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World's oldest scientific zoo, in London, England

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 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London (established in 1826), The Society also has a more spacious site at 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, London Zoo also opened the first reptile house (1849), first public aquarium (1853),

After the start of the Second World War, the London Zoo was closed multiple times for over a week, the first time being from 11:00am on 3 September 1939, when all zoological places were closed by order of the government. 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.

In 1962, 'Caroline', an Arabian oryx, was lent to Phoenix Zoo, Arizona, US, in the world's first international co operative breeding programme. 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. Employed by both Education and Animal care, these volunteers give one day a week to assist the running of London Zoo and can be recognised by their red pullovers. During the covid epidemic that started in 2020, the zoo closed from 21 March to 15 June 2020, causing a "perilous financial position" due to loss of revenue. The Snowdon Aviary was redeveloped as Monkey Valley, opening in 2022.

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 21m 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 is London Zoo's Asiatic lion enclosure, opened in 2016. It covers 2,500 square metres, and is designed to resemble an Indian town on the edge of the Gir Forest 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 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 owns four tigers, a male named Asim, a female named Gaysha, and their two cubs born in June 2022, named Zac and Crispin. The enclosure is 2,500 square metres (27,000 square feet) in size, and features authentic Indonesian plant life, as well as a net canopy of 3mm steel cable supported by four metal poles.

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. It was originally built to house rhinos and elephants, but since the animals were moved to Whipsnade Zoo in 2001 after killing a keeper, the building has housed camels and porcupines, and was at one point in time part of Tiger Territory when it housed bearded pigs and Malayan tapirs. It is now its own exhibit known as The Cassons and houses a family of red river hogs and babirusas.

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, and an as yet unnamed infant gorilla born to mother Mjukuu in January 2024. On 8 February 2024, a second western lowland gorilla baby was born to mother Effie, 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 housing African birds.

Into Africa is an Africa themed area opened in April 2006. Animals on display in this area include Chapman's zebras, common warthogs, okapis, common ostriches, giraffes, pygmy hippos, and African wild dogs. London Zoo's Giraffe House was first built in 1837, and is the world's oldest zoo building that is still used for its original purpose. The Giraffe House is a Grade II listed building.

Rainforest Life is a walk through indoor exhibit that houses many species of South American rainforest animals. Among the species in the main forest walk through are Linnaeus's two toed sloths, golden lion tamarins, red titi monkeys, red faced spider monkeys, big hairy armadillos, Goeldi's marmosets, southern tamandua, golden headed lion tamarins, red footed tortoises and Rodrigues flying foxes. The building also has a darkened area called "Nightlife", which houses nocturnal animals such as Mohol bushbaby, slender lorises, West African pottos, Malagasy giant rats, aye ayes and blind cave fish.

The Mappin Terraces opened in 1913, and was created and stocked by Philip Henry Gosse who coined the word "aquarium", as a portmanteau of aquatic vivarium. 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 rudd 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. As well as the three halls, the aquarium also featured the "Big Fish Tank", which contained large fish species that were all former pets, and had to be rescued because their owners did not have the proper equipment or understanding to look after 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 (formerly called the Ambika Paul Children's Zoo) opened in 2009 and is an area aimed primarily at 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 honor. Many of the animals in Animal Adventure are domestic animals, such as llamas, alpacas, and goats, as well as kunekune pigs. Exotic species on display include Cape porcupines, South American coatis, and yellow mongooses. At approximately 6am on Saturday 23 December 2017, a large fire started at Animal Adventure. It was brought under control by 9:30am after spreading to the cafe/shop there, three quarters of which was estimated to have been severely damaged. 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.

One of London Zoo's most well known buildings, the Reptile House opened in 1927 and was designed by Joan Beauchamp Procter and Sir Edward Guy Dawber. A new Reptile House is due to open in 2024.

Giants of the Galápagos was opened in 2009 to coincide with the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, and is home to three female Galápagos giant tortoises named Dolly, Polly and Priscilla. The exhibit features a large indoor area, with a heated pond and underfloor heating, while the outdoor paddock has been designed to mimic the tortoise's natural environment and features two heated pools, one of which is a naturalistic clay wallow.

London Zoo's Komodo dragon enclosure was opened by Sir David Attenborough in July 2004. The zoo used to own two Komodo dragons, a female named Rinka and a male named Raja. Raja was filmed in his exhibit for an action sequence in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. A new male dragon called Ganas (one of the parthenogenic hatchlings from Chester Zoo) moved to London in 2015 after the previous dragons died. Their enclosure is designed to resemble the dragon's natural habitat of a dry river bed, and sounds of Indonesian birds are regularly played into the enclosure.

