Exotic animals in the park
ZSL London Zoo
Walk along the Broad Walk on the north side of Regent's Park and you will certainly catch glimpses of several animals in the collection such as these emus.
A scientific Zoo
London Zoo opened in 1828 as the World's first scientific zoo. Scientists set up the Zoo so they they could study animals collected from other parts of the world.
At first only members of the London Zoological Society could visit. It was not until 1847, that the Zoo regularly opened to the general public to help pay for the running costs.
The Zoo today
Today the scientists at the zoo aim to conserve the natural world by breeding endangered animals and by educating people to care about the conservation of wildlife and threatened habitats.
The zoo houses smaller animals including many reptiles, fish, invertebrates, birds and small mammals. Some of the birds can fly in the Snowdon aviary beside the canal.
There are more than 650 species at London Zoo and of these 112 are listed as threatened in the Red Data books. ZSL London Zoo takes part in breeding programmes for 130 species.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 17 January 2007
