ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2021

oflory said:
I do think it is high time that the zoo had a proper museum/gallery - the Society has a great collection of art etc and a fascinating story to tell
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pipaluk said:
... people go to the zoo to see live animals.....the living collection has to come first. The general public won't pay £35 to look at a zoo museum and a few animals (no elephants, bears, sealions etc)......
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I wholeheartedly agree with "Pipaluk" that people visit zoos to see live animals and most people wouldn't pay £35 to see a zoo museum. Of course, the living collections must take priority.

Nevertheless I also agree with "Oflory" that London Zoo has a fascinating story to tell so should have a museum showcasing its history.

The two points of view are not mutually exclusive; there is room for both.
 
Tim May said:
I wholeheartedly agree with "Pipaluk" that people visit zoos to see live animals and most people wouldn't pay £35 to see a zoo museum. Of course, the living collections must take priority.

Nevertheless I also agree with "Oflory" that London Zoo has a fascinating story to tell so should have a museum showcasing its history.

The two points of view are not mutually exclusive; there is room for both.
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Absolutely, not a mutually exclusive position, I hope. The living collections must take priority (I don't think anyone on this site would dispute that, for London, this must happen soon or the decline will be irreversible) and in an ideal world, the proposed 'zoo museum' would be in addition to the large collection of the old reptile house.

I do still think it will be interesting, though!
 
oflory said:
Absolutely, not a mutually exclusive position, I hope. The living collections must take priority (I don't think anyone on this site would dispute that, for London, this must happen soon or the decline will be irreversible) and in an ideal world, the proposed 'zoo museum' would be in addition to the large collection of the old reptile house.

I do still think it will be interesting, though!
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Perhaps a new broom through the zoo management could be the best thing now to stop the slide before its to late!
 
Zorro said:
Perhaps a new broom through the zoo management could be the best thing now to stop the slide before its to late!
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My mind immediately thought of the scene from “Only Fools and Horses” between Trigger, Del and Rodney discussing Trigger’s award for his broom! ZSL being Trigger of course! ;)
 
I'm quietly hopeful about this project. The new plans look very interesting, and will use some of that blank lawn space that London has a lot of. New buildings will probably be more energy-efficient and less-costly to run in the longer-term than the current Reptile House, and from the plans they look very smart and inviting. Of course, the living collection should come first at a zoo, but attendance figures for museums show that they are also very popular; a smart renovation of the old Reptile House into a museum could be a very wise move - it will allow the building to stay open and give it new use and meaning. Not every visitor is interested in living collections (they come with other family for example), but a display of history or art might be more engaging for them. London has a lot of history and a zoo-museum would be a great way to explore that.
 
Crowthorne said:
I'm quietly hopeful about this project. The new plans look very interesting, and will use some of that blank lawn space that London has a lot of. New buildings will probably be more energy-efficient and less-costly to run in the longer-term than the current Reptile House, and from the plans they look very smart and inviting. Of course, the living collection should come first at a zoo, but attendance figures for museums show that they are also very popular; a smart renovation of the old Reptile House into a museum could be a very wise move - it will allow the building to stay open and give it new use and meaning. Not every visitor is interested in living collections (they come with other family for example), but a display of history or art might be more engaging for them. London has a lot of history and a zoo-museum would be a great way to explore that.
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Perfectly said.
 
oflory said:
In the plan of the new reptile house, it lists the species to be displayed...

1. Dumeril's / Kaiser salamander
2. Sardinian brook salamander
3. Mallorcan midwife toads
4. Blue dart frogs
5. Lake Oku frogs
6. Giant salamander
7. Giant salamander
8. Titicaca frog
9. Aquatic caecilian
10. Bicoloured moss frog
11. Roti island turtle
12. Annam leaf turtle
13. Big-headed turtle
14. Crocodile lizard
15. Telfairs skink
16. Blue tree monitor
17. Philippine crocodile
18. Electric blue day gecko
19. TBD emerald tree boa
20. King cobra
21. TBD
22. Ethiopian mountain viper
23. TBD

Plus presumably the giant tortoises (and mountain chickens on the plan but not list of species) and a few mixed species bring us to 29?
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According to this list around a third of the new reptile house will be occupied by amphibians, could the current reptile house not be "renovated/transformed' into some sort of amphibian conservation building? The exhibits would be spacious enough for amphibians, right?
 
