Coordinates: 51°32′08″N 00°09′21″W

London Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo.[7] It was opened
ZSL London Zoo
in London on 27 April 1828,[8] 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.[7] Today,
it houses a collection of 673 species of animals, with 19,289
individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United
Kingdom.[9] The zoo is sometimes called Regent's Zoo.

It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London

(established in 1826),[7] 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).[10] 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.[11][12] As well as
being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the London Zoo in June 2013
first reptile house (1849), first public aquarium (1853),[13] first Date opened 27 April 1828
insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938).
Location Regent's Park
ZSL receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows' and 'Friends' London, NW1
memberships, entrance fees and sponsorship to generate United Kingdom
income.[14][15] Coordinates 51°32′08″N
00°09′21″W
Land area 36 acres (15 ha)[1]
Contents No. of 19,289 (2018)[2]
History animals
London Zoo during World War II No. of 673 (2018)
Areas and attractions species
Land of the Lions Annual 1,133,952 (2018)[3]
Tiger Territory visitors
Gorilla Kingdom Memberships BIAZA,[4] EAZA,[5]
Into Africa WAZA[6]
Rainforest Life and Night Life Major Gorilla Kingdom,
The Mappin Terraces / Outback exhibits Animal Adventure,
The Aquarium Blackburn Pavilion,
Animal Adventure Clore Rainforest
The Reptile House Lookout, Into Africa,
Giants of the Galápagos Tiger territory, Land
The Attenborough Komodo Dragon House of the Lions and
B.U.G.S Penguin Beach.
Penguin Beach Website ZSL London Zoo (ht
In with the Lemurs tp://www.zsl.org/zsl-
Meet the Monkeys london-zoo/)
 Butterfly Paradise
African Bird Safari
Snowdon Aviary
Blackburn Pavilion
Others
Future developments
Notable former animals
Architecture
In popular culture
In film and television
References
External links

History
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was established by Sir
Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy in 1826,[7] who obtained
the land for the zoo and saw the plans before Raffles died of
apoplexy (what would now be called a stroke) later that year on 5
July – his birthday.[15] After his death, the third Marquis of
Lansdowne took over the project and supervised the building of
the first animal houses.[15] The zoo opened in April 1828 to
fellows of the Society,[7] providing access to species such as Bird's eye view drawing of the
Arabian oryx, greater kudus, orangutan and the now extinct gardens of the Zoological Society,
circa 1828
quagga and thylacine.[15] 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.[7][16]

It was believed that tropical animals could not survive outside in

London's cold weather and so they were all kept indoors until
1902, when Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell was appointed secretary
of the Society.[15] 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 Hamburg Zoo, and led to newer designs to many of the 1835 painting of the camel house.
buildings.[15] Mitchell also envisaged a new 600-acre (240  ha)
park to the north of London, and in 1926 Hall Farm, near to
Whipsnade village, was bought. In 1931, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park opened, becoming the world's
first open zoological park.[7] The first woman to be a curator at the London Zoo was Evelyn
Cheesman, in 1920.[17]

In 1962, 'Caroline', an Arabian oryx, was lent to Phoenix Zoo, Arizona in the world's first international
co-operative breeding programme.[7] Today, the zoo participates in breeding programmes for over
130 species.[7]

At the beginning of the 1990s, the zoo had almost 7,000 animals; the nearest any other collection
came to 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.[15]
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.[15] 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.[15][18]

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.

London Zoo during World War II

During World War II bombings, the London Zoo was closed multiple times for over a week at a time
starting 11:00am on 3 September 1939, when all Zoological Places were closed by order of the
Government. 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. Later, in
January 1941, the Camel House was also hit, and during World War II the aquarium could not open
until May 1943 due to extensive bombings. Fortunately, 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 the London Zoo during World War II.
Wounded men were reportedly let into the London Zoo for free during World War II.[19]

Areas and attractions

Group Number of species Number of individuals
Mammals 70 561
Birds 99 671
Reptiles 49 167
Amphibians 20 726
Fish 207 5818
Invertebrates 228 11346 Three great white pelicans in their
enclosure
Total 673 19289[20]

Land of the Lions

Land of the Lions is an enclosure for ZSL London Zoo's Asiatic lions. The enclosure is 2,500 square
metres in size, and designed to resemble the Gir Forest National Park in India. The exhibit, also home
to a troop of Hanuman langurs and a band of dwarf mongoose, demonstrates how the lions' natural
habitat overlaps with the local urban environments.[21]

