ZSL London Zoo Lemur walk through at London Zoo

[Regent]

New to the site, first comments. Spend quite a lot of time at London Zoo as I am a Patron. The new lemur walk through exhibit will open on Saturday 28 March. There will be 15 ring tailed lemurs and 1 black & White ruffed lemur, all bachelors. I think it will be well worth a visit

 

[sooty mangabey]

I'm very glad they're building this exhibit, but the choice of species is, to say the least, disappointing. Much as I love London Zoo, and admire its recent improvements, the interest in displaying a diversity of species is not, currently, massively obvious. The Madagascan walk-through at the Cotswold Wildlife Park provides an illustration of what could be accomplished. The chance to walk amongst ring-tailed lemurs is something, I fear, that can be had at pretty much every zoo in the land.

March 28th seems a little optimistic. I was at the zoo yesterday, and to my inexpert eye it looked as if there was a great deal more work to be done than could probably be accomplished in five weeks. I will be delighted to be proved wrong.

 

[Regent]

Lemur walk through

The date of March 28th is on London Zoo website and I am sure that they will keep to that date. I am sure that everyone has a different opinion about what a zoo should / could provide but bearing in mind that ZSL will not get any more ground, they have to work with what is available. It is unfortunate that the old Mappin Terrace cannot be redeveloped but the Land of the Lions exhibit due to in 2016 will be something soecial

 

[TeaLovingDave]

but bearing in mind that ZSL will not get any more ground, they have to work with what is available.

This does not, of course, have any bearing on the point by sooty that

the interest in displaying a diversity of species is not, currently, massively obvious. The Madagascan walk-through at the Cotswold Wildlife Park provides an illustration of what could be accomplished.

When one considers that in exactly the same amount of space, the ZSL walkthrough could easily hold species such as some of the Eulemur taxa, Alaotran Gentle Lemur and multiple Varecia individuals, the choice to go with the old standby of Ringtailed is what seems a slight let-down. Along with the CWP walkthrough, I am also thinking about the species blends that can be found at Dudley, Wildplace and Woburn.

Oh, and welcome to Zoochat

 

[oflory]

I love ZSL and London Zoo and would usually be the first to leap to its defence but the decision to go with bog-standard lemurs is, I agree, pretty disappointing. Why can't we have sifaka?!

 

[sooty mangabey]

In their defence, I suppose a large group of ring-tailed lemurs is the most straightforward to run with - you're not going to get a large group of sifakas ready to inhabit the exhibit for next month! Maybe, perhaps, possibly, the future will bring something more enticing - but the recent record of the zoo is not so good in this regard: lots of exhibits which might have been developed further, once established, have been left pretty much as they were when they first opened.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Yeah, Sifaka are in pretty short supply.....

Eulemur and Varecia, not so much although there are a couple of taxa within the former which are pretty tricky to get hold of.

 

[Regent]

Lemur walk through

Didn't realise that zoo chat could be quite "angry" I would agree that ring tailed lemurs are the safe option but other types of lemurs are quite difficult to obtain. I believe that Lindon Zoo has now got some Alaotran bamboo lemurs which are on display in the old lemur exhibit, facing short claw otter enclosure.
My point about lack of space at London Zoo was that, I dare say, the zoo would like to have loads of diversity but unless you can provide a safe enclosure with the welfare of the animal the main focus, you can't get various species just for the sake of having another animal on display

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Didn't realise that zoo chat could be quite "angry"

Don't mistake passion for anger London is still a good zoo, despite having declined from its glory days, and as such missed opportunities like this sting all the more.

but other types of lemurs are quite difficult to obtain.

You'd be surprised - there is quite a lot of diversity in lemur taxa within the UK, let alone Europe, and a number of species are breeding profusely something which pleases me no end, as I have quite a soft spot for lemurs in general.

I dare say, the zoo would like to have loads of diversity but unless you can provide a safe enclosure with the welfare of the animal the main focus, you can't get various species just for the sake of having another animal on display

This *is* a good point; the problem arises when collections shy away from diversity because displaying anything other than the big-name showstopper species is seen as "fringe interest" and as a result the amount of space used for enclosures is actually reduced, replaced by open space or unneccesary theming.

 

[sooty mangabey]

Didn't realise that zoo chat could be quite "angry"

On this thread? Where?

My point about lack of space at London Zoo was that, I dare say, the zoo would like to have loads of diversity but unless you can provide a safe enclosure with the welfare of the animal the main focus, you can't get various species just for the sake of having another animal on display

No-one would disagree with this latter point. But, this being so, the decision to stick to the familiar - in a zoo that already has a fair amount of space devoted to species such as reindeer, short-clawed otters, and meerkats, and which has a single European eagle owl in one of its largest single-species aviaries, and which fills the Snowden aviary with around 100 sacred ibis, and which has quite a large children's farm - is disappointing. It's not just a case of "another" animal - I think many of us would rather have some interesting Eulemur species instead of the ring-taileds; smooth-coated otters instead of the Asian short-clawed; slender mongooses instead of the meerkats; anything, really, instead of the brown rats in the Clore....

