Built according to a project by the architect Decimus Burton, the most famous zoo in the United Kingdom was created in 1828. Initially, these facilities were designed to house a collection of exotic animals so that the local scientific community could study them. Years later, in 1847, it was opened to the public so that they could enjoy the diversity of fauna kept there. 

London Zoo is in the north part of Regent’s Park and covers about 150,000 square metres. It houses examples of more than 600 species of animals, which means you can see lions and tigers and large primates, giraffes, penguins, and curious animals such as the tapir or the meerkat.

The zoo provides diverse monographic spaces dedicated to specific species. Some examples are the Lion House, specialising in the big cats, the Reptile House, where you can see all kinds of reptiles, and the Children’s Zoo, focused on the youngest members of the public. 

Children have always been a very important part of the public that visits the zoo. In fact, it is said that A.A. Milne, the creator of the character of Winnie the Pooh, gave the name to this honey-loving bear in honour of a Canadian bear that his son, Christopher Robin, saw in the zoo.

Other parts of the zoo are dedicated exclusively to birds, small mammals and even chimpanzees. If you have a soft spot for marine animals, then you should also go the Aquarium.

Some of these precincts and structures form part of the city’s architectural heritage. This is the case of the Snowdon Aviary, dedicated to birdlife, the Giraffe House, and the penguins’ pool.

London Zoo today, intelligently run by the prestigious Zoological Society of London, is, as well as being a world referent in exhibiting animals in captivity, a leading research centre and outstanding promoter of the conservationist movement. For this reason, every year it organises breeding programmes of a large number of the species that live there, many of which are in danger of expulsion.

Another challenge facing the Zoological Society of London is to reformulate and modernise the whole concept of a zoological park. You may be interested to know that for London Zoo the times of metal bars in which the animals were imprisoned in cages like fairground attractions is over. For this reason, its efforts are focussed on enlarging the spaces and reconverting them so that they reproduce the original conditions of the habitat of each animal as much as possible.

In fact, one of the zoo’s treasures is what is called Gorilla Kingdom, an authentic oasis for the gorillas in which these animals can freely enjoy a setting that features a cave, waterfall, rocks with heating and even vegetation that imitates their African habitat.

Moreover, it is a zoo that always has activities and events organised, so you can appreciate it even more. For example, it offers you the possibility of being a staff member for a day, a fascinating experience for animal lovers, accompanying a zookeeper for the whole day and helping them in their routine tasks such as feeding the giraffes or cleaning the penguins’ pool.

If the animal world fascinates you, you will be fascinated by this incredible zoo.