London Zoo

Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA · EN · 04/10/2026

London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831, the Tower of London menagerie animals were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. At its peak, the Zoo attracted over 3 million annual visitors and exhibited over 900 species. As of 2026, London Zoo still houses more than 8,000 individuals from over 300 species, making it one of the largest zoological collections in the United Kingdom.

It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London (established in 1826) and is situated at the northern edge of Regent's Park, on the boundary line between the City of Westminster and the borough of Camden (the Regent's Canal runs through it). The Society also cares for the largest zoo in the UK by area, Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, where larger animals, such as elephants and rhinos, have been moved. As well as being the first scientific zoo, London Zoo also opened the first reptile house (1849), the first public aquarium (1853), the first insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938).

The Society receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows' and 'Patrons,' memberships, entrance fees, venue hire, and sponsorship to generate revenue.

History

1828–1938

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was established by Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy in 1826, who obtained the land for the zoo and saw the plans before Raffles died of apoplexy later that year on 5 July, his birthday. After his death, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne took over the project and supervised the building of the first animal houses. The zoo opened in April 1828 to fellows of the Society, providing access to species such as Arabian oryxes, greater kudus, orangutans and the now extinct quaggas and thylacines. The Society was granted a royal charter in 1829 by King George IV, and in 1847 the zoo opened to the public to aid funding.

It was believed that tropical animals could not survive outside in London's cold weather, so they were all kept indoors until 1902, when Peter Chalmers Mitchell was appointed secretary of the Society. He set about a major reorganisation of the buildings and enclosures of the zoo, bringing many of the animals out into the open, where many thrived. This was an idea inspired by the Hamburg Zoo, and led to newer designs for many of the buildings. Mitchell also envisaged a new 600 acre park to the north of London, and in 1926 Hall Farm, near to Whipsnade, was bought. In 1931, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, the world's first open zoological park, opened. The first woman to be a curator at London Zoo was Evelyn Cheesman, in 1920.

Second World War 1939–1945

After the start of the Second World War, London Zoo was closed multiple times for over a week, the first time being at 11:00 am on 3 September 1939, when all zoological places were closed by government order. Valuable animals were transferred to Whipsnade Zoo during the war for safety. On 27 September 1940, high explosive bombs damaged the Rodent house, the Civet house, the gardener's office, the propagating sheds, the North Gate and the Zebra house. In January 1941, the Camel House was also hit, and the aquarium could not open until May 1943 due to extensive bombing. No animals were harmed during the incidents, although a zebra, a female ass, and her foal escaped from the zoo during the bombings. For safety reasons, all venomous animals were killed at London Zoo. Throughout the war, members of the armed forces paid half price for entry, and the wounded entered free of charge.

Since 1946

In 1962, 'Caroline', an Arabian oryx, was lent to Phoenix Zoo, Arizona, US, in the world's first international co-operative breeding programme. Today, the zoo participates in breeding programmes for over 130 species.

In the 1980s, London Zoo housed 8,000 animals of more than 900 species, and in the 1990s, the zoo possessed 7,000 animals of 850 species; the next biggest collection in Britain was Chester Zoo, with just under 3,500 animals. Many of the species in London Zoo could not be seen anywhere else in the country, such as the wombat, Tasmanian devil or long-nosed potoroo. Although this vast collection was part of the zoo's appeal, it may also have been one of the main causes of its financial problems. This contributed to the zoo being faced with closure in the 1980s. Due to the public change of attitude to animals kept in captivity and unsuitably cramped space, the zoo also suffered dwindling visitor numbers. However, when it was announced that London Zoo would close in 1991, a swell of public support in visitors and donations allowed the zoo to continue its work, attempt to balance its books and take on the huge task of restoring its buildings and creating environments more suitable for animal behaviour in the late 20th century. The BAFTA winning 1993 documentary series The Ark by Molly Dineen chronicled this period of time.

One benefit of the 'swell of public support' was the development of volunteer staff. Volunteers who give one day a week to assist the running of London Zoo, wearing red pullovers, are employed by both Education and Animal care.

