ZSL London Zoo Tapirs at London

ashley-h said:
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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The current Tapir indoor area does have a pool though (or did when I visited in 2007). Admittedly it wasn't particularly good, but still suitable for pygmy hippos
 
Well then what the hell is their excuse?! :rolleyes:
 
Perhaps because the old Sealion pool is used by the Hippos in the summer. It would be empty otherwise though the Hippos aren't exactly a brilliant display in it. That whole area(sealion pool/elephant house) is redundant really. I do wish the Sealions had never left....
 
Surely they could fill the pool in and use it for something else? It's quite a large area of land.
 
Pertinax said:
Perhaps because the old Sealion pool is used by the Hippos in the summer. It would be empty otherwise though the Hippos aren't exactly a brilliant display in it. That whole area(sealion pool/elephant house) is redundant really. I do wish the Sealions had never left....
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Sorry for taking the thread slightly off-topic, but why did the Sealions leave?
 
The Californian Sealions left during the cutbacks when the zoo almost closed (around 1990, the first time). Later, a solitary fur seal (I'm sure it was south American) occupied the same pool for a year or two. In the mid-nineties, the crane paddock (formerly some of the stork and ostrich house runs) was connected over the path to the pool to create a low-budget but apparently new exhibit for pygmy hippos.

I don't think that the current tapir exhibit is entirely suitable, the outdoor area is very small for a start, but ZSL have bred Malayan tapir twice now in the current exhibit, it is quiet and fairly secluded, and the heated indoor space of the cotton terraces is far superior and larger than anything they would have in either the casson or the old stork and ostrich house. It would just be nice to see a chute built over some of the path to allow them to access the south bank wooded area during the summer, in the same way that port lympne have their paddocks across the visitor path from the house and yard.

I am sure that ZSL are not risking announcing the tapir calf until it is almost six months' old, if at all, after the premature announcement of the imminent okapi calf last year. With this in mind, they should be commended for shutting the tapir house throughout the entire winter.
 
johnstoni said:
The Californian Sealions left during the cutbacks when the zoo almost closed (around 1990, the first time). Later, a solitary fur seal (I'm sure it was south American) occupied the same pool for a year or two. In the mid-nineties, the crane paddock (formerly some of the stork and ostrich house runs) was connected over the path to the pool to create a low-budget but apparently new exhibit for pygmy hippos.
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Thanks for that

I'd sort of figured they might've left due to the near-closure, but wasn't sure.

I think the pygmy hippo enclosure was constructed late 90s as that was my first visit and the hippos were in there, but the fence appeared to still have orange construction fencing (indicating that it wasn't 100% completed).
 
Yeah, I remember that too. For a while I think they tried to mix the hippos with stanley cranes. I don't know if the solitary hippo in the indoor casson pool was later one of the new pair that returned to the zoo?

I think the zoo could do well with this species, how much would it really cost to create a corridor between the winter and summer spaces? Surely they can bulldoze a little patch of tarmac? I don't see how they will ever breed from them, they have no space to mate or hold young during the winter as it stands.

To look at benchmarks for individual species in the UK, it is clear that Marwell has got the right formula with these animals. Plenty of lush grazing space....
 
I believe the Sealions left as they didn't fit the new in vogue 'Conservation' mandate being an obviously non-endangered species. yes, I know they have giraffes etc still but I think that was the given reason for the sealiuons to go. They were actually one of the best ZSl exhibits(as they are anywhere)

The pool may still have some sort of Preservation Order on it?
 
I doubt it's preserved, it's a glorified swimming pool that looks like it was built in the 70s lol. I assume that the viewing was closer when the Sealions were there? I can't really picture them in that pool
 
It was dug in the 1890's I think. There was both the gallery by the kiosk that stands today and a path now taken by hippo space for extra viewing.
 
It was a classic Sealion pool, with viewing over a perimeter rail almost all around the enclosure except the end where the Rocks were/are.
there were a couple of natural looking rocky islets in the pool itself.
There are loads of postcards/photos taken at different times in its history. It was a very good exhibit with the sealions at feeding time leaping off the rocks after fish etc. I miss the yelping noise they made too- another classic zoo experience. It just seems deader without them.
 
ashley-h said:
I doubt it's preserved, it's a glorified swimming pool that looks like it was built in the 70s lol. I assume that the viewing was closer when the Sealions were there? I can't really picture them in that pool
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I think it's the rock work at the back (side?) that is subject to a preservation order, rather than the pool itself.

Wholly agree that this is a bit of a dead area of the zoo: the hippos are a poor exhibit, camels in the Elephant House, cafe which always seems to be closed...

That said, ZSL can't be criticised for the pace of change in recent years, so they can be permitted a few areas where work still needs to be done.

With the new Children's Zoo thing about to open, does anybody know what is next on the agenda? Is it to be a re-doing of the Cat Terraces?
 
I think the cat terraces are next on the list... When I was there the other day, I was talking to a lion keeper, who was a bit annoyed about the Mappin Terraces being given over to the wallabies when she thought that with adjustments, it would have made a perfect lion exhibit. Didn't they keep porpoises in the sealion pool for a bit in the 19th century?
 
CountAlmaviva said:
I When I was there the other day, I was talking to a lion keeper, who was a bit annoyed about the Mappin Terraces being given over to the wallabies when she thought that with adjustments, it would have made a perfect lion exhibit.
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This suggestion has cropped up on here severasl times too. It would indeed have made a good Lion exhibit- it had already been planted with an Indian dry forest 'feel' for the Sloth Bears and the Lions could have been moved in to replace them, perhaps after some more upgrading. It would still have left the concrete empty 2nd level visible though, which I believe the Australian enclosure has now effectively hidden.

But on balance the Lions would have benefitted from all that space.
 
Well apparentley the Outback exhibit isn't featured in this year's map and guide book, so it's possible the area could be used for lions or tigers as part of the cat terraces redevelopment.
 
And yet that outback exhibit looks so good and is very weel built :rolleyes:
It's a shame they'll probably never use the mountains and middle section again, seems like such a waste with nothing using it.
 
Big cats are so inactive though, it won't make a good exhibit. The building is iconic and really would be done justice with animals that can use the full area and climb the mountains on the terraces. I still think a large colony of geladas mixed with either ibex or barbary sheep would be the most active and impressive exhibit, especially if all species could access the mountain level. Has anyone ever read 'the buildings of London Zoo?'. There are some amazing photographs of the hollow mountains and concrete goat runs inside the terraces. These internal spaces are vast and far more extensive that I realised.
 
Sorry to drag up an old thread but I thought it would be better to post here rather than to start a new one.

Does anyone know about the tapirs at London?

Are the two on display in the paddock mother and male calf? If so, is the male inside? Is he still at the zoo? And if the calf is now doing well and on display, why is the house always closed?

I hope someone can help because I find it all very confusing.
 
Shirokuma said:
Does anyone know about the tapirs at London?

Is the male inside? Is he still at the zoo? And if the calf is now doing well and on display, why is the house always closed?
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The status of Malayan Tapirs, both at London and places like Twycross, can be quite difficult to ascertain, as for such a big animal they seem remarkably difficult to see, causing uncertainty as to if they are really there or not. Even at Port Lympne, which has several, my experience has been you'll be lucky to see more than one or two of them during a visit.

It is curious why the indoor 'Tapir House' at ZSL is so often closed. As the tapirs are frequently inside you are often prevented from seeing them. A couple of years back I found the indoor house was open one visit. One of the stalls has been converted into a pool.

I can't help with the current status I'm afraid.
 
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