ZSL highlights 2007

2007 was an exciting and eventful year for ZSL. Here are some of our significant achievements and activities which happened throughout the year.

	January Stocktaking at both Zoos confirms a combined tally of over 800 different species. All keepers are involved in this annual event, totting up a list which, in 2007, was boosted by four new lion cubs, recently born giraffes, the opening of Butterfly Paradise and more. The launch of EDGE introduces a radical new method of measuring conservation needs ZSL’s new EDGE of Existence programme is set up to protect some of the world’s most bizarre and unusual animals, many of which are completely ignored by current international conservation efforts. EDGE stands for Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered. ZSL embarks on a programme to save rare ant from extinction The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awards ZSL £49,900 to head up a project to save the red-barbed ant, which is on the brink of extinction in mainland Britain, due to loss of suitable heathland habitat.
	February Roxy the penguin gets MySpace page: One of ZSL London Zoo’s penguins makes history by riding the wave of technology to find a mate on Valentine’s Day. Roxy the rockhopper is the first zoo animal to set up a profile on social networking page MySpace.com to search for the perfect partner. Two new, and large, births at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo: An Asian rhino calf born on New Year’s Eve 2006 to mother Behan, and an Asian elephant calf which arrived in January to proud mum Kaylee are introduced to the public.
	March Much-anticipated launch of Gorilla Kingdom: ZSL London Zoo’s new gorilla enclosure is given the royal seal of approval when HRH The Duke of Edinburgh officially opens it. Gorilla Kingdom is the brand-new £5.3m enclosure that is now home to a group of stunning western lowland gorillas. Visitors get up close with the lemurs: BBC radio host Dominic Byrne opens ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s In with the Lemurs exhibit, a new walk-through experience which allows the public to follow a path through the primates’ enclosure.
	April ZSL meets Sir Alan Sugar: The fourth episode of the third series of The Apprentice is aired. It took place at ZSL London Zoo, with contestants being challenged to design and manufacture sweets and then sell them at the site. Gorillas’ house guests top 100,000: A whopping 120,000 people have been to ZSL London Zoo to see Gorilla Kingdom since Bobby, Zaire and Effie moved in to their new home at the end of March. That’s an average 8,300 people popping in to see the place each day. Bactrian camels born at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo: No fewer than four Bactrian camel calves are born and can be seen snuggling up to their mothers at the Asian Drive-through. These two-humped species, a domestic breed of the Bactrian camel, were born to four separate mothers.
	May Opening of the Clore Rainforest Lookout: Visitors come face to face with the world’s smallest monkeys at ZSL London Zoo’s Clore Rainforest Lookout. A £2.1m redevelopment of the former Small Mammals House, it features a transparent biome housing living rainforest trees that are home to groups of monkeys, sloths and birds. Coral spawning bodes well for future conservation: A bit of coral sex at ZSL London Zoo’s aquarium gets conservationists hot under the collar, as the pink sea fans living in the aquarium begin spawning for the first time, bringing plans to replenish coral stocks in British seas one step closer. ZSL research reveals infidelity in cheetahs: ZSL scientists studying cheetahs in the Serengeti, Tanzania, find that almost half of all litters were made up of cubs with different fathers. The benefit to the females is that their offspring are more genetically diverse, important in an unpredictable environment such as the Serengeti.
	June ZSL reports human-like gorilla behaviour: ZSL field staff in Gabon report that Baka pygmy trackers helping to habituate wild gorillas, trail the apes by spotting gorilla serviettes! It transpires that when gorillas feed on oily detarium fruit, they use giant leaves to wipe their hands. Zoo Nights at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo a great success: A steel band, stilt-walkers and fire jugglers delight visitors as they enjoy a twilight evening among the animals big and small at the annual Zoo Night.