During the COVID epidemic, which started in 2020, the zoo was closed from 21 March to 15 June 2020. This closure resulted in a "perilous financial position" for the zoo due to the loss of revenue.

The Snowdon Aviary was redeveloped as Monkey Valley, opening in 2022.

Areas and attractions

The Zoo has many named areas and attractions. Several of them are available for hire outside the zoo's opening hours, including The Terrace, Penguin Beach, Ninos cove, Tiny Giants, Land of the Lions, Tiger Territory, and Attenborough Komodo Dragon House.

Monkey Valley

The Snowdon Aviary was designed by Cedric Price, Frank Newby and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, built between 1962 and 1964, and opened in 1965. It was Britain's first public, walk-through aviary, and primarily housed shorebirds such as gulls and ibis. It is constructed with a pyramidal aluminium framework reaching 21 m high. In 2021, the aviary was re-developed into a walkthrough primatarium called "Monkey Valley", which opened to the public in August 2022 and houses a troop of eastern black and white colobus monkeys. The structure has been a Grade II* listed building since 1998.

Land of the Lions

Land of the Lions is London Zoo's Asiatic lion enclosure, opened in 2016. It covers 2500 m2, and is designed to resemble an Indian town on the edge of the Gir National Park, intended to demonstrate how the lion's natural habitat overlaps with local urban environments. Hanuman langurs, small Indian mongooses and Rüppell's vultures are also displayed in this area.

Tiger Territory

Tiger Territory is London Zoo's Sumatran tiger enclosure, designed by architect Michael Kozdon and officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2013. The zoo currently houses two tigers: a male named Asim and a female named Gaysha who both arrived from Ree Park - Ebeltoft Safari.The enclosure is 2500 m2 in size and features authentic Indonesian plant life, as well as a net canopy of 3 mm steel cable supported by four metal poles.

The Casson Pavilion

The Casson Pavilion is one of the zoo's Grade II listed buildings and was designed by architect Sir Hugh Casson between 1962 and 1965. The building was originally built to house rhinos and elephants. However, after an accident in which a keeper was killed in 2001, the animals were relocated to Whipsnade Zoo, and since then, the building has housed camels and porcupines. At one point, it was also part of Tiger Territory when it housed bearded pigs, Malayan tapirs and pygmy hippos. It is now its own exhibit, known as The Cassons, and it houses a family of red river hogs and babirusas aswell as a bachelor group of Philippine spotted deer

Gorilla Kingdom

Opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2007, Gorilla Kingdom consists of a moated island, home to a group of western lowland gorillas. The zoo currently holds seven gorillas: an adult male named Kiburi, two adult females named Mjukuu and Effie, a juvenile female named Alika (the daughter of Mjukuu and former silverback Kumbuka) born in December 2014, a juvenile male named Gernot (the son of Effie and former silverback Kumbuka) born in November 2015, a female infant named Juno born to mother Mjukuu on 17 January 2024 and a second female infant named Venus was born to mother Effie on 8 February 2024, just three and a half weeks after the first. The Gorilla Kingdom area also features smaller enclosures housing white-naped mangabeys, and Diana monkeys. The exhibit also features a walk-through aviary named 'Bird Forest' that houses pink pigeons, lilac-breasted rollers, violet turacos madagascar crested ibis and Von der Decken's hornbill.

Into Africa

Into Africa is an Africa-themed area that opened in April 2006. Animals on display in this area include Chapman's zebras, common warthogs, okapis, common ostriches, giraffes, pygmy hippos, bat-eared foxes and African wild dogs. The Giraffe House at London Zoo, built in 1837, is the world's oldest zoo building still used for its original purpose. The Giraffe House has been designated as a Grade II listed building because of its historical and architectural significance.

