The trouble is they haven't done much with Whipsnade either-HUGE potential but no will it seems.But that's for another debate I guess.
Maybe ZSL should poll the local community for their opinions on acquisition. They might be pleasantly surprised.
ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2014
- Thread starter sooty mangabey
- Start date
The trouble is they haven't done much with Whipsnade either-HUGE potential but no will it seems.But that's for another debate I guess.
Maybe ZSL should poll the local community for their opinions on acquisition. They might be pleasantly surprised.
Noticed today that the main lion enclosure had been in part returfed. The area vacated by the pygmy hippos (old tiger enclosure) has also been returfed.
The gorilla's also have some new log structures to climb outside.
Quite a few more penguin chicks hatched.
The gorilla's also have some new log structures to climb outside.
Quite a few more penguin chicks hatched.
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I think full development of london zoo's existing site and whipsnade should be more of a priority than gaining extra land in regents park. the north bank needs proper attention for a start, and im not sure the 2 lawns in the centre of the zoo add much when you're already part of an enormous green park. Ironically they'd probably have made a better site for the pygmy hippos and be next to the gorillas/other african forest species.
Netting over the 3 island pond, as was propsoed in the 2007 masterplan would mean more unpinnioned birds could be kept there, and moving the horticulture section of the bank frees up more space for other aviaries/houses etc. The huge forecourt outside the shop is a bit of a waste of space imho, and could be redveloped for animal exhibits.
I dont think 36, or even 46 acres, would ever be enough to exhbit much in the way of mega fauna and you can make a very exciting zoo for enthusiats, tourists and children by holding a lot more in the way of small primates, lemurs, tropical houses, free flight bird avairies, aquariums and interactive/play areas and a childrens farm where they can touch real animals. Lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras and camels would probably be enough in the way of megafauna - I dont think adding in 2 solitary black rhino would draw any more people in.
In busy london, a zoo with great variety, lots of different animals, smaller more active animals or unusal animals would be as much of a draw as fewer species of hoofstock. Remember meerkats and penguins are currently among the most popular zoo animals. ZSL has whipsnade for keeping grazing hoofstock and the collection there has suffered lacklustre attention in recent years with dwindling numbers of species.
With exception of lions, tigers and giraffes, i dont think there should be any duplicartion of species over the sites - keep zsl for smaller stock but bigger numbers of animals/species, and larger hoofstock/megafauna for whipsnade where they can have space. Both would be able to draw punters on there own merits.
Netting over the 3 island pond, as was propsoed in the 2007 masterplan would mean more unpinnioned birds could be kept there, and moving the horticulture section of the bank frees up more space for other aviaries/houses etc. The huge forecourt outside the shop is a bit of a waste of space imho, and could be redveloped for animal exhibits.
I dont think 36, or even 46 acres, would ever be enough to exhbit much in the way of mega fauna and you can make a very exciting zoo for enthusiats, tourists and children by holding a lot more in the way of small primates, lemurs, tropical houses, free flight bird avairies, aquariums and interactive/play areas and a childrens farm where they can touch real animals. Lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras and camels would probably be enough in the way of megafauna - I dont think adding in 2 solitary black rhino would draw any more people in.
In busy london, a zoo with great variety, lots of different animals, smaller more active animals or unusal animals would be as much of a draw as fewer species of hoofstock. Remember meerkats and penguins are currently among the most popular zoo animals. ZSL has whipsnade for keeping grazing hoofstock and the collection there has suffered lacklustre attention in recent years with dwindling numbers of species.
With exception of lions, tigers and giraffes, i dont think there should be any duplicartion of species over the sites - keep zsl for smaller stock but bigger numbers of animals/species, and larger hoofstock/megafauna for whipsnade where they can have space. Both would be able to draw punters on there own merits.
Whilst i can't agree with you on the additional acres, i am in total agreement about the under utilised space already available. There is a need for more smaller and unusual mammals and greater variety. You only have to look at the RSCC species list to see what can be offered in limited space!