Tiger Territory

Tiger Territory is ZSL London Zoo's Sumatran tiger enclosure, designed by architect Michael
Kozdon[22] and officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2013. The zoo currently owns
one tiger: a male named Asim, who arrived from Denmark in January 2019. Asim killed the zoo's
female tiger, 10-year old Melati, on 8 February 2019.[23] Melati's previous mate, Jae-Jae, was moved
to France the previous month. Jae-Jae and Melati produced two cubs born in June 2016; a female
named Karis and a male called Achilles. They also produced 3 cubs in February 2014: 2 males called
Budi and Nakal and a female called Cinta. The enclosure is 2,500 square metres (27,000 square feet)
in size, and features authentic Indonesian plant life,[24] as well as a net canopy of 3mm steel cable
supported by four metal poles. The exhibit is also home to Malayan tapirs, Reeves's muntjacs,
Northern white-cheeked gibbons and Bornean bearded pigs.

Gorilla Kingdom

Opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2007, the Gorilla Kingdom is home to a group of 20
western lowland gorillas, and consists of a moated island with an indoor gym for the gorillas to use.
London Zoo currently owns six gorillas: a silver-back male named Kumbuka,[25] three adult females
named Zaire, Mjuuku and Effie, an infant female named Alika (the daughter of Mjuuku and
Kumbuka), born on December 2014 and infant male born on November 2015 named Gernot. The
Gorilla Kingdom area also features smaller enclosures housing Diana monkeys, eastern black and
white colobus, white-naped mangabeys, crested black macaque and Congo peafowl.

Into Africa

Into Africa is an Africa-themed area that was opened in April 2006.[26] Animals on display in this
area include Chapman's zebras, warthogs, okapis, Rothschild's giraffes, pygmy hippos and African
wild dogs. The giraffe enclosure features a high-level viewing platform to give the public face-to-face
contact with the giraffes and it is the oldest zoo building in the world still used for its original purpose.

Rainforest Life and Night Life

Rainforest Life is a walk-through indoor exhibit that houses several different species of rainforest
animals. Among the species in the main forest walk-through are two-toed sloths, golden lion
tamarins, emperor tamarins, red titi monkeys, red-faced spider monkeys, big hairy armadillos,
Geoffrey's marmosets, cotton-top tamarins, Goeldi's marmosets, southern tamandua and Rodrigues
flying fox. The building also has a darkened area called "Nightlife", which houses nocturnal animals
such as Mohol bushbaby, Seba's short-tailed bats, slender lorises, pottos, rakali, Malagasy giant rats
and blind cave fish.

The zoo recently enjoyed an unusual addition to their family, a baby tamandua named Star. The baby
was born on December 13, 2019.[27]

The Mappin Terraces / Outback

The Outback is an Australia-themed exhibit housing groups of emus and Bennett's wallabies. The
enclosure, which was originally called "The Mappin Terraces", was originally opened in 1913[28] and
features an artificial rocky cliff made of concrete blocks for animal enrichment. It was originally
designed for a multitude of different species including bears, penguins, sheep, goats and wild boar.

The 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,[13] and was created and stocked by Philip Henry Gosse who coined the word
"aquarium".[13] The most recent aquarium was built in 1921 next to the Mappin Terraces, and was
officially opened by King George V and his wife Queen Mary in
April 1924.

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
Aquarium
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 species in the Big Fish
Tank include tambaqui, catfish and pirapitinga.

The aquarium closed on 22 October 2019; some animals were

moved to a new aquarium at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, while others A copperband butterflyfish in the
were set to be housed in a new corals exhibit in the B.U.G.S coral reef hall
building in 2020.[29]

Animal Adventure

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. Many of the animals in
Animal Adventure are domestic animals, such as sheep, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, goats and ferrets, as
well as rare breeds such as silkie chickens, rex rabbits and kunekune pigs. Exotic species on display
include yellow mongooses, crested porcupines, aardvarks, prairie dogs, ring-tailed coatis and one of
the zoo's two groups of meerkats (the other group live in an enclosure next to the Rainforest Life
building). The meerkat enclosure features a tunnel that children can crawl through until they reach a
see-through dome that allows them to see directly into the enclosure.

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.[30][31]

The Reptile House

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.[28] It houses several species of reptile,
including Jamaican boa, Philippine crocodiles, western diamondback rattlesnakes, Annam leaf
turtles, Fiji banded iguanas, Northern caiman lizards, puff adders, king cobras, tokay geckos, emerald
tree boas and Yemen chameleons. In December 2012, a refurbished amphibian section was opened to
the public, displaying amphibians such as Chinese giant salamanders, axolotls, caecillians and various
types of poison dart frog.[32]
Giants of the Galápagos

Giants of the Galápagos was opened in 2009 to coincide with the 200th birthday of Charles
Darwin,[33] 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.

