BongoHardwood
Well-Known Member
Today I went on a spontaneous visit to London Zoo using my Whipsnade volunteer card to get in 
First time I've been there in a few years so it was nice to go around somewhere unusual! Here are some of my thoughts:
Good points
1. The weather! Had nothing to do with the zoo itself, but it was lovely all day
2. I managed to see pretty much everything over 6ish hours there. The only things I know of that I couldn't/didn't see were the pygmy hippos (They seemed to be inaccessible due to the work on the new tiger exhibit, though I'm not a seasoned London Zoo visitor so there may have been a way to get to them that I didn't know about), the fruit bats (I was starving so had to skip them to go and get lunch!) and a few things in the nocturnal part (Too dark!).
3. I saw some species I haven't seen before that I was very excited to see. Three spring to mind - Bali Starling, Hummingbirds and Sloths, but there were others!
4. Penguin Beach! I thought this exhibit was lovely! Beautifully landscaped, nice varied viewing (big front window, sunken circular window, platform at water level and the normal path all the way along!) and a nice talk about them that I went to at 2.30 Did happen to see the old penguin pool being painted lovely bright white. Does anyone know what the plans for that are?
5. Walkthrough exhibits. I love a nice walkthrough exhibit and I thought all five or so at London were great! I had seen pictures/video of the Blackburn Pavillion done up as the tropical bird house and it looked like a normal building with a couple of plants and some birds, but it was actually lovely, very immersive (Is that even a word? Haha)! The Snowdon Aviary was huuuuge and lots of lovely ibis in there, though all the waterfowl looked very sad that there was no water. I don't know how it works, but they were all standing in the area that looks like it is normally a swimming area. Loved rainforest life too! African Bird Safari was closed unfortunately, but oh well..
Those are the main points, but I also liked the Animal Adventure section
Bad points
1. Some of the animals looked bored, but this is compared to Whipsnade with it's big open spaces that I'm used to. The main species that springs to mind is the zebra. They were all lying down, and I don't think I can say I've ever seen a zebra lying down! Similarly the giraffe looked too big for the space they were in, but can't complain about the lovely close views of them!
2. I agree with some of the comments I've seen about the Outback exhibit. It's a big old space used for relatively common animals (just wallabies and emus, with a couple of cranes and black swans too), though I think aesthetically the actual exhibit and landscaping is nice and themed well
Can't really think of many bad points which is good, but nowhere's perfect!
Other notable things I can think of - there was a lot of human activity in the spider monkey enclosure. I think they were putting in lots of new enrichment and climbing stuff for them, but I didn't want to stare for too long
Lion cubs were lovely, but not that small! Tried to see the new macaque baby that was posted on the website recently but couldn't see it, though there was a smallish one so if it's grown quickly that could have been it!
If anyone has any questions I'll try and answer them if I can!
First time I've been there in a few years so it was nice to go around somewhere unusual! Here are some of my thoughts:Good points
1. The weather! Had nothing to do with the zoo itself, but it was lovely all day
2. I managed to see pretty much everything over 6ish hours there. The only things I know of that I couldn't/didn't see were the pygmy hippos (They seemed to be inaccessible due to the work on the new tiger exhibit, though I'm not a seasoned London Zoo visitor so there may have been a way to get to them that I didn't know about), the fruit bats (I was starving so had to skip them to go and get lunch!) and a few things in the nocturnal part (Too dark!).
3. I saw some species I haven't seen before that I was very excited to see. Three spring to mind - Bali Starling, Hummingbirds and Sloths, but there were others!
4. Penguin Beach! I thought this exhibit was lovely! Beautifully landscaped, nice varied viewing (big front window, sunken circular window, platform at water level and the normal path all the way along!) and a nice talk about them that I went to at 2.30
Did happen to see the old penguin pool being painted lovely bright white. Does anyone know what the plans for that are?5. Walkthrough exhibits. I love a nice walkthrough exhibit and I thought all five or so at London were great! I had seen pictures/video of the Blackburn Pavillion done up as the tropical bird house and it looked like a normal building with a couple of plants and some birds, but it was actually lovely, very immersive (Is that even a word? Haha)! The Snowdon Aviary was huuuuge and lots of lovely ibis in there, though all the waterfowl looked very sad that there was no water. I don't know how it works, but they were all standing in the area that looks like it is normally a swimming area. Loved rainforest life too! African Bird Safari was closed unfortunately, but oh well..
Those are the main points, but I also liked the Animal Adventure section
Bad points
1. Some of the animals looked bored, but this is compared to Whipsnade with it's big open spaces that I'm used to. The main species that springs to mind is the zebra. They were all lying down, and I don't think I can say I've ever seen a zebra lying down! Similarly the giraffe looked too big for the space they were in, but can't complain about the lovely close views of them!
2. I agree with some of the comments I've seen about the Outback exhibit. It's a big old space used for relatively common animals (just wallabies and emus, with a couple of cranes and black swans too), though I think aesthetically the actual exhibit and landscaping is nice and themed well
Can't really think of many bad points which is good, but nowhere's perfect!
Other notable things I can think of - there was a lot of human activity in the spider monkey enclosure. I think they were putting in lots of new enrichment and climbing stuff for them, but I didn't want to stare for too long
Lion cubs were lovely, but not that small! Tried to see the new macaque baby that was posted on the website recently but couldn't see it, though there was a smallish one so if it's grown quickly that could have been it!If anyone has any questions I'll try and answer them if I can!
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