 

[Regent]

Lemur walk through

I have had a discussion with the Development Manager at London Zoo around the issue is London Zoo a "tourist attraction" or a leader in conservation. Whenever I go to London Zoo, a couple of times a month, I often hear visitors complaining that there are no elephants, no rhinos, no hippos, that's what they want to see. Impossible for London Zoo to keep such animals, the welfare must be the major concern. However, as a conservation leader, I feel that ZSL does a fantastic job and should let more people know what is going on. I am sure that visitors to other zoos, Bristol, Edinburgh and Marwell will say that these zoos excel at some things but could do better with other exhibits. " You can't please all of the people, all of the time"

 

[tennisfan]

If it is all bachelor group ... what happening/happened to the two females that had the offshow babies last summer ?

 

[Regent]

Lemurs

Think the female lemurs may have gone to Whipsnade

 

[gentle lemur]

I don't object to these safe and sensible choices for the opening of the Lemur Walk-through. They will make a good show and allow the holding of bachelor males which may eventually be useful for breeding groups at ZSL or other zoos.
Moreover it doesn't preclude adding other species to the exhibit at a later date and perhaps it will provide space for holding and breeding less common lemurs at London or Whipsnade. I can't see any real cause for complaint at all.

Alan

 

[oflory]

anything, really, instead of the brown rats in the Clore....

I like the rats...

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I like the rats...

Give me a Zorilla or Saharan Striped Weasel in that enclosure any day

 

[ajmcwhipsnade]

If I am correct, the male lemurs from Whipsnade are the ones going into the lemur walk-thru at London zoo? Or are the ring-tailed lemurs at London zoo already a male group? If I am wrong I do apologise, but I don't see the problem with creating a new enclosure at a Zoo that some already think does not have enough.

Personally it sounds a great new addition, and will allow the animals to have a fantastic new home which is the important thing

 

[pipaluk]

Eulemur[/I] species instead of the ring-taileds; smooth-coated otters instead of the Asian short-clawed; slender mongooses instead of the meerkats; anything, really, instead of the brown rats in the Clore....

Agree 100% with you and with comments made by TLD, I do hope that less common lemur species will be introduced at a later date, but sadly, I doubt that will happen! This is probably another missed opportunity.
Is it really necessary to have 4 enclosures for meerkats(2 in Casson according to main thread), 2 for yellow Mongoose, 2 for Brown rat & naked mole rat in separate buildings, without mentioning the duplication in the north bank aviaries again!

 

[sooty mangabey]

I don't see the problem with creating a new enclosure at a Zoo that some already think does not have enough.

Personally it sounds a great new addition, and will allow the animals to have a fantastic new home which is the important thing

Of course I agree with you - I don't think anyone will be anything other than delighted to see a new exhibit at the zoo, especially if the quality is as high as in the majority of recent developments there.

The issue is not the new enclosure, but rather the choice of species. Ring-tailed lemurs rival meerkats in the ubiquity stakes. They can be seen a couple of miles up the road, in Golders Hill park, or in Battersea, or Chessington, or Paradise Park - the London zoos are not short of Lemur katta. Or, further afield, they can be seen at establishments such as Tweddle Children's Animal Farm, or Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre, or the one and only Beaver Waterworld. In short, they are a long way from being 'choice' species!

And I don't think that the animals having a "fantastic home" is the most important thing, to be honest. I take it for granted that at a zoo such as this, the animals do have fantastic homes.

I often hear visitors complaining that there are no elephants, no rhinos, no hippos, that's what they want to see. Impossible for London Zoo to keep such animals, the welfare must be the major concern.

...but the zoo does keep hippos - brilliantly-displayed pygmies, which go down a treat. Rhinos? They could keep them, pretty easily - they have the space - but there's no apparent will to do so.

I have had a discussion with the Development Manager at London Zoo around the issue is London Zoo a "tourist attraction" or a leader in conservation.

Clearly it's both! It's also a presenter of wildlife (which some might see as its being an educator). I don't see the clash, though. My feeling is that even if visitors aren't zoo nerds, they are, often, familiar with other zoos. They must surely be bored with ring-tailed lemurs and meerkats and Asian s-c otters too!

" You can't please all of the people, all of the time"

Of course not! And I do think London Zoo is, on the whole, doing a very good job of developing itself, with a much clearer eye on remaining financially secure. I just think that, very easily, things could be a whole lot better still!

 

[pipaluk]

Sums up Both ZSL collections in one short sentence!