London Zoo is the oldest of the world's scientific zoos. With around 17,000 animals of 755 species, it possesses one of the largest British zoological collections.
Among those to whom the zoo owes its establishment in 1826 are the statesman Stamford Raffles, founder of the city of Singapore (in the UK he is known as "the father of Singapore and London Zoo"), and the famous chemist and inventor of the safe mine lamp Humphry Davy. They were among the organisers of the Zoological Society of London (with Raffles as its first president), which was granted a plot of land in Regent's Park by the Crown to house and study animals.
The zoo opened in 1828 - at first only to members of the society. Among the first animals were the then rare and now completely exterminated quagga and the marsupial wolf. In 1847 the general public had to be allowed in - money was needed. The first hippopotamus in Europe and the first African elephant in England appeared here. For the first time in the world a reptile house, an insect house and a public aquarium were opened here. In fact, even the word "aquarium" appeared in the London Zoo - earlier they used to say "aquatic vivarium."
Many animals were real stars. The one hippopotamus (named Obaish) drove Londoners crazy - up to 10,000 people a day went to see him. Queen Victoria brought her children to look at the hippo and made a note of it in her diary, the press talked about all the details of his life, and "Hippopotamus Polka" became an instant hit. The term "hippomania" even emerged.
Jumbo the elephant was a crowd favourite, as was later Guy the gorilla, Brumas the polar bear, Chi-Chi the big panda. And the black bear Winnipeg, who lived in the zoo from 1915 to 1934, gave a name to a toy of Christopher Robin, the son of writer Alan Milne - the teddy bear was named Winnie the Pooh, and he became the hero of the great book.
Now visitors here also have their favourites. People enjoy watching the rugged Kumbuka, the leader of the gorilla pack. The smiling and very predatory Komodo varanas are always popular. Tug and Nicky, a pair of pygmy hippos, are fascinating. In the African section, visitors are given the opportunity to look into the eyes of a giraffe by climbing a special platform.
The tiger area is home to rare Sumatran tigers. The species is on the verge of extinction, there are only about 300 of these animals in the world, and in London Zoo in February 2014 Je-Je and Melati gave birth to three tiger cubs.
The zoo is small, it occupies 15 hectares, you can get around it in a few hours. At the entrance it is better to take a map with the schedule of events, so as not to miss the hours of feeding and performances. People especially love the show on Penguin Beach - a colony of Humboldt penguins sunbathe, eat and dive (it's interesting to watch them snorkelling through the windows). A local celebrity is the golden-haired penguin Ricky.
A hungry tourist can easily find food for himself - there are several cafes in the zoo. Connoisseurs recommend the classic takeaway chips and chips near the insect pavilion.
