Celebrating 190 years of ZSL London Zoo. ZSL London Zoo `officially’ opened on 27 April 1828. The Daily Occurrences for this first day records the Duke of Wellington as a `notable visitor’, he was Prime Minister at that time. Also attending were Lord Auckland, ZSL's Vice-President and Nicholas Vigors, ZSL's Secretary. There were eighty visitors on this first day.
The Daily Occurrences are an important part of ZSL's Archives and are a continous record for both ZSL London and ZSL Whipsnade Zoos.
The Llama Hut was one of the earliest buildings on-site, it was designed by Decimus Burton. It was the first animal house to be built from brick and was completed by 16 May 1828. A clocktower was added in 1829. The building still exists today as a First Aid Post. This illustration from circa 1835 is by George Scharf.
Do enjoy the following selection of early illustrations of ZSL London Zoo from around 1835. They are credited to `Bouvier’, probably Augustus Jules Bouvier, (1800-1867) Born in France, he came to England and married Agnes, a Scot in around 1824 and had three artistic children. Bouvier worked in London as a painter of figures in watercolour. In total we have 10 of his illustrations of ZSL London Zoo
This illustration is a more general view of the site and you can see part of the existing East Tunnel which is still in use today.
Find out more about our Archives.
ZSL Library & Archives offer a wonderful and unique information resource about animals and their conservation – we aim to inform, enthuse and inspire! And of course information is vitally important in conservation.
Our collections can be explored and discovered in a variety of ways –
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Come in and browse
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Use our online catalogue accessed on the web http://library.zsl.org contains details of our holdings and links to useful resources
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read our monthly blog highlighting items in our collections
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follow us on Twitter @ZSLLibrary
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Our people are our greatest asset and we realise our vision for a world where wildlife thrives through their ideas, skills and passion. An inspired, informed and empowered community of people work, study and volunteer together at ZSL.
At ZSL, a key area of our work is the employment of Nature-based Solutions – an approach which both adapt to and mitigates the impacts of climate change. These Solutions, which include habitat protection and restoration, are low-cost yet high-impact, and provide multiple benefits to people and wildlife. We ensure that biodiversity recovery is at the heart of nature-based solutions.
A blog for lovers of ZSL London Zoo, bringing you extraordinary animal facts and exclusive access to the world's oldest scientific zoo.
Do you love wildlife? Discover more about our amazing animals at the UK's biggest zoo!
We're working around the world to conserve animals and their habitats, find out more about our latest achievements.
From the field to the lab, catch up with the scientists on the cutting edge of conservation biology at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology.
A day in Discovery and Learning at ZSL is never dull! The team tell us all about the exciting sessions for school children, as well as work further afield.
Every month, one of the pieces held in ZSL’s Library and at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo will feature here as Artefact of the Month.
Read testimonials from our Members and extracts from ZSL's award winning members' magazine, Wild About.
ZSL works across Asia, from the famous national parks of Nepal to marine protected areas in the Philippines. Read the latest updates on our conservation.
An Open Access journal for research at the interface of remote sensing, ecology and conservation.
