ZSL London Zoo Tapirs at London

CountAlmaviva

CountAlmaviva

Member
First of all, Hello to all of you, I've been reading these forums for ages, but I've never posted before so here we go...

Anyway, I live about 5 minutes away from London Zoo and go about once a week. But since about October, the tapir house has been closed. Apparently this is because of a baby, but do baby Malayan tapirs really take that long to be able to go on show? :confused:

Thanks,
 
Hi, welcome to the forum :)
They shouldn't take that long, the Bristol zoo one was on show in a few days (although he was Brazillian, which might make a difference but probably wouldn't) . Maybe it got ill an had to be quarantined or something?
 
That's sort of what I assumed, there's a sign saying only specific keepers and vets are allowed in e.t.c, but 6 months or so seems a bit excessive. I haven't seen them in their outside enclosure either. Doesn't bode terribly well, I don't think.
 
I actually saw one of the Tapirs outside in December, so it can't be that serious. Have no idea though. Maybe you should ask one of the keepers, you'd get a more precise answer.
 
I saw the female and baby on show in February but I believe it is a problem with the male
 
That's good to know, I'm glad that the baby is alright. I'll go and scout about on Wednesday and see if I can get a definitive answer...
 
The tapir house was closed back at the beginning of September when I last visited, so it's been longer than six months....
 
Couldn't quite remember whether it was September or October. It might even have been closed at the end of August, but I wasn't in London very much.
 
I went at the end of August and it was closed. And is the Round House still closed on that subject?
 
Yes, well, at least, it was last Thursday... I have a feeling that they might be just leaving it until Easter, when Animal Adventure opens and it starts to get warmer. Does anyone know if they plan to put the tamandua back on show, because it's still listed on ISIS...
 
I got told they're not on display anymore, was annoyed. Why has the roundhouse been closed for so long? Surely it can't take that long to introduce a pair of lemurs?
Is there a possibility that the female aye-aye had a baby and they're keeping it quite?
 
I know, can it really take that long to introduce the aye-ayes? You could be right on the baby front, anything's possible, but would it show on ISIS? I assume that it would, not that I've checked... :p Like I said, I think they're holding everything down until proper spring, perhaps just to give the aye-ayes/tapirs more time. After all, most people want to see the lions/tigers/gorillas/giraffes... Sad about the tamanduas, though. They were almost my favourites, but they've been off for years now.
 
The tamandua is back on display! It's mixed with the Goeldi's monkeys in the pen of the Clore that also forms part of happy families...
 
as far as im concerned the malayan tapirs at london zoo have been a real no-show since at least february 2005 when i spent a year living in camden town.
a real shame because even here in Australia with our half blind population of M tapirs they do make really wonderful, and captivating zoo exhibits. and its actually un-London like to have not turned them into a star yet...something ZSL is good at (taking an obscure species, or number of species and making them into a big attraction)
 
glyn said:
and its actually un-London like to have not turned them into a star yet...something ZSL is good at (taking an obscure species, or number of species and making them into a big attraction)
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One of the problems I think is that their enclosure on the Cotton terraces is not very suitable/visible. Even if they come outside that particular enclosure(and moat) is higher than the public walkway making viewing more difficult. The indoor house is closed more often than it is open- though I did go in there once(see photo I took in there for you...)

A better place to display them would be the old Elephant House. They could be seen both indoors and outside and there is plenty of space to refurbish a decent indoor area plus a pool/bathing area both inside and out. They are very impressive animals but underrated as an exhibit at ZSL.
 
Pertinax said:
A better place to display them would be the old Elephant House. They could be seen both indoors and outside and there is plenty of space to refurbish a decent indoor area plus a pool/bathing area both inside and out. They are very impressive animals but underrated as an exhibit at ZSL.
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Would be a better display than the camels and then you could have a loose S.E. Asian thing with the Bornean Bearded Pigs next door
 
And then the hippos could take up their enclosure in Into Africa. I always wondered why the Tapir are in that section of the zoo.
 
ashley-h said:
And then the hippos could take up their enclosure in Into Africa. I always wondered why the Tapir are in that section of the zoo.
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They've been there a long time- from before it was an Africa themed area but I'm surprised they've never thought to exchange with the Hippos.
 
Maybe because the indoor area doesn't have a pool? That isn't much of an excuse though, they could build one and then save the hippos having to be indoors in a puddle all winter.
 
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