First post on the forum! I've never seen the koalas in the amphitheater outside (if that's indeed where they're kept). I did get to witness the bizzare 'Human Exhibit' they had in there a few years back though
Visited the zoo today, quite busy despite it being a school-day, I'm glad I didn't need to wait in that queue
The former Barbary Macaque enclosure is now empty, but there were at least two Barbary Macaque in the monkey house.
The Asiatic Lions were closed off, as was the Brilliant Birds.
I never normally bother with the koalas, but the one furthest to the left (I think it was Goonaroo) was quite active and making a show of himself.
I've never noticed before but there's quite a lot of cases where one species has several exhibits, we all know about the meerkats, but I counted three Goeldi's Monkey enclosures, as well as two for Grevy's zebra and Visayan spotted deer. There might be reasons, but it feels like a lot of wasted space
Speaking of wasted space, the extinct animal infographs in the former Cat Walkway have become so overgrown that they're hard to read. If they wanted to stick with the Scotland theme I feel like they could put some native and extinct species in a few of those old exhibits (Pine Martens, Lynx maybe)
There was a lot of empty exhibits actually, some that have been that way for a while. I don't think the pen across from the African Plains has been filled since the Maned Wolf? Or was it Musk-Deer? The former Dwarf Mongoose exhibit in the Hippo house is empty too as the occupants are next to the margay (I think that exhibit would be perfect for a reptile or two personally...)
The giant anteater was very active, which I believe I've only seen once before, and I got to see the grey kangaroos after having missed them on my last visit
As far as the wildcat/margay discussion goes...I actually find the margay easier to find, at least more reliable. I managed to see both species today, but my last two visits the wildcat (my personal favourites) managed to elude me. I find that if you're willing to wait towards the end of the day, the margay is fairly easy to find sitting on the platforms in the indoor section (I've never seen it outside).