The First Royal Baby E-Mail
I’ve just had an e-mail from the Zoological Society of London, entitled Royal Zoo babies. This is the first paragraph.
The Royal Baby has finally been born, but Will and Kate aren’t the only ones with a new arrival this summer! From a tiny tapir calf to miniature monkeys, celebrate the newest addition to the Royal family with a tour of ZSL London Zoo’s very own Royal Zoo Babies.
I’m a member, so I’ll probably go in a few days anyway.
But it is good marketing, nevertheless!
Tigers At The London Zoo
I am a member at the London Zoo and went there to check out their new restaurant and also see my old friends, the penguins.
I also ended up at their new Tiger Territory.
Incidentally, they’d just introduced their male and female tigers to each other. but the female was being rather coy and hiding in the long grass.
The territory is much better than anything I’ve seen for big cats in the past. Except of course for lions in the Masai Mara.
The Penguin Beach At London Zoo
We sat and had our excellent supper, whilst we watched the penguins have their fish.
Note the heron and the seagulls in the pictures. The white devices over the fence are plastic drainpipes so that the penguins have to work for their food and to stop the seagulls stealing it.
These penguins are developing into real show-offs. One was doing a side stroke and several of them were porpoising in and out of the water.
Squirrel Monkeys At London Zoo
The squirrel monkeys at London Zoo are a major attraction, although they’ve had a bit of bad publicity lately, having bitten a few people according to this report in the Standard.
They were well-behaved last night, but as with all monkeys, they quickly learn where visitors keep goodies. But at least these delightful monkeys aren’t as big and dangerous as baboons, who are the real hooligans of Africa.
Joining The Zoo For A Year
I quite like the London Zoo as a place to go for a walk. But then I do like to walk in places, where the views are good.
So today, I joined the Zoo as a member which gives me as much repeat access as I want and a few other benefits for £68/year.
Gorillas In London Zoo
I remember the famous gorilla,Guy, who came to the Zoo in the year of my birth, although he was probably born a few months before I was.
In those days his cage wasn’t as spacious as the modern gorilla enclosure, where about four gorillas live happily together.
These pictures show them inside, as it wasn’t very tropical today.
C used to tell a story about one her clients. He was an habitual criminal and every time he came out of jail, one of the first things he used to do was visit Guy in the London Zoo.
He’d tell the gorilla, that he was now out of jail, but he could see that Guy was still incarcerated.
Guy’s reply was not recorded.
What Do You Do With Old Listed Buildings?
The old penguin pool at London Zoo is still there.
It illustrates the conundrum about what you do with old historic buildings, which have outlived their purpose, so well.
In my view it should be taken down, moved somewhere else and used for another purpose. It is totally unsuitable for its designed purpose and it takes up valuable space on a constricted site.
It’s Not Too Cold For The Penguins
I had gone to the London Zoo to see their penguins.
Surely, the Penguin Beach must be one of the best wild animal displays in the United Kingdom. The heron in one picture is a wild cheeky visitor according to this article in the Mail.
Although, I’m generally against a lot of wild animal displays, this one is rather different, in that a good proportion of the penguins were actually bred in the Zoo.
I’ve actually seen penguins in the wild twice; in the Galapagos Islands and South Africa. It has always surprised me that so many people go to Cape Town on holiday and never check out the penguins, that live all over that coast.
Is This The Best Way To Get To London Zoo?
I went to the London Zoo today, and noticed they have a Boris bike station, by the main entrance.
Is This The Best Way To Get To London Zoo?
Surely this must be one of the best ways to get to the Zoo from Marylebone Road or the area just north of the West End. It will be a nice cycle through and around Regent’s Park.
Note that if you type “Boris bikes” into Google, you get the official site at Transport for london.
The Anonymous Widower 