Animal Adoptions FAQs
What does the purchaser receive?
How many visits is the free e-ticket valid for?
I have an online adoption, how do I access my free ticket?
The recipient has not received the welcome email for the online adoption
I purchased an adoption for someone else but I may have entered an incorrect email address for them.
Why has ZSL decided to only offer adoptions for a limited number of animals?
What should I do if I want to adopt an animal which you no longer offer an adoption for?
I have changed jobs so I need to change the email address that the adoption is linked to.
I am planning on visiting the zoo soon, will my adopted animal be on-show?
If I purchase the online adoption, when will the recipient be able to access their adoption benefits?
Online adoptions need to be activated through a welcome email which is sent to the recipient. The purchaser selects which date the welcome email should be sent out on during the purchasing process. The welcome email will be sent out at 4am on the selected date, unless the 'today' option is selected as this will send it out immediately.
Once the adoption has been activated through the welcome email, the recipient will be able to access their adoption benefits in the online adoption centre at ZSL.org.
Alternatively, you can purchase an adoption pack which is sent out in the post to the nominated delivery address. The pack contains all of the adoption gifts.
What does the purchaser receive?
The purchaser of the adoption will receive an email confirmation which should appear in their inbox shortly after the purchase has been made. If the purchaser has not received this email please contact us at adoptions@zsl.org so we can check whether your order has been successful.
If purchasing an adoption pack, then the purchaser may choose to provide their address as the nominated delivery address. They should receive the adoption pack within 1 week.
Can the purchaser request that the online adoption welcome email gets sent to them but then change it over to the recipient's email address?
No. Adoptions are linked to specific email addresses which need to be the recipient's as they will require this to log in to the adoption centre. We can not change email addresses over once the adoption has been activated.
Alternatively, you can purchase an adoption pack which is sent out in the post to the nominated delivery address. The pack contains all of the adoption gifts.
The adoption is a gift, what is better; the online or adoption pack.
If you are purchasing the adoption as a gift, then you may prefer to receive the adoption pack in the post. You then have something to present to the recipient.
Alternatively, the online adoption is suitable if you are not seeing the recipient or it's a last minute gift.
How many visits is the free ticket valid for?
E-tickets with the online adoption and paper tickets in the pack adoption are both for 1 visit, for 1 person but they are valid for 1 year.
I have an online adoption, how do I access my free ticket?
You should have received a welcome email when you were first given the adoption. The welcome email contains a link which you needed to have clicked on to activate your adoption. If you do not recall receiving this email, please email us adoptions@zsl.org so we can check the status of your adoption.
If you have successfully activated your adoption and been able to watch the video about your animal, download your e-certificate etc, you will need to revisit the online adoption centre at zsl.org/adoption and log in with your details.
If you can not remember your password, please click on the 'forgotten password' option. You must log in with the email address that the welcome email was originally sent to.
The recipient has not received the welcome email for the online adoption.
The welcome emails are usually sent out around 4am on the selected date. The recipient should also check in their junk mail box just in case it has accidently gone in there. If you believe the welcome email was never received or has been deleted before being redeemed please contact us on adoptions@zsl.org so we can resend the welcome email.
I purchased an online adoption for someone else but I think I entered an incorrect email address for them.
Not to worry, as long as the adoption has not been activated we can amend the recipient's email address and then resend the welcome email. Please email us at adoptions@zsl.org .
Why has ZSL decided to only offer adoptions for a limited number of animals?
Our adoption scheme is only available for a limited number of animals at each zoo as we now produce videos and regular email updates about each of the animals. As you can imagine this takes up quite a lot of resources so we have had to limit the number of animals.
What should I do if I want to adopt an animal which you no longer offer for adoption?
We would hope that even though you can not adopt your preferred animal you would still choose to support ZSL and we would encourage you to make a donation instead by visiting our donation page . Your donation won’t go directly to your preferred animal but it will help us to continue the important work that ZSL does in over 30 countries around the world, as well as help towards the running costs of both ZSL London and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
I would like to buy an adoption for someone else but I don’t know their email address or they don’t currently have one.
You can purchase an adoption pack which is sent out in the post to the nominated delivery address. The pack contains all of the adoption gifts.
I have changed jobs so I need to change the email address that the adoption is linked to.
Adoptions are non-transferable once they have been redeemed but we would suggest emailing adoptions@zsl.org to see what we can do to help.
I am planning on visiting the zoo, will my adopted animal be on-show?
We hope that all of the animals in the adoption scheme are on-show everyday however we can not make any guarantees. Our animals are sometimes visited by our Veterinary team at short notice so they may be off-show or we may have some maintenance work taking place which means that their enclosure may be closed or obscured. If we are informed that the animal may be off-show for a longer period of time ZSL will try and let adopters know as soon as possible via the email updates. Please ensure you are subscribed to them.
Any other questions?
If you have a question which is not covered in this list, please email adoptions@zsl.org and we will respond as soon as we can. If your enquiry is urgent please call 0207 449 6274, the Adoptions office is open during standard office hours between Monday - Friday (not bank holidays).
