London Zoological Gardens
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| Date opened | 27 April 1828 |
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| Location |
Regent's Park London, NW1 United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°32′08″N 00°09′21″W / 51.53556°N 0.15583°WCoordinates: 51°32′08″N 00°09′21″W / 51.53556°N 0.15583°W |
| Land area | 36 acres (15 ha) |
| No. of animals | 17,480 (2015) |
| Memberships | BIAZA,EAZA,WAZA |
| Major exhibits | Gorilla Kingdom, Animal Adventure, Blackburn Pavilion, Clore Rainforest Lookout, Into Africa, Tiger territory, Land of the Lions. |
| Website | ZSL London Zoo |
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1832 the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of 698 species of animals, with 20,166 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom. The zoo is sometimes called Regent's Zoo.
It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London (established in 1826), 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). 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. As well as being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the first Reptile house (1849), first public Aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938).
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. After his death the third Marquis of Lansdowne took over the project and supervised the building of the first animal houses. The zoo opened in April 1828 to fellows of the Society, providing access to species such as Arabian oryx, greater kudus, orangutan and the now extinct quagga and thylacine. 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.
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