ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2014

Shirokuma said:
Something I stumbled across today:

london-zoo-entrance-proposal

According to the video upload date, it's from 2010.
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It looks like the current entrance which makes you wonder if at one point they considered just doing that up.

Of course if they thought it might be a while before they got round to moving it they might consider doing the current entrance up.
 
When I was there on Sunday ...

looked like some work digging work occuring in and around the bird show arena - quite a bit of returfing of other areas.

One of the window panes in the Gorrila enclosure appears under repair ... don't know if that was weather or gorilla related.

The old tapir area is advertising that the Pygmy Hippos will be there in Easter.

The mother and young Tapir were enjoying the outside pool in their new area in Zoo world... the male Tapir looked less pleased at being pool less in the former Anoa compound. Inside of Zooworld is still closed.

Jai Jai seemed to be missing the company of Melati
 
tennisfan said:
One of the window panes in the Gorilla enclosure appears under repair ... don't know if that was weather or gorilla related.
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When I was there the week before, I was told that Kumbuka had thrown something and cracked the glass.
 
With the new Pygmy hippo exhibit due to open in Easter,can anyone provide information on the zoo's current pair? Are they breeding/retired? I can't remember the last time there was a hippo birth at London!
 
Panthera1981 said:
With the new Pygmy hippo exhibit due to open in Easter,can anyone provide information on the zoo's current pair? Are they breeding/retired? I can't remember the last time there was a hippo birth at London!
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Unless there has been a recent change of animals, which I don’t think is the case, the London pygmy hippos are:-

• Male “Thug” born in Aalborg, 1996, arrived London 1998
• Female “Nicola” born in Rome, 1995, arrived London 1997
 
Panthera1981 said:
With the new Pygmy hippo exhibit due to open in Easter,can anyone provide information on the zoo's current pair? Are they breeding/retired? I can't remember the last time there was a hippo birth at London!
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You might be interested in post 16 (on page 2) of this thread.
 
Some pictures of the construction from yesterday:

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It looks like a pond(?) is being creating in the lower photos. Is the concrete ditch the Tapirs used to swim in being filled in do you think?- I can't tell from the photos.
 
Excellent news.



Five-year-old-Sumatran-ti-017.jpg


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Endangered Sumatran tiger triplets have been born at London zoo to the mother whose cub drowned in the multimillion pound tiger enclosure last year.

The triplets were born to five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati on Monday morning. The first cub arrived at 12.28, the second at 12.59, and the last at 1.18, with keepers monitoring the birth using remote camera technology. It is not yet known what gender the cubs are.

Melati and her cubs, pictured, remain inside the den away from the public, with the mother occasionally venturing out for food. The father, six-year-old Jae Jae, remains in the main tiger enclosure, away from the cubs.

Zookeeper Teague Stubbington said: "We couldn't be more delighted with our new arrivals, and with how Melati is responding to her three cubs … we've even been able to observe key milestones like their eyes opening and their tentative first steps.

"While we still don't know whether they're boys or girls, we're starting to see their personalities develop. We've nicknamed one Trouble, as it's much bolder than the others – it was the first to start exploring its den and we've spotted it waking up its siblings when they fall asleep."

With Sumatran tiger numbers estimated to be as low as 300 individuals in the wild, the zoo says the birth of the cubs represents a huge achievement, "not just for ZSL London zoo but for the global breeding programme of this critically endangered species".

Three of the world’s rarest tigers have been born at ZSL London zoo, with zookeepers capturing their first moments on hidden cameras. Photograph: ZSL

In October last year, a newborn cub – the first to be born at the zoo in 17 years – drowned in the pool in the tiger enclosure. Only two weeks old, it had not yet been named or sexed.

It is thought that the mother, Melati, carried the cub outside but keepers still remain unclear as to how the cub got into the pool as there were no cameras in the wider enclosure.

A spokeswoman for the zoo said that with the first cub, keepers had been reticent to interfere given Melati's nervous disposition, but that changes had been made during the pregnancy to prevent a repeat of the situation.

"We've drained the pond and built a cub conservancy so that Melati has space to go outside with the cubs without going too far. The keepers are monitoring the situation 24/7 and taking turns to watch the cameras overnight."

London zoo's £3.6m Tiger Territory opened in March 2013 and was designed to encourage breeding of the endangered subspecies of tiger.

The as-yet unsexed triplets were born to five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati, on 3 February 2014, after a 106-day pregnancy. Photograph: ZSL

The Sumatran tiger, whose habitat is the forests and jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia, is threatened by poaching, habitat loss and human conflict.

In the 1970s, there were estimated to be 1,000 Sumatran tigers in the wild, but current figures indicate that there are just 300. Should their numbers continue to decline at this rate, conservationists warn that Sumatran tigers will face the very real threat of extinction within the next decade.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/13/sumatran-tiger-triplets-london-zoo
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Tiger Territory

stulch said:
I'm pretty sure it's over three months since they started to breed again, hence my original comment, but of course they may just be cleaning the pool!
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So that was the reason then! :)

Fantastic news. :)
 
Going back to the pygmy hippo enclosure, it looks like they are leveling the steps into the pool - i did wonder how the hippos would manage the steep concrete steps down into the water. Will the hippos have access to the giraffe field as well? Zoos do seem to underestimate how much time pygmies like to graze as well as swim!!
 
leiclad20 said:
Will the hippos have access to the giraffe field as well? Zoos do seem to underestimate how much time pygmies like to graze as well as swim!!
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They do indeed. In the UK only Marwell has a decent sized grazing paddock though Whipsnade's do have smaller grass paddocks too. But the giraffe paddock at ZSL hasn't got any grass....
 
Oh and, of course, well done to london zoo on the new tiger cubs!

Try not to drown them this time.
 
Pertinax said:
They do indeed. In the UK only Marwell has a decent sized grazing paddock though Whipsnade's do have smaller grass paddocks too.
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Don't know about that - there's a pretty sizeable grazing paddock for the pygmy hippos at Edinburgh.
 
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