Like many of us I’d like it to be something more - extension of the outdoor yard into a hoofstock paddock, revamped into a slightly more dynamic macaque enclosure, even just a facelift akin to the tapir enclosure on the far side and a slightly more unusual suid (babirusa would be lovely) but as it stands Visayan warty pigs swapped in place of the dearly departed beardies seems like the most practical solution. As long as something moves in there and it doesn’t end up another empty space I’ll be pleased!
ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2019
- Thread starter Crowthorne
- Start date
Couldn't they get some of the Red River Hogs from Whipsnade?
Please note: Discussion of the Indian Rhino breeding has been moved to the ZSL Whipsnade thread ZSL Whipsnade Zoo 2019 [ZSL Whipsnade Zoo]
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Apologies if this post comes across as particularly negative.
I visited last week and sadly have to echo many of the comments from the past year about the zoo feeling tired, neglected and old. I have a fondness for London Zoo as I love the history, but walked around with someone not familiar with the collection and that afforded a different albeit less than positive perspective.
One of the recurring themes was "why is this closed?", and it dawned on me how many of the houses and major exhibits are no longer accessible or have simply been forgotten. There are the obvious ones; The Mappin Terraces, which only looked like the outback for about five minutes, The Aquarium and The Casson Pavilion, but there are many others too; inside the buildings and lower viewing on the Cotton Terraces, the pathway around the side of the Blackburn Pavilion and its northern half (although the accessible area inside is much improved since the renovation), the Round House... and of course it doesn't help that the zoo currently ends at the Middle Gardens and there is no access over the canal other than for school groups.
There are the tired and forgotten areas such as the old Stork and Ostrich House, the exhibits adjacent to the park under what is now the high-level gallery of Tiger Territory, the aviaries opposite the Casson that are no longer accessible and large dead areas that appear to have become a dumping ground for random unwanted items. The less said about crazy golf the better.
With a casual visitor, I also was made aware of how poor some of the exhibits are. The internal monkey enclosures - a throwback to the remaining parts of the Sobell Pavilion - are horrible to look at and must be really problematic from a husbandry standpoint. Similarly, while there's a great collection of nocturnal animals in the Clore Pavilion (Rainforest Life) the gallery area is long past its best, the route through the building is far from inviting and when we visited, there were mice everywhere.
I'm not sure what the answer is... but perhaps part of the problem (other than the obvious and well documented issues with listed buildings) is the way old buildings and existing areas have been just absorbed into new exhibits rather than starting from scratch. For example, I initially liked the idea of Land of Lions and still think it has a lot of merit, but standing back on a grey day and in an empty zoo, it just looks like a total mess. The 'New' lion terraces aren't listed, nor were the big cat terraces, but many of their viewing windows, walls, steps and shelters are now part of Land of Lions, which must've been a challenging jigsaw project for the architects to say the least! Compare this to B.U.G.S, which is an excellent exhibit, even though parts of it are currently closed.
I visited last week and sadly have to echo many of the comments from the past year about the zoo feeling tired, neglected and old. I have a fondness for London Zoo as I love the history, but walked around with someone not familiar with the collection and that afforded a different albeit less than positive perspective.
One of the recurring themes was "why is this closed?", and it dawned on me how many of the houses and major exhibits are no longer accessible or have simply been forgotten. There are the obvious ones; The Mappin Terraces, which only looked like the outback for about five minutes, The Aquarium and The Casson Pavilion, but there are many others too; inside the buildings and lower viewing on the Cotton Terraces, the pathway around the side of the Blackburn Pavilion and its northern half (although the accessible area inside is much improved since the renovation), the Round House... and of course it doesn't help that the zoo currently ends at the Middle Gardens and there is no access over the canal other than for school groups.
There are the tired and forgotten areas such as the old Stork and Ostrich House, the exhibits adjacent to the park under what is now the high-level gallery of Tiger Territory, the aviaries opposite the Casson that are no longer accessible and large dead areas that appear to have become a dumping ground for random unwanted items. The less said about crazy golf the better.
With a casual visitor, I also was made aware of how poor some of the exhibits are. The internal monkey enclosures - a throwback to the remaining parts of the Sobell Pavilion - are horrible to look at and must be really problematic from a husbandry standpoint. Similarly, while there's a great collection of nocturnal animals in the Clore Pavilion (Rainforest Life) the gallery area is long past its best, the route through the building is far from inviting and when we visited, there were mice everywhere.
I'm not sure what the answer is... but perhaps part of the problem (other than the obvious and well documented issues with listed buildings) is the way old buildings and existing areas have been just absorbed into new exhibits rather than starting from scratch. For example, I initially liked the idea of Land of Lions and still think it has a lot of merit, but standing back on a grey day and in an empty zoo, it just looks like a total mess. The 'New' lion terraces aren't listed, nor were the big cat terraces, but many of their viewing windows, walls, steps and shelters are now part of Land of Lions, which must've been a challenging jigsaw project for the architects to say the least! Compare this to B.U.G.S, which is an excellent exhibit, even though parts of it are currently closed.
The area where Treetop Challenge currently is and Conservation Golf before that, was the site of the old cat house and the circular enclosures at its ends.
Yes, that's the bit, thank you for confirming.
One of many problems..with plenty more ahead I’m sure. Another is the increasingly “corporate” face that ZSL seems to want to project, with little afterthought towards the longevity of these big, flashy exhibits at London or the Living Collection as a whole.
Mismanagement and a “kicking the can” attitude was the death-knell for the Aquarium and, if it continues, will ultimately be the undoing of the Regents Park site - and sooner than we think I’m sure.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
The 'new' aquarium will be a reconstructed area inside B.U.G.S (the invertebrate building). This does not need planning permission, so no plans have to published. I have never been able to find proper plans for B.U.G.S on-line, so I presume that permission was given on the old paper-based system.
If you mean the boarding up in Bugs, it is mostly the aquatic displays which are being upgraded to take corals from the now closed aquarium.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
This is all very well , but I dont see anyone discussing the critically important matter at hand, is there any news about the mini golf ? 
I’m visiting Friday I’ll let you knowThis is all very well , but I dont see anyone discussing the critically important matter at hand, is there any news about the mini golf ?
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I’m visiting Friday I’ll let you know
Very important details , never mind the conservation and species, the mini golf is and must always be the priority.
LOL
This was referring to the insect enclosures in the Clore
As I predicted! Makes sense really, since they've already got them at Whipsnade. Are these the same individuals who used to live in the Cotton Terraces next to the Hunting Dogs?
Hopefully this is just a temporary effort to fill an empty space before something a bit more exciting moves in. I won't hold my breath though!