ZSL London Zoo

About ZSL London Zoo

World's oldest scientific zoo, in London, England

London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It opened on 27 April 1828 as a collection for scientific study under the Zoological Society of London, founded in 1826, received the animals of the royal menagerie at the Tower of London in 1831 and opened to the public in 1847. It lies at the northern edge of Regent's Park on the boundary between the City of Westminster and Camden, with the Regent's Canal running through it. The zoo pioneered much of zoo history, opening the first reptile house (1849), the first public aquarium (1853), the first insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938). Today it houses more than 8,000 animals of over 300 species, one of the largest zoological collections in the United Kingdom, while the biggest animals such as elephants and rhinos have moved to the Society's vast Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. Highlights include Land of the Lions, styled on the villages of Gujarat in India, Gorilla Kingdom, the Tiger Territory, the great Snowdon Aviary now home to colobus monkeys, Penguin Beach with its glass-sided pool and the indoor Rainforest Life where monkeys and sloths roam freely. The zoo takes a strongly scientific and conservation-led approach; it receives no state funding and finances species-protection programmes around the world from entrance fees, memberships and donations, and its exhibits are designed with children in mind, making it one of London's favourite family days out.

Where:

London, United Kingdom