Koalas were kept in the Round House until 1992 when London Zoo's last koala was sent to Lisbon Zoo.
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ZSL London Zoo ZSL London Zoo News 2025
- Thread starter aquilla1
- Start date
Thanks for the heads up, which email is this? I did just get a members email but it didn’t mention the Rainforest House, only the fun things on for December and other zoo news :/
All in all though I’m glad they’re gonna do work to maintain it, it’s probably one of the zoos most iconic areas and feels like a living museum piece
Thanks for the heads up, which email is this? I did just get a members email but it didn’t mention the Rainforest House, only the fun things on for December and other zoo news :/
All in all though I’m glad they’re gonna do work to maintain it, it’s probably one of the zoos most iconic areas and feels like a living museum piece
The very last thing on the Members email.
Turns out Gmail was being stupid and hiding the last quarter of the email from me
Thanks for letting me know
The anticipated rainforest life closure dates ( currently showing as 6th to 31st January 2026) with Nightlife remaining open are mentioned on the website at
Rainforest Life | London Zoo
and the zoo's opening times (remember the two pre-announced closure dates on 28/29 January 2026). are listed at
Opening Times | London Zoo
Rainforest Life | London Zoo
and the zoo's opening times (remember the two pre-announced closure dates on 28/29 January 2026). are listed at
Opening Times | London Zoo
Cobi
Well-Known Member
This story appeared on the Guardian website today
London zoo boss quits amid claims of ‘unacceptable workplace behaviour’
Oh… Yeah that’s not sounding good
Really hope everything goes alright for ZSL during their anniversary next year, seems to be a bunch of stuff they’re having to handle recently.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
Oh… Yeah that’s not sounding good
Really hope everything goes alright for ZSL during their anniversary next year, seems to be a bunch of stuff they’re having to handle recently.
I don't think it's a bad news story in itself that the poor behaviour of a senior executive is confronted and he has to leave. Far from ideal whatever he was up to (and poor timing) but it's a good thing to see this sort of thing dealt with.
Of course whatever he did isn't being published but him not being there appears to be a good outcome. It isn't great for ZSL to have any controversy given everything else going on but addressing staff concerns is a good thing and I hope we'd want that (as long as done fairly) in all our workplaces.
I hope too that we see better news in the anniversary year and beyond it!
cerperal
Well-Known Member
Agreed, it's a tremendous inconvenience and not a fantastic headline in a time when zoos are already under the cosh in the media but it's ultimately a positive outcome that he has been ejected from ZSL as soon as the accusations came out.
If anyone is interested in details, I won't share them here until they are publically announced (if they are)...but they're all available on social media courtesy of his (soon to be) ex-wife. There's more to it than just that, but that's what actually got him binned. Although he resigned before they could actually fire him. You can take the man out the civil service...
I'm still rather positive for the zoo and ZSL as a whole going forwards and 2026 should be a very good year indeed.
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
At least it was down to the poor performance of an individual, rather than the poor performance of the zoo. I think that by the sound of it the zoo acted quickly and professionally. Well done!
Sadly, however, these type of individuals always land on their feet. Not what you know but who you know…
Compared to his two predecessors, I thought he was doing a decent job. He certainly seemed to say the right things.
Shows how much I know!
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Visited today for the first time in a few months. Owing perhaps to a yellow weather warning which thankfully never came to fruition the zoo was the least busy it has been in recent visits even though it was a Saturday. Not really much in the way of news, but a lot of general thoughts.
Very minor news: in the Darwin's Frog 'lab' there is now a cluster of terrariums in the centre of the room too, which theoretically should make them much easier to view given that previously they were only along the side walls. However, I had no such luck. Good views of the stunning Mindanao Monitor in the Komodo House. First impressions of the new Capybara enclosure are largely positive. Love the mix of substrates and shrubbery, and the pool does indeed appear quite deep. Like most of ZSL's recent developments, top-notch educational features too.
