ZSL London Zoo London Zoo News 2023

Crowthorne said:
Is Nuru the one with the well-defined spots? Was looking last week and noticed that there were differences
Click to expand...
Yes. This is Nuru:
full


And this is one of the non-subspecific hybrids:
full

(Photo credit to @MagpieGoose )
 
tennisfan said:
The Diana monkeys have moved into the former macaque enclosure at the entrance to gorilla kingdom.
Some squirrel monkeys are now in their previous enclosure.
Click to expand...
Could they perhaps be the males who were behind-the-scenes in Rainforest Life? If not, it feels quite pointless to have three squirrel monkey enclosures, even if they are temporary.
 
Crowthorne said:
There is a sign in the Children's Farm saying that ferrets are coming soon, so they don't seem to have them currently but will do in the near future
Click to expand...

Ferrets have been held for a number of years although recently offshow and do frequently appear in the presentations on the display lawn,

i believe this is an on show enclosure for the those ferrets in the courtyard of Animal Adventure that is being constructed.
 
Does anyone know:
1) What's going on with the ostriches? Afaik, there are 3 females and 2 males but I've only ever seen 4 out.

2) Are they going to be getting more babirusa or will they be moving Beth? Seems unfair for her to be on her own.
 
equidae said:
Does anyone know:
1) What's going on with the ostriches? Afaik, there are 3 females and 2 males but I've only ever seen 4 out.

2) Are they going to be getting more babirusa or will they be moving Beth? Seems unfair for her to be on her own.
Click to expand...
There are 4 ostriches but there seems to be some confusion over the sexes. At one time I was told 2 of each sex, then it was 3 males and 1 female.
As for male babirusa, I believe that the zoo is looking for a male to join the female
 
I visited on Thursday afternoon (7th Sep) - just after the start of term but before any school trips meant that it was the quietest I have seen the zoo in ages. For the first time I saw the whole gorilla group of five out together in their paddock, previously I don't think I had seen the young male, Gernot, out at the same time as the new silverback. I was also pleasantly surprised by the birds in the walk-through near the entrance to the Gorilla Kingdom, including the White-crested Robin Chats, Hornbill and Hoopoe. This time around I didn't see much of the ostriches or the Chinese water deer sadly, but the new Warthogs seem to have settled in well.

Note that since early September the last entry is one hour earlier, at 4pm, and the zoo closes at 5pm
 
Went for a visit to London Zoo today - saw the entire place and have to say I really loved my visit. A few of my views from the visit:
  • Perhaps the most interesting and exciting view of animal behaviour was watching the four tigers chase, catch and kill a woodpigeon that had crept through the mesh and come down to the pool to drink.
  • All five gorillas were outside on both of my trips past the exhibit - on the second time the silverback was mating with one of the females.
  • As someone who has Colchester as their home zoo, seeing all the birds at London was a real treat. The Madagascar crested ibis pair were great (albeit still quite shy). The row of macaw aviaries, while a bit rough, were a hive of colour and sound and really added to the zoo experience. I missed a number of the more choice birds in the outdoor aviaries around the Blackburn Pavilion, like the Javan green magpies and Mitchell's lorikeets, but the inside is just stunning. Lots of bird activity and variety in a beautiful old building; just walking in through the doors and seeing those red-fronted aviaries was breathtaking.
  • I loved the 'Tiny Giants' building - perhaps not the biggest number of invertebrate species, but the variety is outstanding and the exhibits beautiful. I loved seeing some of the more unusual species, like the jewel wasps, Japanese sea nettles, Asian giant stick insects and especially the African giant mosquitoes.
  • In a similar vein, the Butterfly Paradise is, I think, my favourite butterfly exhibit I have seen in a major zoo. It is not huge, but is not unforgivably hot and has a huge variety and number of butterflies. The little display of moths near the exit was also a lovely surprise.
  • I missed the Chinese water deer on my first trip past their area, but went back and found them. Very glad I did, as they were extremely visible - all four were right at the front of the enclosure and seemed very comfortable with people walking past and stopping to look at them.
  • Got to see lots of very exciting new species for the first time - red forest duiker, Hanuman langur, potto, big-headed turtle, Chinese giant salamander, emperor spotted newt and Round Island skink were particular highlights.
  • While I did go through the Monkey Valley walkthrough, the colobus monkeys were all indoors.
  • The one thing I didn't see was the interior of the Casson - the doors were closed, and there was nothing to indicate that it was open. I'm not sure if that is usually the case?
 
