London Zoo

London Zoo stands at the northern edge of Regent’s Park, where the Regent’s Canal cuts through the grounds. It is managed by the Zoological Society of London, founded in 1826, and occupies land that once belonged to the royal estate. The zoo opened in 1828 for scientific study before welcoming the public in 1847. Over the years it has housed extinct species such as the quagga and thylacine. Today it keeps more than eight thousand animals from over three hundred species. The zoo pioneered many firsts in animal care and display. In 1849 it opened Britain’s first reptile house, followed by the first public aquarium in 1853 and the first insect house in 1881. The first children’s zoo arrived in 1938. After the Second World War, the zoo lent an Arabian oryx to Phoenix Zoo in Arizona for the world’s first international breeding programme. It now runs similar schemes for more than a hundred and thirty species. Visitors walk through Monkey Valley, a redeveloped aviary that now holds eastern black and white colobus monkeys. Land of the Lions recreates an Indian town beside Gir National Park, complete with Asiatic lions, langurs and mongooses. Tiger Territory shelters two Sumatran tigers in an enclosure designed with Indonesian plants and a steel cable canopy. The Casson Pavilion, once home to elephants and rhinos, now displays camels and porcupines in a Grade II listed building.