ZSL London Zoo London Developments

[Pertinax]

techinaclly asian lions dont live in prides they live in a pair or a small group at most.

The females live in prides- same as African Lions- its just that they are generally smaller, say just two females plus cubs.. The males also behave similarly to AFrican Lions in that they associate together too, and sometimes join up with female groups. But its all on a a much smaller scale without the big groupings of a dozen or more.

As someone said, London would only be keeping say, one male and two or three females at most anyway.

 

[Pertinax]

there is obviously something not right in the setup for Sumatran Tigers, given the breeding record,

I wonder if something as simple as a change of partners would correct the problem- or has that been tried already?

While Asian Lions have bred successfully in nearly every UK zoo that holds them, for some reason the Twycross pair didn't do so- until they swapped the male- then they did.

The Lion enclosure moat- I feel this sort of design has been superseded now- I'm hoping they may fill it in and put in glass viewing windows as with the Bongo Paddock on the Cotton Terraces- and Whipsnade's new African Lion enclosure has this style of viewing too. Its the way they are moving at present and its good..

 

[kiang]

are the bongo back at london yet

 

[Pertinax]

are the bongo back at london yet

They weren't two months ago. I presume they will go where the Malayan Tapir are- but maybe after some changes are made to the enclosure.

 

[ZooMania]

really, the malayan tapir enclosure doesnt seem big enogh to support a large herd of antelopes like bongos.

 

[Hadley]

I wonder if something as simple as a change of partners would correct the problem- or has that been tried already?..

London has had Sumatrans previous to the two current animals, in the 1980s and I'm pretty sure they have not produced any cubs. I'm guessing there has been at least one swap since the start of 90s, otherwise their two tigers would arguably be past breeding age.

 

[Hadley]

really, the malayan tapir enclosure doesnt seem big enogh to support a large herd of antelopes like bongos.

I know it's supposed to be the same size as the old enclosure, but I still hope they don't stick antelope the size of Bongo in there, even if the moat is filled in. That enclosure looked it's best when it was occupied by a pair of pudu, and would suit duikers or dik-dik far more that Bongo.

 

[ZooMania]

how about putting pygmy hippos in there. or is it too small for them.

 

[Hadley]

At least they'd have an indoor pool year round.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

They weren't two months ago. I presume they will go where the Malayan Tapir are- but maybe after some changes are made to the enclosure.

What will happen to the Malayan Tapir then? I suppose that London Zoo will retain them since they are a breeding pair. I found their present exhibit a bit spooky and small. Where will their new exhibit come up?

 

[Coquinguy]

i think the serals are actually a great attraction, as theyre almost always active. i other zoos around the world a bit of imagination has created some wonderful small cat displays such as sydney's fishing cat enclosure.
there could be a whole range of factors affecting te tigers breeding record, but given the success of other zoos with lions and tigers living side by side it would be silly to draw this absolute conclusion....
i think raising the roof of the tiger enclosure (and perhaps camoflaging it with army camo to give a canopy effect), thus enabling the zoo to build up mounds of rocks and deadfall, and expanding the behind the scenes section so the tigers could be seperated would be a good start. the installation of a glass viewing section in the lower part of the exhibit, perhaps at water level, would also enhace this exhibit.
at the end of the day but, the big cat terraces are probably what i would consider lowest priority. some of the smaller aviaries on the north bank desperately need modernising

 

[Pertinax]

really, the malayan tapir enclosure doesnt seem big enogh to support a large herd of antelopes like bongos.

The Bongo are about 6/7 in number. They were living in the enclosure at the other end- now used by the Okapi. They have filled in the moat which gave added space. Maybe they will do the same with the Tapir's enclosure?. Where else could the Bongo go?

 

[Pertinax]

how about putting pygmy hippos in there. or is it too small for them.

It would suit the Pygmy hippos fine, if it was redesigned for them. They would also be in the 'Africa ' zone as well.

The problem is then what to do with the empty Sealion pool area- tho' the hippos don't really use it fully..

Regarding the Tapirs, I don't know what the policy is for them...

 

[Writhedhornbill]

They could move them onto another zoo, or get rid of the camels, plant up teir paddock and put them in there.

 

[^Chris^]

The problem is then what to do with the empty Sealion pool area- tho' the hippos don't really use it fully..

I don't think that'd be a problem- it'd free up some space. Could the pool be filled in or is it a permanent fixture?

Have pygmy hippos lived in the current tapir house before?

 

[Pertinax]

I think the Tapirs could somehow move into the old Elephant House too- either to replace the camels-(a useless exhibit in my opinion) or to use a converted portion only of their outside paddock. They could also convert the indoor bathing pool into an indoor exhibit for them. This would become more of an 'Asian 'house in this way.

 

[Pertinax]

I don't think that'd be a problem- it'd free up some space. Could the pool be filled in or is it a permanent fixture?

Have pygmy hippos lived in the current tapir house before?

1. I don't see any reason why the sealion pool couldn't be filled in (unless it has a Preservation order, of course), as it is a completely redundant area nowadays.

2. I think the pygmy hippos have only been where they are now- I believe they only they arrived after the Elephants left. I think putting them in the Tapir house(converted slightly) is a good idea.

 

[Pertinax]

i think the serals are actually a great attraction, as theyre almost always active.

I agree that Servals are the one member of the 'small cats' that seem bold enough temperamentally to show themselves well. If you walk around Howletts or Port Lympne, virtually all the small cat enclosures look 'empty' - I can't remember if they have Servals there nowdays, but if they do, you would certainly see them. (The Pallas cats on the other hand, you'll only usually see after about 6 p.m.)

 

[Hadley]

It doesn't really matter what the problem is with the Sumatran tigers, only that there is a problem, if in all those years, and with different pairings, only a single, hand-raised cub was produced. Re-theming the exhibit, adding more glass viewing, raising the roof, won't really give them more space from eachother or the public, or nearby exhibits.

The Servals are great but, with many kept by private breeders, and zoo offspring often hard to place, it is hard to see what conservation message they are being used to put accross....it looks to me like they have chosen an active small cat that does fairly well in captivity, possibly a tacit acknowledgement by ZSL of the limited use the current terraces have for captive breeding of cats? The zoo has plenty of room on the north bank, it would be so good to see a really overgrown, tall exhibit with plently of platforms for the tigers here.

The zoo kept a single Pygmy hippo in the Casson Pavillion from at least the early 80's onwards, in the indoor exhibit currently used by the same species each winter. I don't remember this animal ever having access to the outdoor enclosure (then used by Asian elephants), even in summer. However a guidebook from that time shows the Pygmy hippo in an outdoor pool. I don't know whether this enclosure was designed for the species when the casson pavillion was built, or whether one of the indoor elephant bays was modified later on.

 

[Pertinax]

However a guidebook from that time shows the Pygmy hippo in an outdoor pool. I don't know whether this enclosure was designed for the species when the casson pavillion was built, or whether one of the indoor elephant bays was modified later on.

It was probably photographed at Whipsnade... All the publicity material- banner hoardings, cage information photos etc of Gorillas for the Gorilla Kingdom exhibit are not the London Gorillas but were taken at Blackpool Zoo! (Gorilla Kingdom obviously not being complete at the time..)

The Elephant bathing pool was part of the original Elephant house. The pool is the same as then, but the area around it has been made 'hippo' friendly.