The sign is back up for the Hooded Mergansers in Bird Safari and I was able to spot both males for the first time. They may not be the most notable species to the enthusiast, but I honestly think they're wonderful additions. Watching diving ducks perform their namesake behaviour is always immensely entertaining, and with the pond water far clearer than usual they offered a nice opportunity to do this from atop the bridge. The White-headed Ducks and European Turtle-doves which arrived earlier this year were lovely, as were the Lilac-breasted Rollers which moved in from Meet the Neighbours. Speaking of which, does anyone know what is the situation with the Maccoa Ducks? A pair supposedly arrived from Slimbridge in July, very briefly went onshow in Meet the Neighbours, but unlike the rest of the inhabitants of said aviary do not seem to have found a new home since the gorilla reconstructions shut that area off.
There's been a lot of discussion about the Cassons being closed until Christmas, and they do indeed seemed to have reopened, but for a ticketed Christmas event only. Can't quite remember what the event's name was, but it was some sort of sleigh-related pun. Spent the most time I have watching in a while watching the gorillas (as there are normally too many crowds), and got a lot of joy from the two babies, nearly two years of age but still very small. There don't seem to be any more fish in the crocodile enclosure, or at least I couldn't see any.
I found myself in the Clore around 15:15, which seems to be feeding time in the rainforest hall. It resulted in quite the feeding frenzy with all the fruit bats, tamarins and sakis flocking to the various suspended food holders in the sengi wing of the building. This included the mother saki, baby on back, which was brilliant, but unfortunately meant the entire side-room with the sengis was sectioned off to give the animals some space while eating. Even still, I could still spot both sengis off in the distance. When I saw them for the first time at Antwerp my first thought was that they're much bigger than I thought; three years later seeing them for the second time my first thought was that they're much bigger than I thought.
A shame I couldn't get closer to them, but it was worth it for all the activity the feeding brought about; I certainly stand by my opinion that the sakis are one of the zoo's best recent additions in terms of entertainment value, being so lively and confident.
I haven't seen this mentioned, though there has been speculation, but according to Zootierliste the Grey Slender Loris have indeed left the collection; a pair left for Frankfurt and a single male for Shaldon, which seems to have been all the zoo had. A real shame. I couldn't spot the young mouse lemurs, but got very good views of the African Pygmy Dormouse; I hadn't realised quite how un-mouse-like their thick, bushy tail was until now. I was really impressed by the new boky enclosure in the Lemur House; saw one digging in the sand which I hadn't observed before.
The main walkthrough in Blackburn seems to be better-planted than ever, and very well-stocked. The smaller walkthrough is certainly the most bustling it's ever been, but strangely I felt as though the abundance of birds really emphasised the lack of plants; it could do with some replanting I think. The Scarlet-chested Sunbirds were signed in both walkthroughs, but seen in neither. I couldn't see the new White-nosed Coati.
Overall a great visit.
Very minor news: in the Darwin's Frog 'lab' there is now a cluster of terrariums in the centre of the room too, which theoretically should make them much easier to view given that previously they were only along the side walls. However, I had no such luck. Good views of the stunning Mindanao Monitor in the Komodo House. First impressions of the new Capybara enclosure are largely positive. Love the mix of substrates and shrubbery, and the pool does indeed appear quite deep. Like most of ZSL's recent developments, top-notch educational features too.
The sign is back up for the Hooded Mergansers in Bird Safari and I was able to spot both males for the first time. They may not be the most notable species to the enthusiast, but I honestly think they're wonderful additions. Watching diving ducks perform their namesake behaviour is always immensely entertaining, and with the pond water far clearer than usual they offered a nice opportunity to do this from atop the bridge. The White-headed Ducks and European Turtle-doves which arrived earlier this year were lovely, as were the Lilac-breasted Rollers which moved in from Meet the Neighbours. Speaking of which, does anyone know what is the situation with the Maccoa Ducks? A pair supposedly arrived from Slimbridge in July, very briefly went onshow in Meet the Neighbours, but unlike the rest of the inhabitants of said aviary do not seem to have found a new home since the gorilla reconstructions shut that area off.
There's been a lot of discussion about the Cassons being closed until Christmas, and they do indeed seemed to have reopened, but for a ticketed Christmas event only. Can't quite remember what the event's name was, but it was some sort of sleigh-related pun. Spent the most time I have watching in a while watching the gorillas (as there are normally too many crowds), and got a lot of joy from the two babies, nearly two years of age but still very small. There don't seem to be any more fish in the crocodile enclosure, or at least I couldn't see any.