	July Zoo Nights at ZSL London Zoo equally successful: A jam-packed schedule of animal talks and feeds throughout the evening, plus performances by fire jugglers and a steel band, were among the highlights of ZSL London Zoo’s Zoo Night, enjoyed by thousands. ‘Extinct’ animal rediscovered by ZSL: ZSL scientists discover that Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, part of ZSL’s EDGE programme and thought by many biologists to be extinct, is alive and living in the Cyclops Mountains of Papua New Guinea. ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s new sea lion pup wins hearts: Dom, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s first sea lion pup for five years, is revealed to the public. He’s given the name Dom after BBC Radio One host Dominic Byrne. Gorilla slaughter revealed by ZSL: ZSL obtains photographic evidence of the slaughter of a family of mountain gorillas, including a pregnant female, in a Congolese national park. Conservation workers later found an injured baby gorilla, which is now being cared for by vets.
	August Remarkable frogmouth coincidence – because of the weather?: Two tawny frogmouths living in separate enclosures at ZSL London Zoo lay eggs simultaneously after nine unfruitful years. Keepers believe the occurrence may have been triggered by recent downpours. Successful corncrake breeding programme for reintroduction into wild: At ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, 126 rare corncrakes are bred for reintroduction into the wild. The project began with six birds released in 2005, and climbed to 80 in 2006, before 2007’s staggering record. Yangtze River dolphin declared extinct: A paper, lead-authored by Dr Sam Turvey of ZSL, concludes that the Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, is now extinct following comprehensive surveys of its habitat. This represents the first extinction of a large vertebrate for more than 50 years.
	September Gay Sunday more popular than ever: ZSL London Zoo provides a day out with a difference, with its third annual Gay Sunday exclusive garden party on the Mappin Terraces, complete with chances to meet and greet some of the animals. ZSL London Zoo’s millionth visitor arrives: Anticipating its highest visitor numbers since 1991, ZSL London Zoo rolls out the red carpet for its millionth visitor of the year. Critically Endangered Utila iguanas born at ZSL: ZSL London Zoo’s recently hatched nine Critically Endangered Utila iguanas are revealed to the public. Native to just one tiny Caribbean island, Utila, the lizards are part of a European conservation breeding programme launched to save them from extinction.
	October ZSL’s picture archive goes online: Elephants wandering through Camden, a zebra-drawn carriage and a tiny tiger meeting a bear cub – these are all among the images from ZSL’s picture archive that goes online at ZSL Print Store Endangered species found in soon-to-be-destroyed Sumatran forests: ZSL scientists reveal that some unprotected areas of Sumatran forests, which are being allocated to oil palm and timber concessions, are safe havens for a variety of threatened species, including tigers, elephants, sun bears, tapirs, golden cats and clouded leopards. TV launches Whipsnade Watch: A new BBC Three Counties Radio series begins, following a year in the life of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
	November River Thames is invaded by aliens: Surveys to find out just how many alien species are invading Britain’s waterways get underway at Richmond. ZSL and other scientists expect to find a number of ‘alien’ species from as far away as China. Baby Asian rhino: A baby male Asian one-horned rhino is born to mother Beluki, in rapid time. Labour only lasts two and a half hours, and the little rhino is up on his feet in just three hours and walking around two hours after that. Mating habits of the topi antelope revealed by ZSL: A ZSL scientist finds that some topi males are so aggressively pursued by the females to mate that they refuse the advances of previous partners in order to conserve their sperm.
	December First-ever footage of the long-eared jerboa in the wild: ZSL releases the first known footage of the long-eared jerboa in the wild, an extraordinary mammal found in the Gobi Desert. The species is one of those highlighted by ZSL’s EDGE programme. ZSL wins a host of awards: ZSL London Zoo sweeps the board at the Visit London Awards, picking up a grand total of three gold awards. The fact that the public chose Gorilla Kingdom and ZSL London Zoo sends a clear signal that they like what they’re seeing at the attraction. Prisoners build bird boxes to increase sparrow numbers: Although their numbers decline elsewhere, house sparrows find a haven at ZSL London Zoo. One colony of the birds sets up home in the new Gorilla Kingdom exhibit, and HM Prison Service provides boxes built specially for the sparrows by prisoners.