The Founding of the London Zoo

The London Zoo is the first facility of its kind that was also designed a scientific institution and, therefore, gained the title of a “zoological garden.” Opened as a collection of animals for scientific purposes in 1828, the zoo, located in the northeast corner of London’s Regent’s Park, was originally only for members of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It was opened to the public in 1847. Today, the zoo is home to over 18,000 animals from 750 different species, and the ZSL is devoted to the conservation of wildlife and their habitats worldwide.