have outdoor accomodation?
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Hippos do have an outdoor pool, away from their indoor enclosure, they move across to the pool for the warm summers and back indoors for winter. The system seems slightly shambolic but apparently it works.
 
I always love reading a good review. Thanks Foz. And I hope you don't mind if I add my own thoughts on the end. This seemed like the most appropriate place to put my own small review.
So I’m on holiday in England and I’ve spent about a week in London and the first place I went was the zoo. I really didn’t know what to expect because there are a lot of mixed reviews of it on here but I have to say that it was a lot better than my expectations. The beautiful weather over here probably helped that.
I was going to keep a tally of all of the new species I saw on the day but this got a bit tedious after about 50 and so I stopped but there probably would’ve been easily over 100 species that I saw for the first time. I didn’t get to see giant anteaters, tamanduas or okapis though ☹. The corner of Into Africa where the zebras and okapis are was closed off for painting. Meet the monkeys was also closed. The other two were just missing in action.

My highlights included
• 2 new species of penguin in a great exhibit with a huge pool. I would say it’s probably my favourite penguin exhibit that I’ve seen
• The white-naped mangabeys were really great to see even if their home left a bit to be desired. The mixed age group was really fun to watch.
• African Bird Safari was a really nice aviary and the hammerkops were building a nest right above the visitor path as I was watching. Maybe a few less storks would make it seem less crowded though.
• I really liked the Clore rainforest exhibit even though I’ve heard that some people don’t. It’s a nice way to use an old exhibit building for something interactive and fun. It’s also the first real tropical house that I’ve seen other than the butterfly house at Melbourne Zoo.
• Nearly every species in the Blackburn Pavilion was a new one for me so that was really exciting.
• I managed to see the aardvarks being fed by accident. I was just walking past when they came plodding out for their food. Aardvarks really are something else. I love them and they’re so much bigger than I expected.
• And the Giants and Dragons area was so beautiful. I’d say that it is one of my favourite reptile exhibits anywhere. All of the tortoises were out enjoying the sunshine and so was one of the dragons.

There weren’t many things that disappointed me about the zoo except for not being able to see the okapis and the anteaters like I said. I didn’t like the bird exhibits at the end of the zoo near Into Africa. They were small, didn’t get much sunlight and some seemed too small for their inhabitants. Other aviaries that I didn’t like were the ones near the start of the children’s area. If my memory is right there is a small one for a single Ural owl with only a few logs to perch on, black vulture and crested seriema (those last two weren’t labeled so could be wrong). The Asian lions were a bit disappointing too. I was expecting a huge difference between them and Africans but there wasn’t much.
Anyway I think London Zoo is a really nice, albeit expensive, day out and a great historic zoo. I think I’ll try and get to Chester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Belfast at least. Maybe I’ll visit Whipsnade, Newquay, Twycross and a few others if I find the time and money. I really would like to go to Jersey but didn’t realize how far away it is.
 
PAT said:
The corner of Into Africa where the zebras and okapis are was closed off for painting.

The white-naped mangabeys were really great to see even if their home left a bit to be desired. The mixed age group was really fun to watch.
Was it mentioned at the Entrance they were offshow? I know essential work has to be done but its a pity they can't allow some sort of access to the public while its going on- it means you just don't get to see certain species if this happens.

I agree the Mangabeys are an excellent group- by far the most active of the larger Primates and I found them a lot more interesting to watch on my last visit than the 3 Gorillas on show- which were all inactive after about 10.30 a.m. For me, the Mangabeys are currently easily the best exhibit in that area. I like their outdoor enclosure though the older inside area could benefit from improvement.
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Great update PAT on a very good review by Foz! Please let me know if you make it as far as Belfast! :)
 
Thanks Pertinax. I did go and ask at the information kiosk near the entrance and they said that it was closed off for painting. It's a shame but it gives me more excuse to go to Bristol and/or Chester. And I agree about the gorilla group. They were really sluggish and I didn't see them outside on the three times I went passed the area.
And I will give you a buzz if I get to Belfast Al.
 
PAT said:
I did go and ask at the information kiosk near the entrance and they said that it was closed off for painting. It's a shame but it gives me more excuse to go to Bristol and/or Chester. And I agree about the gorilla group. They were really sluggish and I didn't see them outside on the three times I went passed the area.
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Both those outside paddocks can also be seen from the road just outside the zoo through the railings- but it only helps if the animals are outside of course.

Gorillas- at one time I think they used to shut them outside in fine weather- when I went recently they had 'freechoice' and consequently they stayed inside mostly. On my visit the male was playing boisterously with the females early on, but the rest of the day they were completely inactive.
 
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