London Zoo

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Coordinates: 51°32′08.39″N, 00°09′21.51″W

ZSL London Zoo


Date opened	1828
Location	Regent's Park, London, England
Land area	36 acres ^[1] (0.108 km²)
Coordinates	51°32′08.39″N, 00°09′21.51″W
Number of Animals	16802 (2006)^[2]
Number of Species	704 (2006)
Major exhibits	Gorilla Kingdom, Clore Rainforest Lookout, Into Africa
Website

The giant ZSL London Zoo aviary

ZSL London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on April 27, 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually made open to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of more than 651 species of animals.

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 (the Regent's Canal runs through it). The Society also has a more spacious site at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire to which the larger animals such as elephants and rhinos have been moved.

As well as being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the first Reptile house (1849), first public Aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938).

ZSL receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows', 'Friends', 'Members', entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income.

Faced with closure in the 1980's due to ever dwindling visitor numbers, the public change of attitude to animals kept in captivity and unsuitably cramped space and huge financial problems maintaining its many historic buildings. However when it was announced that London Zoo would close in 1991, a swell of public support in visitor numbers 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 zoo is currently (2008) undergoing a renovation project aimed at replacing cages with enclosures which recreate animals' natural environments, giving a better lifestyle to the animals, and a more realistic experience to visitors. In 2005 the African Bird Safari and Meet The Monkeys walkthroughs opened and in 2006 "Into Africa" and "Butterfly Paradise" exhibits opened, while at Easter 2007 the Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the new "Gorilla Kingdom" and "Clore Rainforest Lookout" a walkthrough rainforest replacing the small mammals building. ^[3]

During Easter 2008 the Bird House will reopen as a tropical rainforest called the Blackburn Pavilion.^[4]

Other plans include the redevelopment of the Children's Zoo and the Lion Terraces.

The closest London Underground stations are Camden Town and Chalk Farm and is served by the 274 Bus.

Bird's eye view of the Gardens of the Zoological Society, circa 1828

1 Zoo Architecture
2 Stars of the Past
3 Filming at the Zoo
4 Notes and references
5 External links

[edit] Zoo Architecture

Since its earliest days, the zoo has prided itself on appointing leading architects to design its buildings. These include:

The Clock Tower (1828, originally built to house llamas) and the Giraffe House (1836-1837) by Decimus Burton (both Grade II listed buildings)
The Mappin Terraces (1913-1914) by Sir Peter Chalmers-Mitchell (1864-1945) and John James Joass (listed Grade II). As of 1997 it is home to Sloth Bears and Hanuman Langurs.
The Penguin Pool (1934), the Round House (built 1932-1933 to house the zoo's gorillas) (As of May 2007 Home to Lemurs and Aye-Ayes) and the North Gate Kiosk (1936) were all designed by Berthold Lubetkin's Tecton firm, with inputs on the Penguin Pool from leading structural engineer Ove Arup. The Penguin Pool and Round House are now listed Grade I, whilst the Kiosk is listed Grade II. The Penguin Pool is no longer considered suitable for penguins, so the birds have been moved to a pool else near the "Barclay Court". As of Spring 2007, Lubetkin's structure was filled with water but was home to no animals and the zoo is considering its long-term use.
The Snowdon aviary (1962-1964) (Grade II* listed), designed by Cedric Price, Lord Snowdon and Frank Newby.
The Elephant and Rhinoceros House (1962-1965) designed by Sir Hugh Casson and Neville Condor (Grade II* listed). As of Spring 2007 it is home toBactrian Camels, Bearded Pigs and temporary housing for birds

[edit] Stars of the Past

Adult atlas moth bred in the Zoo's Butterfly House.

ZSL London Zoo was home to the only living quagga ever to be photographed, along with a number of thylacines. Both species are now extinct.
Obaysch: When Obaysch arrived at ZSL London Zoo in 1850, it became the first hippopotamus to be seen in Europe since the Roman Empire, and the first in England since prehistory.
Jumbo: In 1880 the largest elephant known at the time, his name becoming an epithet for anything of large size. He unfortunately became aggressive in old age, and had to stop giving rides; he was sold to Phineas Barnum's circus, where he was hit by a train and killed.
Winnie: In 1914 the zoo was given an American Black Bear by a Canadian Lieutenant. The famous author A.A. Milne visited with his son Christopher Robin, and the boy was so enamoured with the bear Milne wrote the famous series of books for him entitled Winnie The Pooh.
Josephine: a great Indian hornbill who, for many years, was the oldest animal at the Zoo. She lived in the Bird House until her death in 1998 aged 53.
Guy the Gorilla: a lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo from 5 November 1947 until his death in 1978 and in his later years became one of its best-loved residents.
Brumas: Brumas was the first Polar Bear to be born at the ZSL London Zoo (1949?). "He" was said to be a male, but it was later confirmed that she was in fact a female. However, the public was not informed of this "sex-change" for several months. Brumas was named after the two keepers, BRUce and SAM. Attendance at the zoo soared as a result of "his" appearance, and in his first year reached 3,000,000—a figure that has yet to be topped.
Eros: In 1950 Eros, a wild snowy owl, became lost in a storm and fell exhausted on the deck of HMS Eros off the Azores. During his life at the Zoo he had three mates and fathered 57 chicks. He died in 1993.
Chi Chi: In 1958 she became the Zoo's first Giant Panda and was one of the first Giant Pandas in a western zoo.
Goldie: A golden eagle who became a national celebrity when he escaped for two weeks in 1965, and flew around the roads and trees of Regents Park.
Human beings, Homo sapiens sapiens. An unusual four-day exhibit entitled the "Human Zoo" ran in late August 2005, with people put on display in such garments as fig leaves in the Black Bear exhibit.^[5]^[6]

[edit] Filming at the Zoo

Black footed penguins at feeding time

Many films and television programmes have been filmed at London Zoo.

A scene from the 1964 film The Pumpkin Eater with Anne Bancroft and James Mason is set here.
In the final scene from Withnail and I a sad Withnail is shown standing in the pouring rain next to the former Wolf enclosure, declaiming the speech What a piece of work is a man from Hamlet; the wolves seem unimpressed.
A scene from the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London was filmed here, featuring the lead actor waking up naked in the wolves enclosure. Several other of the animals are also seen. You can clearly see the old caged enclosures of the tigers and apes.
A scene from About a Boy was filmed there
The reptile house scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. However in the film the inhabitant of the tank is a Burmese Python but in reality it is home to a Black Mamba.
Part of the 1985 film Turtle Diary, based on the novel by Russell Hoban and starring Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson, was also filmed here.
The video for the Talk Talk song It's my life was filmed at London Zoo in 1984.
In the fifth series of Absolutely Fabulous, Edina and Patsy steal Saffy's new-born infant for a Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion shoot at London Zoo.
A couple of scenes were filmed here for the ITV series Primeval. The first was a confrontation between Helen Cutter and Claudia Brown in the old elephant house. The second was a very brief scene that showed Abby Maitland with a Komodo Dragon. Although the fictional Wellington Zoo played a large role in the episode, most scenes were filmed at Whipsnade Zoo.