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
I'd suggest going to Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Antwerp, leiclad20, if you've not done so. Frankfurt (founded in 1858)has 33 acres; Artis (1838) 35; and Antwerp (1843) 26. Together with Vienna (1752!) these zoos show that skilful planning and imagination can retain larger mammals in a small urban site. Nobody would dispute that Whipsnade should keep the bulk of ZSL's megafauna, but London Zoo needs to be more than Battersea Park with a few extra bells on.
And at the risk of being mischievous: how can you have 2 solitary black rhino ?
Ian out of those you list i've only done artis, and the number of larger species such as polar bear/sloth bear and many of the big cat species have gone, and you have to admit the remaining big stock don't have room to play in.... the lion terrace, the chimps in that awful cage, the 3 elephants in a pen not much larger than poor wendy's was at my local zoo (bristol), and the cat terraces? awful. But i will endeavor to visit the others you suggest (vienna is already planned). London zoo itself has shown recently that you can do a lot with small spaces, desite the cost the new tiger exhibit and gorilla kingdom are spacious and effective imho. But in this day and age, no matter how artistic you make them, there is no excuse for grazing hoofstaock to be kept in 1/4 acre hard enclosures like some of those at artis (sitatunga, nilgai, gemsbok, malayan tapir, ankole cattle).
ian out of interest, which is best to go to in a weekend out of berlin/frankfurt/leipzig/antewerp if you had a spare 2 days?
ian out of interest, which is best to go to in a weekend out of berlin/frankfurt/leipzig/antewerp if you had a spare 2 days?
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
I'd be tempted to say Frankfurt and go to Stuttgart on one of your days. If you've never visited either Berlin collection, two days will not be enough!
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
I would love it if London had a bigger collection and I love the zoos you list here too - they're very much the sorts of places to which I naturally gravitate, zoo-wise.
It is certainly interesting to compare these various places as upholders of large collections of mega-fauna.
Compared to London, Amsterdam can offer elephants (with a new enclosure on the agenda), sea lions (in a fairly miserable pool) and a solitary spectacled bear. They don't have tigers (but do have leopards, in a tiny cage), no okapis (but they do have scimitar-horned oryx), the reptile and bird collections are much lesser (even though the newly renovated bird house is fantastic). A new jaguar thing is just being built. Overall, Artis is just ahead of London - but not much.
Antwerp does still have a greater range of big species, but I'm not sure that a British zoo could get away with presenting its collection in this way: certainly, the accommodation for leopards, jaguars, tigers, sea lions, elephants, gorillas, chimps and monkeys would, I think, attract much criticism if it were replicated in London. Whether that criticism would be justified would be another matter!
Frankfurt has, like London, lost many of its bigger animals. The elephants are long gone, I think I'm right in saying that the rhino and hippo will follow. The cat collection is smaller than was once the case. They still have a much bigger collection of great apes, and they win too with their pinnipeds, and bears. As a collection, it out-strips London, but not by much.
uszoo
Well-Known Member
I measured the London Zoo to be around 34 acres on google maps area calculator. Excluding parking areas the oldest american zoo, the Philly Zoo is 39 acres. In that space with many historic buildings they can fit 9 species of cat, 4 species of bear, a nice sized reptile collection, and 24 species of primate. They do also have hippos, rhino and giraffes. They are limited though to a small bird and hoofstock collection but wisely use there space. They also build inovative trails around the zoo.
Another american zoo the Lincoln Park Zoo in chicago is 34 acres the same size as the London Zoo. It has its share of small exhibits but still is able to hold rhino's, giraffe, polar bear (new exhibit on the way), gorilla, chimp, African Lion, and Amur tiger. In addition they have large small mammal collections, a small collection of hoofstock (still more than london) and a nice sized bird collection. With all this they still have a lot of open spaces.