I was recently reading a paper (Change of Enclosure in Langur Monkeys: Implications for the Evaluation of Environmental Enrichment by Katherine A. Little and Volker Sommer, 2002) and it lists one of langurs (Alfa) as wild caught in Sri Lanka. Does anyone know more about this monkey and if he is still alive?
 
JurassicMax said:
According to this list around a third of the new reptile house will be occupied by amphibians, could the current reptile house not be "renovated/transformed' into some sort of amphibian conservation building? The exhibits would be spacious enough for amphibians, right?
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Space isn't the issue, it's the difficulties of heating the building for the occupants. It's likely the heating systems are in need of renovation. It's probably cheaper to start fresh with a new build with up-to-date heating systems than try and renovate the old building (and possibly only having the occupants off-show for a short amount of time whilst they are moved to the new building, rather than having to find temporary homes elsewhere for a lengthy renovation projects)
 
pipaluk said:
Sorry, I can't agree, London has dozens of museums, people go to the zoo to see live animals, I know this doesn't make me popular, 2 of my friends on this site clearly agree with you, but there is no money to be wasted on a museum, the living collection has to come first. The general public won't pay £35 to look at a zoo museum and a few animals (no elephants, bears, sealions etc). The 1870s lion House got destroyed I'm afraid the reptile house has to go the same way however nostalgic, there are several unusable listed buildings for a museum in 10 plus years time when ZSL have a few million to throw at it! Priorities please, much of the zoo(S) is (are) a shambles!
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3 species of snakes and 4 species of lizards, doesn't seem very many for a National zoo.
Will they call the new building something different? - there might be a lot of disappointed visitors if it is called a 'Reptile House'...
 
Andrew Swales said:
3 species of snakes and 4 species of lizards, doesn't seem very many for a National zoo.
Will they call the new building something different? - there might be a lot of disappointed visitors if it is called a 'Reptile House'...
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They'll probably brand it as something new, along with the new tortoise house.
 
Just to play Devil’s advocate, the 3 species of snake/4 lizard are just the ones on the planning application. There are a handful of ‘tbd’ spots, and as with most reptile houses I imagine a percentage of the animals will be in mixed species habitats. Still a drop in species mind, just maybe (hopefully) not as drastic as some are claiming.
 
giant_anteater said:
Just to play Devil’s advocate, the 3 species of snake/4 lizard are just the ones on the planning application. There are a handful of ‘tbd’ spots, and as with most reptile houses I imagine a percentage of the animals will be in mixed species habitats. Still a drop in species mind, just maybe (hopefully) not as drastic as some are claiming.
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There is, I suppose, a possibility of some species remaining at the zoo but not in the new reptile house, in B.U.G.S or elsewhere.
 
Daubentoniidae said:
They'll probably brand it as something new, along with the new tortoise house.
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ZSL marketing department love re-branding exercises! This time though it may not be worth spending on advertising on the underground- nowhere near as many people will see the posters!!
 
giant_anteater said:
Just to play Devil’s advocate, the 3 species of snake/4 lizard are just the ones on the planning application. There are a handful of ‘tbd’ spots, and as with most reptile houses I imagine a percentage of the animals will be in mixed species habitats. Still a drop in species mind, just maybe (hopefully) not as drastic as some are claiming.
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A major drop in species has already occurred- countless duplicate and empty exhibits (more of them over the last few years)!
 
Just a thought here if the current Reptile House is too expensive to run then why will it not be to expensive to run as a museum as if posters/paintings and other paper items are going to be used then the heating as to be constant not just for the small current exhibits but for the whole building if turned into a museum.
If someone to explain then I would be grateful thank you in advance.
 
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