You can visit the animals. You can read about them in the news. (Did you hear about the zoo keeper who likes to take the pig for a walk? And how there’s a new Victoria crowned pigeon, a baby grey slender loris and two Asian lion cubs called Gabriel and Rubi?) But if you really want to feel at home at London Zoo, you need to treat the animals like family.
The zoo offers animals up for adoption for a year at a time. It’s cheap (£30) and easy (the zoo still does all the work for you) and it goes towards helping London Zoo continue its global conservation work for endangered species.
So how about adopting Bounty, aged six and the nosiest squirrel monkey in the zoo, who likes bananas but hates rain? Or what about Thug, the pygmy hippo, aged 13, who isn’t so keen on bananas but adores clover and carrots and having a little nap. Then there’s Lucifer the Asian lion — proud new father to Gabriel and Rubi — or Pipsqueak, a cheeky four-year-old meerkat.
All you have to do is visit zsl.org/shop/animal-adoptions/category.html. As a proud new parent you’ll receive an e-certificate and an e-ticket to the zoo so you can visit your adopted animal, have access to pictures and videos and receive email updates about what your little darling has been up to. You’ll also get a subscription to Wild About — ZSL’s award-winning quarterly magazine.
