Day 111 - Some days London can be a zoo

Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo.

I do believe it, I do believe it's true.

The monkeys stand for honesty.

Giraffes are insincere.

And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb.

Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages

And the zoo keeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries,

Antelopes are missionaries.

Pigeons plot in secrecy

And hamsters turn on frequently.

What a gas you got to come and see

At the zoo.

Regent's Canal

While Simon and Garfunkel wrote the above about the Central Park Zoo, the song was in my head almost the entire time we were at the London Zoo in Regent's Park. It was a lovely, relaxing day, and unlike yesterday's Imperial War Museum, the zoo was light on visitors. We started by walking from our hotel to Primrose Hill and then to Regent's Park, passing over Regent's Canal which runs through the middle of the zoo.

Phil and Alex look out over London from atop Primrose Hill.

The London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world. It was started for scientific study purposes in 1828 by the Zoological Society of London (formed two years earlier), and didn't open to the public until 1847. It's Victorian era roots still show very clearly in the building designs, although many of the animal enclosures have been modernized to allow more room for animals in a more natural environment (the ZSL has a sister zoo called Whipsnade Park that was designed to be much larger and more natural for larger animals).

Here are a few interesting facts about the London zoo and some photos taken by Alex and me:

• Charles Darwin was a fellow of the ZSL
• Illegally imported coral and rare fish that have been confiscated at Heathrow are sent here and rescued

• The world's first reptile house was opened here...

 

• As was the world's first public aquarium...

• In fact, the word aquarium was created by the ZSL by abbreviating aquatic vivarium 
• Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a black bear from White River Ontario called Winnie (after Winnepeg). The bear was a pet of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade, and was left at the zoo when the brigade went off to fight in France.
• The giraffe house at the Zoo is the oldest zoo building in the world still used for its original purpose.

And a few more pictures, just for interest...