Tiny Giants, formerly called B. U. G. S., is an exhibit featuring invertebrates and fish. It is held in a building called The Millennium Conservation Centre, and the building displays over 160 species, including western honey bees, leafcutter ants, emperor scorpions, golden orb weavers, Madagascar orb weavers, Mexican redknee tarantulas, bird eating spiders, desert locusts, moon jellyfish, partula snails and many others. It also features a large coral reef aquarium with corals and over 200 reef fish. The Millennium Conservation Centre aims to be environmentally friendly, constructed from materials requiring little energy to produce, and generating its heating from the body heat of both the animals and visitors. In May 2015, an exhibit called "In With the Spiders" opened in the exhibit as Europe's first and only spider walkthrough exhibit. It houses many different types of spiders including one of the United Kingdom's most endangered animals, the fen raft spider, as well as golden orb weavers.

Penguin Beach opened on 26 May 2011 and houses Humboldt penguins. A single male northern rockhopper penguin named Ricky also lived there until he was moved to Whipsnade Zoo in March 2017. The pool itself is the largest penguin pool containing penguins in an English zoo.

Opened in March 2015, In with the Lemurs is a walk through exhibit housing a group of ring tailed lemurs and Lac Alaotra bamboo lemurs. It also has a family of aye ayes living in the indoor section as well as lesser hedgehog tenrecs. The exhibit is designed to resemble a shrub forest in Madagascar, featuring plant life such as loquat and Chusan palm trees.

Opened by comedians Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh in 2005, Meet the Monkeys is a walk through enclosure that houses a troop of black capped squirrel monkeys. The exhibit has no roof, and there are no boundaries between the monkeys and the visitors. It is the southernmost enclosure in the zoo.

Opened in May 2006, Butterfly Paradise houses several different species of butterfly and moth from around the world, as well as plant species specially selected to provide nectar and breeding areas for the insects. Species on display include the clipper butterfly, blue morpho butterfly, atlas moth, zebra longwing, glasswing butterfly and postman butterfly.

The Bird Safari opened in 2005 as a redevelopment of the old stork and ostrich house, replacing enclosures that were out of date by modern zoo keeping standards. It is a walk through exhibit housing various species of birds including waldrapp ibises, Abdim's storks, great arguses, emerald doves, and scarlet ibises.

The Blackburn Pavilion is a rainforest themed tropical bird aviary that opened in March 2008, as a refurbishment of the zoo's outdated bird house. It rejuvenated the bird house by adding a walk through element. The building was originally constructed in 1883, as a reptile house. The pavilion houses roughly 50 different species of exotic rainforest birds, including blue crowned laughingthrushes, collared trogons, Socorro doves, red crested turacos, splendid sunbirds and red and yellow barbets. Outside the entrance is one of the pavilion's prominent features, a large elaborate clock by Tim Hunkin. It gives a bird themed display every thirty minutes throughout the day.

The Gibbon Habitat is a new enclosure for the zoo's two gibbons with two viewing points: one at ground level near the camel paddock, and one at a higher level from Tiger Territory. Of the pair of males, one is a northern white cheeked gibbon and the other is a hybrid species. They were originally housed in Gorilla Kingdom.

Meerkats and Otters, formerly called Happy Families, features two enclosures. One houses Asian small clawed otters and the other houses meerkats. The exhibit was originally created to house meerkats, otters, European forest reindeer and Goeldi's monkeys. The reindeer were later moved to Whipsnade Zoo and the monkeys were moved into the zoo's Rainforest Life building.

Three Island Pond was only given exhibit status in 2021. This artificially shaped pond is named after the three islands that are in it. It is split into two enclosures: one houses greater flamingos and the other Eastern white pelicans.

Other notable animals in London Zoo's collection include Bactrian camels, military macaws, hyacinth macaws, blue throated macaws and Alaotran gentle lemurs. The zoo's north bank, north of the canal, formerly housed the bird incubation and rearing unit. The area is currently undeveloped.