London Zoo just has to look at other zoo's to see that they can maximize there collection on there current site. The hoofstock collection will never be large in a zoo under 40 acres, but other collections can. For zoo can easily have more small primates, small cats and really any other medium to small sized animal on its current site. They also can acquire a few more larger species. Some species I would like to see are Wolf's, Chimpanzee, Giant Anteater and Sun Bear. Maybe the zebras have to go, but the giraffes should stay where they are. The zoo can hold a few females in a half acre yard. If the okapi were moved it could be an acre. The area behind the gorillas could be home to the Okapi as the grassy area could have a yard double the size of the current space. I am making a little master plan of how I think the zoo should be and will be posting it later.
Another american zoo the Lincoln Park Zoo in chicago is 34 acres the same size as the London Zoo. It has its share of small exhibits but still is able to hold rhino's, giraffe, polar bear (new exhibit on the way), gorilla, chimp, African Lion, and Amur tiger. In addition they have large small mammal collections, a small collection of hoofstock (still more than london) and a nice sized bird collection. With all this they still have a lot of open spaces.
London Zoo just has to look at other zoo's to see that they can maximize there collection on there current site. The hoofstock collection will never be large in a zoo under 40 acres, but other collections can. For zoo can easily have more small primates, small cats and really any other medium to small sized animal on its current site. They also can acquire a few more larger species. Some species I would like to see are Wolf's, Chimpanzee, Giant Anteater and Sun Bear. Maybe the zebras have to go, but the giraffes should stay where they are. The zoo can hold a few females in a half acre yard. If the okapi were moved it could be an acre. The area behind the gorillas could be home to the Okapi as the grassy area could have a yard double the size of the current space. I am making a little master plan of how I think the zoo should be and will be posting it later.
The already have giant anteater, between the squirrel monkeys and vicuna, opposite bugs.
I went to the zoo this morning. The hippos were both outside, each in their own half of the enclosure, grazing and swimming. It's looking a bit more lived in now and was very nice in the sunshine. The zoo was very busy but this area was still reasonably quiet so I got some more pictures inside without anyone getting in the way.
The Clore now has (2?) northern helmeted currassow, not sure how long they have been there but I have a feeling they came from the north bank aviaries. Very impressive addition and one of them was making deep booming sounds from its perch on the artificial tree on the upper walkway. There are also red-footed tortoise which I think are also relatively new. I couldn't see any though.
A sticker has been placed over the 'e' on the large map signs making Snowdon Aviary correctly labeled.
The Clore now has (2?) northern helmeted currassow, not sure how long they have been there but I have a feeling they came from the north bank aviaries. Very impressive addition and one of them was making deep booming sounds from its perch on the artificial tree on the upper walkway. There are also red-footed tortoise which I think are also relatively new. I couldn't see any though.
A sticker has been placed over the 'e' on the large map signs making Snowdon Aviary correctly labeled.
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The two Northern Helmeted Curassows arrived from Chessington Zoo last year, both are male, shortly after the grey winged trumpeter bird left the Clore.
Confirmation of the Tiger cubs sexes at
It's a girl...and two boys! | Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WToC-P7Lvo
It's a girl...and two boys! | Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WToC-P7Lvo
volvox
Well-Known Member
Beautiful baby llama born yesterday lunchtime in full view of visitors! – all went well and a couple of hours later it was staggering around looking very interested in its surroundings. The other llama is pregnant, due the same time, so there should be two youngsters soon (if not already!).
Something thats bugged me for years (no pun intended!) why was Web of Life renamed B.U.G.S? I much prefer the old name!
I understood it was because many visitors didn't realise what 'Web of Life' was, whereas 'B.U.G.S.', while not so nice a name I agree, is immediately decipherable!
A picture from today showing the new llama arrivals
Although llamas are such a common zoo species I'm not sure I have seen crias - their young - before.
The former tiger enclosure is very nicely turfed and it looks like they are using sprinklers on the grass but no indication whatsoever of what will be in there next.
Although llamas are such a common zoo species I'm not sure I have seen crias - their young - before.
The former tiger enclosure is very nicely turfed and it looks like they are using sprinklers on the grass but no indication whatsoever of what will be in there next.