London Zoo

Why go

Others Other notable animals in London Zoo's collection include black vultures, greater flamingos, vicunas, Bactrian camels, spectacled owls, red-ruffed lemurs, African harrier hawks, Malayan tapirs, burrowing owls, white-cheeked gibbons, military macaws, Oriental small-clawed otters, reindeer, giant anteaters, Rüppell's vultures, Bornean bearded pigs, Rodrigues fruit bats, Chinese giant salamanders and great white pelicans.

What to look for

• Komodo dragons London Zoo's Komodo dragon enclosure was opened by Sir David Attenborough in July 2004.
• The music video for the Talk Talk song "It's My Life" was filmed at London Zoo in 1984.
• The first woman to be a curator at the London Zoo was Evelyn Cheesman.

The full story

Today it houses a collection of 756 species of animals, with 17,480 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom. The zoo is sometimes called Regent's Zoo. 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. ZSL receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows' and 'Friends' memberships, entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was established by Sir Stamford Raffles and Sir Humphry Davy in 1826, 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.

Useful to know

• Confirm current admission and opening times before leaving.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.