I found myself in the Clore around 15:15, which seems to be feeding time in the rainforest hall. It resulted in quite the feeding frenzy with all the fruit bats, tamarins and sakis flocking to the various suspended food holders in the sengi wing of the building. This included the mother saki, baby on back, which was brilliant, but unfortunately meant the entire side-room with the sengis was sectioned off to give the animals some space while eating. Even still, I could still spot both sengis off in the distance. When I saw them for the first time at Antwerp my first thought was that they're much bigger than I thought; three years later seeing them for the second time my first thought was that they're much bigger than I thought.
A shame I couldn't get closer to them, but it was worth it for all the activity the feeding brought about; I certainly stand by my opinion that the sakis are one of the zoo's best recent additions in terms of entertainment value, being so lively and confident.I haven't seen this mentioned, though there has been speculation, but according to Zootierliste the Grey Slender Loris have indeed left the collection; a pair left for Frankfurt and a single male for Shaldon, which seems to have been all the zoo had. A real shame. I couldn't spot the young mouse lemurs, but got very good views of the African Pygmy Dormouse; I hadn't realised quite how un-mouse-like their thick, bushy tail was until now. I was really impressed by the new boky enclosure in the Lemur House; saw one digging in the sand which I hadn't observed before.
The main walkthrough in Blackburn seems to be better-planted than ever, and very well-stocked. The smaller walkthrough is certainly the most bustling it's ever been, but strangely I felt as though the abundance of birds really emphasised the lack of plants; it could do with some replanting I think. The Scarlet-chested Sunbirds were signed in both walkthroughs, but seen in neither. I couldn't see the new White-nosed Coati.
Overall a great visit.
i can’t find anything on social media or AI, but can make an educated guess
New species for Blackburn (another!): 0.2 Green aracari from Newquay, currently in the former Lory indoor aviary.
I did another visit last week too so have some photos of this (was gonna share sooner but some troglodyte stole my Mum’s phone, so I’ve been busy helping her sort that out), I agree it’s a beautiful enclosure
The two of them were also just as inquisitive as people say, sometimes coming right up to the glass:
Of course last week was very cold, so they also spent some time under the heat lamp:
Their old enclosure on the Cotten Terraces had a powerful hose set on it when I went, maybe to wash it out for when it gets reintegrated into the Pygmy Hippo enclosure?
Apparently that’s where the Santa meet-and-greet is happening this year, so indeed the only time it’s been opened for free was the Halloween Half-Term. It’s shame that visiting the inside of the Cassons is now such a rare opportunity, but it’s understandable given it would probably need staff supervision all the same.
The Babirusa are also surprisingly skittish. I went up the brick stairway to watch one that had wandered over to the far end (where there are still remains of the moat), and as soon as it noticed me it grunted and ran off in the opposite direction
Yeah, unfortunately the Nocturnal House currently has a slight lack of diversity. Only 5 of the 9 enclosures (Mouse Lemur, Pygmy Dormouse, Naked Mole Rat, Harvest Mouse and Potto) have species not found in any other enclosures there, although you can count it as 6 if you include the two separate species of Galago (which still comes down to 5 if you consider the lemurs are also in the Lemur House upstairs).
Out of those enclosures though, just 3 have only animals unique to that enclosure (Pygmy Dormouse, Naked Mole Rat and Harvest Mouse), with the rest having at least one found in another enclosure.
It’s not the zoo’s fault, I think they just happen to have a lot of excess nocturnal animals of the same species. It’s probably gonna change over the coming decade as the zoo brings in different nocturnals (like the dormouse), they just have to plan out the logistics.
Unsure if this is related, but some of the birds in there were nesting (which may have used up plant material?), like these Victoria Crowned Pigeons:
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In addition to the aforementioned aracaris (of which the zoo is looking for a male for the long term), there are also at least two of the Helmeted water toads in the on show portion of the off show area behind the brook salamanders! Very cool to see them, have some passable pictures that I might post. Also the 'Small-webbed bell toads' (?) too. Was lovely seeing the sengis too, they appear to be attracting a fair bit of interest!
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