London Zoo in 2019 set up a Community Access Scheme which was to offer 100,000 subsidised tickets to charities and similar groups working with low income families, the elderly, and the disabled, intended to run until 2023. This started with a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to convert the Snowdon Aviary to a colobus monkey enclosure. The scheme was successful and was later extended to allow anyone who received certain benefits to buy tickets for £3, about a tenth of the full price, leading to visits by thousands of families, and long queues which were controlled by requiring pre booking and capping numbers. There were complaints about the crowds from some visitors not on benefits. The zoo was home to the only living quagga ever to be photographed, before the species became extinct in the wild due to hunting in southern Africa in about 1870. Another now extinct species the zoo held was a number of thylacines, or "Tasmanian tigers". Obaysch was the first hippopotamus to be seen in Europe since the Roman Empire, and the first in England since prehistoric times. The hippo arrived at London Zoo in May 1850 as a gift from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt in exchange for some greyhounds and deerhounds. Obaysch led to a doubling of the zoo's visitors that year. In 1865, Jumbo, the largest elephant known at the time, was transferred to the zoo from Jardin des Plantes in Paris. His name, possibly from Jambo, Swahili for hello, became an epithet for anything of large size, such as Boeing's 747 Jumbo jet. Jumbo became a crowd favourite due to his size, and would give rides to children on his back, including those of Queen Victoria. The sale of Jumbo sent the citizens of London into a panic, and 100,000 school children wrote to the Queen begging her to stop the sale. He was sold to Phineas Barnum's circus, the Barnum & Bailey Circus, in 1882, where he was later crushed by a locomotive and killed. Winnipeg the Bear (or Winnie) was an American black bear given to the zoo in 1914 by a Canadian lieutenant, Harry Colebourn. 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. A 2004 film, A Bear Named Winnie, is based on the story of Winnie the bear, with Michael Fassbender playing Harry Colebourn. Mo Koundje ('Mok'), a western lowland gorilla, was purchased by the zoo in 1932. A new gorilla house was designed for him by Berthold Lubetkin. Mok died of Bright's disease in 1938. His skeleton and skin were purchased by Leeds Museums and Galleries and are on display in Leeds, UK at Leeds City Museum and Leeds Discovery Centre. Guy, a western lowland gorilla, arrived at the zoo on Guy Fawkes Night (hence the name) 1947 from Paris Zoo, and lived at the zoo until his death in 1978. Over his 32 year life, he became one of the zoo's best loved residents. After years of trying to find a mate, in 1969 five year old Lomie arrived from Chessington Zoo. They were kept separated for a year to adjust to each other, until they were finally united. Although they got on well together they never produced any offspring. In 1982 Guy was commemorated by a bronze statue in Barclay Court, sculpted by William Timym. Her parents were killed by hunters, and she was transported from India to England by air, where she spent her adult life giving rides to the children. Dumbo was named after the eponymous Disney character because she was the first elephant to travel by airplane. In 1958 she was transferred to Moscow Zoo in return for four endangered snow leopards. At some point between 1962 and 1971, Dumbo was acquired by circus performer Dolly Jacobs, but by 1978 she had been sold to Hollywood circus producer Paul V. Kaye and was living in California with three other elephants. On 27 November 1949, Brumas became the first polar bear to be successfully bred at the zoo, and immediately became a major attraction with the public. This led to the zoo's annual attendance to rise to over 3 million in 1950 a figure that has yet to be topped. Although a female, the press reported that she was a 'he' and this was not corrected at the time, leading the public to believe the bear was a male. In July 1972, Chi Chi died and was publicly mourned. On 31 January 1996 Turgi, who was the last Partula turgida, died in his habitat. For four days in late August 2005, the zoo ran an exhibit entitled the Human zoo, which put eight humans on display in the Mappin Terraces. The idea behind the exhibit was to demonstrate the basic nature of man as an animal and examine the impact we have on the animal kingdom.

Since its earliest days, the zoo has prided itself on appointing leading architects to design its buildings. Today, it holds two Grade I and eight Grade II listed structures. The initial grounds were laid out in 1828 by Decimus Burton, the zoo's first official architect from 1826 to 1841, made famous for his work on the London Colosseum and Marble Arch. The Modernist dual concrete spiral ramps of the Penguin Pool have made it famous as a piece of modern architecture, but in 2004 the African penguins were moved out of the pool permanently following 'bumblefoot' infections in the birds caused by micro abrasions from walking on the concrete. The Snowdon Aviary, built in 1964 by Cedric Price, Lord Snowdon and Frank Newby, made pioneering use of aluminium and tension for support. A year later the Casson Pavilion, designed by Sir Hugh Casson and Neville Conder, was opened as an elephant and rhinoceros house. as well as a number of the animal houses. The profits from use of spaces at the zoo are re invested directly back into the society.

Many films and television programmes have made use of London Zoo as a film set. The Zoo and its Aquarium appear in Hitchcock's 1936 film Sabotage. In 1947, Carol Reed took his film crew and actors Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan and Bobby Henrey to London Zoo to film location scenes there for The Fallen Idol (released in 1948). Scenes were filmed inside the lion house and the reptile house and on the Mappin Terraces. Today, the scenes give an historic view of what the zoo looked like in the immediate post war years. A scene from the film The Pumpkin Eater (1964) with Anne Bancroft and James Mason was also set at the zoo. In 1967, part of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook's movie Bedazzled was filmed at the zoo. The opening sequence for series 3 and 4 of the 1973 ITV/Thames television show Man About The House was filmed in the London Zoological Gardens. During An American Werewolf in London (1981), the lead character David Kessler (played by David Naughton) woke up naked in the wolves' enclosure. Several other animals are also seen and one can clearly see the old caged enclosures of the tigers and apes. Part of the film Turtle Diary (1985), based on the novel by Russell Hoban and starring Ben Kingsley and Glenda Jackson, was also filmed here; the film follows a plan to help two of the turtles escape from the zoo. In the final scene from the film Withnail and I (1987), 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. In 2000, the Burmese python scene from the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) was filmed at the zoo's Reptile House. In reality, the tank shown is typically home to smaller reptile species. A plaque beside the enclosure commemorates the event.