The Attenborough Komodo Dragon House

London Zoo's Komodo dragon enclosure was opened by Sir David

Attenborough in July 2004.[34] The zoo used to own two Komodo
dragons, a female named Rinka and a male named Raja. 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.[35]

B.U.G.S

B.U.G.S (which stands for Biodiversity Underpinning Global Survival Raja, the male Komodo
and formerly called Web of Life) is held in a building called The dragon
Millennium Conservation Centre, and aims to educate the public about
biodiversity.[36] The building displays over 140 species, the majority of
which are invertebrates. They include leafcutter ants, jewel wasps, golden mantella frogs, brown rats,
bird-eating spiders, desert locusts, naked mole rats, leaf insects, moon jellyfish, Polynesian tree snails
(Partula), Giant African land snails, cave crickets, fruit beetles and black widow spiders. 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 B.U.G.S 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.[36]

Penguin Beach

Penguin Beach opened on 26 May 2011 and 2019 and houses Humboldt penguins. Until March 2017,
a single male rockhopper penguin named Ricky also lived here, before being moved to ZSL
Whipsnade Zoo.[37] The pool itself is currently the largest penguin pool with penguins in an English
zoo.[38] Penguin Beach is available on a public hire basis for events outside the zoo's normal opening
hours.[39]

In with the Lemurs

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

Meet the Monkeys

Opened by comedians Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh in 2005,[40] 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.[41]

Butterfly Paradise

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.[42] Species on display include the clipper
butterfly, blue morpho butterfly, atlas moth, zebra longwing,
glasswing butterfly and postman butterfly.[9] The exhibit also
features a caterpillar hatchery and a pupa display cabinet, where
visitors can witness different types of pupae and the development
of new butterflies.[43] An atlas moth in Butterfly Paradise

African Bird Safari

The African 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.[44] It is a walk-through
exhibit housing various species of African birds including Von der Decken's hornbills, Bernier's teals,
white-faced whistling ducks, Abdim's storks, Fischer's turacos, hamerkops, northern bald ibises,
White-faced whistling ducks, superb starlings, blue-bellied rollers and lilac-breasted rollers.[44][45]

Snowdon Aviary

The Snowdon Aviary was designed by Cedric Price, Frank Newby

and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, and was built
in 1964.[28] A variety of birds have been kept in the aviary since it
was opened.

Blackburn Pavilion

The Blackburn Pavilion is a rainforest-themed tropical bird aviary The Snowdon Aviary
that opened in March 2008, as a refurbishment of the zoo's out-
of-date bird house.[46] The building was originally constructed in
1883, as a reptile house. The pavilion houses fifty different species of exotic birds, including Socorro
doves, scarlet macaws, blue turacos, Mindanao bleeding-hearts, red-crested turacos, violet turacos,
scarlet ibis, Victoria crowned pigeons, white-throated toucans, splendid sunbirds, pied avocets, red-
and-yellow barbets, red-billed leiothrix and blue-winged kookaburras. Outside the entrance is one of
the pavilion's prominent features, a large elaborate clock by Tim Hunkin.[47] It gives a bird-themed
display every thirty minutes throughout the day.[48]

Others

Other notable animals in London Zoo's collection include greater flamingos, red-billed hornbills,
black kites, African harrier hawks, Bactrian camels, red river hogs, military macaws, secretarybirds,
Hyacinth macaws, blue-throated macaws, meerkats, Oriental small-clawed otters, Rüppell's vultures
and great white pelicans.
Future developments
The zoo plans to create better accessibility, which will involve relocating the main entrance to the east,
adjacent to the Broad Walk in Regent's Park.[49] In November 2016, Foster + Partners were
appointed to redevelop and upgrade the Snowdon Aviary with a colobus monkey walkthrough.[50]

Notable former animals

Throughout its history, the zoo has had many well-known
residents. These may have been scientifically important
individuals or simply beloved by the public.

Old Martin was a large grizzly bear, the first in Britain, moved to
the zoo with many other animals from the Royal Menagerie,
Tower of London when it was closed in 1832.[51][52]

The only photographs taken of a
living quagga were taken of a mare
at London Zoo between 1864 and
1870.
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".[53]

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.[54]

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. He became aggressive in old age, and had to stop giving
rides; he was sold to Phineas Barnum's circus, the Barnum & Bailey Circus, in 1882, where he was
later crushed by a locomotive and killed.[55]

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.[53] A 2004 film A Bear Named Winnie is based on the story of Winnie the bear, with Michael
Fassbender playing Harry Colebourn.[56]

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.[57] 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.[57] A bronze statue of Guy in Barclay
Court
Dumbo (born 1948) was a female Indian elephant who lived at
London Zoo during the 1950s and was well known for her
fondness for sweets.[58] She was rescued from hunters as a baby, and was transported from India to
England by air, where she spent her adult life giving rides to the children.[59] 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.[60] At some point
between 1962 and 1971, Dumbo was acquired by circus performer Dolly Jacobs, but by 1978 she had
been sold to Paul Kaye and was living in California with three other elephants.[61]

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.[53] Eighteen years later, on 1 December 1967 the second polar bear bred at the zoo, this time a
male, was born. He was named Pipaluk (a Greenlandic Inuit feminine given name meaning little one
or sweet little thing) but, in 1985, had to leave the zoo when the Mappin Terraces closed.

