- Date posted: 26th March 2020
Zookeepers and vets living on-site to provide essential care
ZSL London Zoo has launched a fundraising appeal to support the care of its 18,000 animals while it is closed to visitors.
Since the closure of the zoo on Saturday (21 March), a team of veterinary surgeons, zookeepers and support staff have been living on-site to clean enclosures, prepare food for the animals and provide care, all while observing social distancing.
The Zoo has also offered up its car park to NHS key workers and is sending packages of perishable food from its Terrace Restaurant to nearby hospitals.
ZSL London Zoo’s chief operating officer Kathryn England said: “Last week, along with the rest of the country, we watched as this unprecedented situation unfolded around us and began making detailed plans in anticipation of having to do the previously unthinkable - close ZSL London Zoo to the public.
“A core team of zookeepers, vets, security and grounds staff have stayed on-site and are making each day as normal as possible for our much-loved residents, many of which are endangered species and part of important global breeding programmes.”
This is the first time that ZSL London Zoo – an iconic British Landmark – has been closed since World War II. Since its opening to scientists in 1828, and to the public in 1847, it has had six reigning monarchs as its Royal Patron.
To learn more about the appeal and to help the Zoo get through this unprecedented time, visit zsl.org/support-our-zoos
Image (C) ZSL London Zoo.