Rainforest Life and Night Life

These exhibits occupy a shared building on the North side of the zoo. The building was originally opened as the Clore Pavilion for Small Mammals in 1967, then given an extensive facelift and renamed the Clore Rainforest Lookout in 2007. A further refurbishment in 2010 converted the upper level into Rainforest Life, a walk-through indoor exhibit for South American rainforest animals. Species exhibited here include Linnaeus's two-toed sloths, golden lion tamarins, red titi monkeys, Lac Alaotra bamboo lemurs, Goeldi's marmosets, black and rufous sengi, golden-headed lion tamarins, red-footed tortoises, Karoo round-eared sengi and Rodrigues flying foxes.

The lower level of the building, called Night Life, houses nocturnal animals. These include Mohol bushbabies, Senegal bushbabies, grey slender lorises, West African pottos, Malagasy giant rats, naked mole-rats, pygmy slow lorises, harvest mice, lesser hedgehog tenrecs and golden hamsters.

The Outback

The Mappin Terraces opened in 1913, and features an artificial rocky cliff made of concrete blocks for animal enrichment. This was the zoo's first major attempt at recreating natural environments without bars, influenced by European zoos such as Tierpark Hagenbeck, and many different species have been kept in this enclosure during its lifetime, including Himalayan brown bears, polar bears, American black bears, sloth bears, king penguins, Barbary sheep, mouflons, goats, kangaroos, leopards, and wild boar. The Mappin Terraces is currently an Australia-themed exhibit called "The Outback", housing emus and red-necked wallabies.

The former Aquarium

There was an aquarium at the zoo from 1853 until 2019. The zoo's first aquarium was also the world's first public aquarium, and was created and stocked by Philip Henry Gosse who coined the word "aquarium", as a portmanteau of aquatic vivarium. In 1853 opened a building known as Fish House, while the most recent aquarium was built in 1921 next to and beneath the Mappin Terraces and was officially opened by King George V and his wife Queen Mary in April 1924. The collection in 1853 included 58 fish species and 200 invertebrate species.

The aquarium was separated into three halls, each home to different types of fish and other aquatic wildlife. The first hall primarily contained freshwater species such as rudds and European eels, as well as some saltwater species involved in various conservation projects and captive-breeding programmes, such as broad sea fans, uarus and seahorses. The second hall displayed various species of coral reef fish from around the world, such as clownfish, copperband butterflyfish and regal tangs, as well as real coral. The third hall housed species native to the Amazon River, including red-bellied piranhas, angelfish, arapaimas and ocellate river stingrays. In addition to the three halls, the aquarium also featured the "Big Fish Tank". This tank housed large fish species that were all former pets. They had to be rescued because their owners did not have the proper equipment or understanding to care for them.

The dedicated London Aquarium, unconnected with ZSL, opened in 1997. The Zoo's smaller aquarium closed on 22 October 2019; some of the aquatic creatures were moved to a new aquarium at Whipsnade Zoo, while others were set to be housed in a new corals exhibit in the Tiny Giants building in 2020.

Animal Adventure

Animal Adventure, formerly known as the Ambika Paul Children's Zoo, was established in 2009. It is a dedicated area for children, featuring playgrounds and a water fountain. It was built after a child who loved visiting the zoo with her family, Ambika Paul, died from cancer. Her parents donated £1,000,000 to the zoo to build a children's zoo in her honour. Many of the animals in Animal Adventure are domestic animals, such as llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats and rabbits, as well as mangalitsa pigs. Exotic species on display include Cape porcupines, white-nosed coatis, and meerkatss.

At approximately 6 am on Saturday, 23 December 2017, a large fire broke out at Animal Adventure. The fire was brought under control by 9:30 am after spreading to the cafe and shop on the premises. It is estimated that three-quarters of the cafe/shop suffered severe damage. A nine-year-old aardvark named Misha was pronounced dead, and four meerkats were declared unaccounted for and presumed dead. The zoo reopened on Christmas Eve.

Source and attribution

Adapted from “London Zoo” by English Wikipedia contributors. Main paragraphs and sections are retained; tables, reference markers and technical markup are omitted. This is an encyclopedic adaptation, not a personal review. Original revision and contributor history ↗. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗. Check current visitor access, tickets and transport with the relevant operator.