ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2021

Pacu said:
It's entirely different. Current costs are for individual vivaria, not public space which is largely unlit and unheated. The central arrangement for safe access to venomous species was world class when it was made and is still, in my view significantly better than what most collections have. I think this is really about the concept of a 'reptile house' along with cost saving. I'm sure the replacement will be good but what a loss...
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Apologies I mis-read the poor energy efficiency comments about the tortoise building as referring to the Reptile House, my mistake.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I agree with @Zia, I personally think that giraffes would do far better at Whipsnade and I would rather see these go from London rather than the okapi.

That said, I think you are absolutely right about the popularity and iconic status of the London giraffes and that these animals being moved might translate into visitor complaints.
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Being as the animals held are hybrids seeing out their days or over represented individuals, a trio or quartet of females seems perfectly reasonable to me and given the history of the house and past success with the species, on top of what has already been said, I would really be concerned if giraffe did leave the London collection; there are currently just two of them, which is underwhelming but much better than none.
 
FBBird said:
Given that London Zoo has an iconic Giraffe House, it would be pretty silly to stop keeping Giraffes in it.
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I mean one could say that about almost any historic building. Say the Lion House at the Bronx Zoo (now Madagascar) or the Elephant House (now Komodo dragon and white rhino). Just because something has a history of housing a certain species gives no legitimacy to its current adequacy. I personally believe the giraffe house is adequate but that has nothing to do with looking at its past. At the same point the house is only part of the equation, and the outdoor yard is not anything more than adequate as well.
 
I know I'm probably a bit biased but hear me out. I don't think London should lose their giraffes. They are incredibly popular with the public and even though the individuals at London are hybrids they could still be used to educate the public about the rapidly declining numbers of giraffes. Okapi are also a fantastic species and I have travelled to London from the Midlands to see them on multiple occasions. Visitors love big animals and London doesn't have that many. Lots of people expect London zoo to be similar in size to Chester due to it's location and popularity. If the giraffes were to leave then I think a trip to the zoo for the average visitor would be fairly underwhelming with the remaining large mammals being fairly inactive with the possible exception of the gorillas. To solve the problem with the small enclosure I think that they should extend into the zebra enclosure, after rehoming the zebra, because this would offer an ok amount of space for 2 or 3 giraffes. I don't think zebra are well suited to the zoo at all. Their enclosure is small and barren. They would do much better of at a larger zoo where they can graze. The giraffe are obviously browsers so they could do much better in the London enclosures. I'm sure the majority of visitors would prefer the giraffe to the zebra anyway. This way the okapi, hippos and giraffes can all stay.
 
GiraffeJack10 said:
I know I'm probably a bit biased but hear me out. I don't think London should lose their giraffes. They are incredibly popular with the public and even though the individuals at London are hybrids they could still be used to educate the public about the rapidly declining numbers of giraffes. Okapi are also a fantastic species and I have travelled to London from the Midlands to see them on multiple occasions. Visitors love big animals and London doesn't have that many. Lots of people expect London zoo to be similar in size to Chester due to it's location and popularity. If the giraffes were to leave then I think a trip to the zoo for the average visitor would be fairly underwhelming with the remaining large mammals being fairly inactive with the possible exception of the gorillas. To solve the problem with the small enclosure I think that they should extend into the zebra enclosure, after rehoming the zebra, because this would offer an ok amount of space for 2 or 3 giraffes. I don't think zebra are well suited to the zoo at all. Their enclosure is small and barren. They would do much better of at a larger zoo where they can graze. The giraffe are obviously browsers so they could do much better in the London enclosures. I'm sure the majority of visitors would prefer the giraffe to the zebra anyway. This way the okapi, hippos and giraffes can all stay.
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Why would we ever suspect any bias for giraffes at London from you ? :p
 
tennisfan said:
German media report reported the Asiatic Lioness move.
On Friday evening Rubi, Indi and Heidi moved into their new quarters in Schwerin. They came from London to Frankfurt by plane and then on to Schwerin by truck.
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Does that leave London with just Bhanu on his own?
 
Three recent Eastern black and white colobus babies were visible today.

Quite a lot of work still going on the ouside giraffe enclosre so you may stuggle to see them.
The penguin beach (nursery side) repairs seem to be done and that side is open again.
There is now a large exit turnstile (possibly the one that used to be on the north bank) at the main exit , there is a side gate which presumably could also be opened if exit manned.
 
tennisfan said:
Three recent Eastern black and white colobus babies were visible today.

Quite a lot of work still going on the ouside giraffe enclosre so you may stuggle to see them.
The penguin beach (nursery side) repairs seem to be done and that side is open again.
There is now a large exit turnstile (possibly the one that used to be on the north bank) at the main exit , there is a side gate which presumably could also be opened if exit manned.
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What sort of work is going on at the giraffe enclosure?
 
Mattaki said:
I believe they are expanding it.
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That's fantastic news! Where exactly are they expanding it to? I always thought they could either fill in the moat and build a fence there or give them access to the small paddock at the back where I believe giant anteaters were housed.
 
GiraffeJack10 said:
What sort of work is going on at the giraffe enclosure?
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Visitor viewing platform removed. Moat removed. Surfaced all the way to visitor path with new giraffe height fence. So it does extend the area quite nicely. New canopies within the area to allow for more enrichment with feeding. New surface, no longer grassed (well mud!), not sure what it is, but its a hard (rubbery?) surface, better for there feet it is said, will have sandy parts though. It is looking good, nice improvements.
 
LucasRyan said:
Visitor viewing platform removed. Moat removed. Surfaced all the way to visitor path with new giraffe height fence. So it does extend the area quite nicely. New canopies within the area to allow for more enrichment with feeding. New surface, no longer grassed (well mud!), not sure what it is, but its a hard (rubbery?) surface, better for there feet it is said, will have sandy parts though. It is looking good, nice improvements.
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That sounds really good! Will there be any viewing areas for visitors or is it all just fence?
 
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