ZSL London Zoo The North Bank.

P

Pertinax

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
we're talking principally about the slope below the North Bank Aviaries and bounded by the Canal. I cannot remember if there is path/walkway along the bottom(canalside) of this area which is/could be accessable to zoo visitors. If not, it may be difficult because of the steep slope to turn this into an animal exhibit because of a lack of visual aspect.

But it represents a sizeable area of open ground which is unused at present.
 
Didn`t it used to have Cranes along this bank with a footpath at the top and along the canal at the bottom?
 
Yes, it used to have cranes,(maybe still does?) or part of it did. I don't know if this area could be/can be viewed from a walkway below i.e. if you are still inside the zoo grounds , or whether there is a towpath along the canalside which is outside the zoo.
 
The North bank area of the zoo seems to be a wasted area of land in a zoo that could utilise more of the gardens for animals, is this area of the zoo quite steep leading down to the canal?
Looking at the map on the zoo website i thought it could make an excellent area for the Sumatran tiger, langurs, a gibbon species and Malayan tapir, leading on to the Snowdon aviary which could be used for Asian species with the Bornean bearded pig on the floor of the aviary.

I used this post in an earlier thread, but by the account here the slope of the bank would be too steep, or would it?
Could the slope be terraced?
 
Last time I went there was a sign drawing attention to a log pile.

It would make a great area for a small goat/sheep type of mammal.
 
There used to be steps up and down the bank at the western end near the Education Centre and below the bridge over to the Cotton Terraces, so that could walk next to the canal bank past the base of the Snowdon Aviary. I guess steps are a problem now.
You could also cross the canal by a third bridge to the other end of Cotton terraces (where the warthogs and okapis are now). That bridge has been closed for several years.
The old crane paddocks were at the eastern end, opposite the aviaries; although they extended some distance down the slope they could only be viewed from the existing path. I think there were three or four of them and the birds seemed to do well. I remember seeing a sarus crane pair there which hatched and reared a few chicks over the years.
The aviaries along that path are looking very old-fashioned now. I wouldn't be in favour of getting rid of all of them, but I'd like to see something better in place of the old North entrance building and perhaps the owl aviaries. I imagine something for arboreal animals - monkeys or gibbons or even red pandas. The slope of the land means that you could view them climbing from a walkway at the same level as the current path.

Alan
 
Yes i agree with all thats been said, its a very wasted area. maybe its a key location for a major exhibit in the future, last time i went i didnt bother to go over the bridge to look.

It seems a great shame that one of the best enclosures: snowdon aviary is on its own with nothing else around it to attract guests to view it.
 
But could there be any access for zoo visitors at the bottom of this slope(yes, it is steep) even if its closed off now? To me that seems the key as to whether this area could be ever be used as a noteworthy exhibit or not.
 
Tigerlemurguy said:
...It seems a great shame that one of the best enclosures: snowdon aviary is on its own with nothing else around it to attract guests to view it.
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I understand that while Snowdon aviary is architecturly great, it is quite hopeless as a bird aviary. The numerous acute corners cause birds to get trapped and the mesh is wide enough to allow starlings in. Unfortunately every time I have visited ZSL (half a dozen times) the aviary has been closed. It has been more of a holding aviary for surplus birds for long periods of its life.
 
gentle lemur said:
... I imagine something for arboreal animals - monkeys or gibbons or even red pandas. The slope of the land means that you could view them climbing from a walkway at the same level as the current path.
Click to expand...

I would imagine that ZSL would need a good reason to do a huge makeover of this area, which is largely the forgotten part of the zoo. The whole area would need to be assessed and that is where the problems/costs start to build up. There are several exhibits which can be barely changed (Snowdon, Cotton terraces and the Aye-aye palace) and thus difficult to integrate with changes around the canal. The slope on either side could be utilised as you mention but that causes engineering problems.

There are probably too many other parts of the park which need improving before they tackle this problem.
 
tetrapod said:
I would imagine that ZSL would need a good reason to do a huge makeover of this area, which is largely the forgotten part of the zoo.
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Particularly the 'North Bank' strip north of the Canal, which includes the Snowdon aviary, the old ranges of 'mixed bird' & owl aviaries as well as this largest undeveloped slope. The problem is its really too narrow and sloping to do an awful lot with it. At least the Snowdon aviary did incorporate the steep incline quite successfully though in other ways its been another of the zoo's 'white elephants'
 
snowdon could be a shoebill aviary...
 
I mean shoebill need to fly to breed don't they? this aviary seems to be big enough for shoebill.
 
tetrapod said:
I understand that while Snowdon aviary is architecturly great, it is quite hopeless as a bird aviary. The numerous acute corners cause birds to get trapped and the mesh is wide enough to allow starlings in. Unfortunately every time I have visited ZSL (half a dozen times) the aviary has been closed. It has been more of a holding aviary for surplus birds for long periods of its life.
Click to expand...

You must be unlucky tetrapod. I've going to London since 1985 and have made around 50 visits and I've never seen the Snowdon Aviary closed.
 
i think they should move the gibbons up there as they are still in that terrible enclosure by the gorillas
 
The snowdon aviary required an estimated 1 million spent on it to rennovate it even as far as 20 years ago. To my knowledge, the money was never spent and it's inhabitants have slowly declined over time, with the exception of the ibis which breed and the birds of prey (first bateleur eagles, then kites). The aviary is so iconic and has great potential, but would be hard to re-market as anything perceviably different to it's current function, and therefore I imagine rather low on the list of priorities for capital expenditure. Plus, ZSL have created some wonderful walk-through aviaries in the last couple of years that are far less harsh and more visitor-friendly than the snowdon.

The slope on the North bank is steep only in a few places. Most of it is very wide, and flat along the path, with many young trees and scrub growing along the length. The path is quite wide and if replaced by a raised platform through an exhibit, would be a very good size. The space at the bottom of the snowdon running along to the education centre is also not inconsiderable.
 
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