Unless there is an activity being run inside the Casson there is not normally any signage that says Open or Enter here - the doors (Alpaca Paddock side) are activated by walking up to them . They typically put a temporary barier up by the doors if closed
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Went for a visit to London Zoo today - saw the entire place and have to say I really loved my visit. A few of my views from the visit:
  • Perhaps the most interesting and exciting view of animal behaviour was watching the four tigers chase, catch and kill a woodpigeon that had crept through the mesh and come down to the pool to drink.
  • All five gorillas were outside on both of my trips past the exhibit - on the second time the silverback was mating with one of the females.
  • As someone who has Colchester as their home zoo, seeing all the birds at London was a real treat. The Madagascar crested ibis pair were great (albeit still quite shy). The row of macaw aviaries, while a bit rough, were a hive of colour and sound and really added to the zoo experience. I missed a number of the more choice birds in the outdoor aviaries around the Blackburn Pavilion, like the Javan green magpies and Mitchell's lorikeets, but the inside is just stunning. Lots of bird activity and variety in a beautiful old building; just walking in through the doors and seeing those red-fronted aviaries was breathtaking.
  • I loved the 'Tiny Giants' building - perhaps not the biggest number of invertebrate species, but the variety is outstanding and the exhibits beautiful. I loved seeing some of the more unusual species, like the jewel wasps, Japanese sea nettles, Asian giant stick insects and especially the African giant mosquitoes.
  • In a similar vein, the Butterfly Paradise is, I think, my favourite butterfly exhibit I have seen in a major zoo. It is not huge, but is not unforgivably hot and has a huge variety and number of butterflies. The little display of moths near the exit was also a lovely surprise.
  • I missed the Chinese water deer on my first trip past their area, but went back and found them. Very glad I did, as they were extremely visible - all four were right at the front of the enclosure and seemed very comfortable with people walking past and stopping to look at them.
  • Got to see lots of very exciting new species for the first time - red forest duiker, Hanuman langur, potto, big-headed turtle, Chinese giant salamander, emperor spotted newt and Round Island skink were particular highlights.
  • While I did go through the Monkey Valley walkthrough, the colobus monkeys were all indoors.
  • The one thing I didn't see was the interior of the Casson - the doors were closed, and there was nothing to indicate that it was open. I'm not sure if that is usually the case?
Click to expand...
Good to hear that you had good luck with your target species. Shame about the magpies, but they are indeed some of the most elusive inhabitants of that building. If only their indoor area was onshow!

I too love Blackburn Pavilion (easily my favourite exhibit in any UK zoo), and the birds in the outdoor areas are indeed the hardest to see, while the two walkthroughs, by contrast, probably offer the most reliable views of birds out of any zoo that I have visited.

The Chinese Water Deer enclosure is set on a slight slope, and I found that they like to graze at the far end, down the slope, where the grass is longest, which can make it difficult to see them from the main viewing area behind the otters. A good alternative is to view them from outside of the zoo, along the Outer Circle and near the Institute of Zoology, which allows you to get very close to where the water deer graze. But of course, this might not always be the case.

The species selection in Tiny Giants changes a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case, but does anybody know if the Japanese Sea Nettles are new? I don't recall seeing them in February, and regrettably did not have time to visit the building in August.
 
Kalaw said:
The species selection in Tiny Giants changes a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case, but does anybody know if the Japanese Sea Nettles are new? I don't recall seeing them in February, and regrettably did not have time to visit the building in August.
Click to expand...

Just checked, and the zoo mentions the arrival of the sea nettles on their Facebook page on 23rd February.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top