One of the zoo's most famous giant pandas, Chi Chi, arrived in 1958. Although originally destined for
an American zoo, Washington, D.C. had ceased all trade with communist China and so Chi Chi was
refused entry to the United States. In the interests of conservation, ZSL had stated they would not
encourage the collection of wild pandas. However, when it was pointed out that Chi Chi had already
been collected, her purchase was approved, and she immediately become the star attraction at
London Zoo. As the only giant panda in the west she was the inspiration of Peter Scott's design for the
World Wildlife Fund logo. In July 1972, Chi Chi died and was publicly mourned.[15] The zoo's last
giant panda was Ming Ming. She arrived in 1991 on a breeding loan from China. After unsuccessful
breeding attempts with Berlin's Zoo giant panda Bao Bao it had been decided to return Ming Ming to
China, leaving the London Zoo without a giant panda since the end of October 1994. Zoo staff later
suggested that Chinese zookeepers knew that she was infertile and lent her in order to hide how much
more advanced Western husbandry techniques were compared to theirs.[62]

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.[63][64]

Architecture
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.[65]

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.[15] Burton's
work began with the Clock Tower in 1828 above what was then
the llama house, which today is the first aid kiosk.[65] In 1830 the Penguin Pool, a Grade I listed
East Tunnel, which linked the north and south parts of the zoo building
together for the first time, was completed, which also acted as a
bomb shelter during World War II.[28] Burton concluded his
work in 1837 with the Giraffe House, which, due to its functional design, still remains in use as the
zoo's giraffe enclosure in the Into Africa exhibit.[28]

After Burton, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell and John James Joass were appointed to design the
Mappin Terraces. Completed in 1914, the Mappin Terraces imitates a mountain landscape to provide
a naturalistic habitat for bears and other mountain wildlife. In 1933 the Round House, designed by
Berthold Lubetkin's Tecton Architectural Group to house gorillas, was one of the first modernist style
buildings to be built in Britain. The following year the Penguin Pool, also designed by Tecton, was
opened; both now grade I listed.[66] 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 due to it being an unnatural
environment for them.[67]

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 Penguin Pool
an elephant and rhinoceros house.[28] The Pavilion was
commissioned "to display these massive animals in the most
dramatic way" and designed to evoke a herd of elephants gathered around a watering hole.[22]

In popular culture

In film and television

Many films and television programmes have made use of London

Zoo as a film set.[68]

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 Harry Potter with a Burmese python
in 1948). Scenes were filmed inside the lion house and the in the Reptile House
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.
0:00 MENU
A scene from the film The Pumpkin Eater (1964) with Anne
Audio description of the London Zoo
Bancroft and James Mason was also set at the zoo.[69] by Andrew Sachs.
In 1967, part of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook's movie
Bedazzled was filmed at the zoo.[70]
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.[71]
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.[72][73]
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.[74]
In the Disney remake 101 Dalmatians (1996), the main villain Cruella DeVil (played by Glenn
Close) kills a white tiger from the London Zoo for its fur.
In 2000,[75] 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 home to a black
mamba. A plaque beside the enclosure commemorates the event.[76]

References
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l.org/zsl-london-zoo/corporate-and-private-events/). zsl.org. ZSL. Archived from the original (http://
www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/corporate-and-private-events/) on 20 February 2008. Retrieved
3 March 2008.
2. "Animal inventory" (https://www.zsl.org/about-us/animal-inventory). Zoological Society of London
(ZSL).
3. "ALVA - Association of Leading Visitor Attractions" (http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423).
www.alva.org.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
4. "BIAZA Zoos and Aquariums" (http://www.biaza.org.uk/find-a-zoo). biaza.org.uk. BIAZA. Retrieved
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External links
London Zoo website (https://web.archive.org/web/20090614235037/http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-
zoo/)
Article and film about the London Zoo archive (https://web.archive.org/web/20190512120437/htt
p://source.ie/sourcephoto/?p=698%2F)
London Zoo in the 19th century (http://www.victorianlondon.org/entertainment/londonzoo.htm)

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