The largest living tortoise, they were once so common that Spanish colonists named the Galápagos islands after them – as Galápagos meant tortoise in Old Spanish. Over 3000 were recorded gathering together around the time people first arrived on the islands.
Galápagos tortoises can survive a year without food or water, which sadly led to sailors harvesting them from the islands for food during their travels. Around 100,000 were taken from the islands by 1830, mostly by British whaling ships.
Today Galápagos tortoises continue to be at risk from animals that people have introduced to the islands, but many species are now recovering thanks to conservation efforts 💪
Meet the chubbiest lemur at London Zoo
Happy World Lemur Day from Sam and all of our dedicated lemur keepers 👋
Ultrasounding the largest amphibian on Earth 🌏
Over exploitation for the luxury food market has put this special species on the edge of extinction, but through research at the Zoo we’re working to develop a route to recovery.
Together with our partners, at @officialzsl we completed the largest ever survey in Chinese conservation history to track down wild salamanders.
📸 Cover photo by @capelingluke
12ft giraffe begins his city break at London Zoo
Meet our big new arrival 🦒
Wilfred the 12-foot-tall giraffe has been chauffeured to the Zoo via “giraffemobile” for a taste of city life, before he makes an onward journey to a new home in France.
22-month-old reticulated giraffe Wilfred travelled from Whipsnade Zoo in a specialist vehicle, driven by animal transport experts. The lorry’s retractable roof allowed long-necked Wilfred a comfortable experience boarding, before embarking on a 45-minute drive from our sister zoo.
Find out how we're helping Wilfred settle in 👉 https://www.londonzoo.org/zoo-stories/news/12ft-giraffe-transported-giraffemobile-stay-london-zoo
Kiburi cam 🎥
Weighing-in at 192kg, Kiburi is a relaxed and confident young silverback.
Through @officialzsl we’re working together with communities in the Dja to safeguard over 2 million hectares of habitat for gorillas like Kiburi.
We led the biggest ever survey of western lowland gorillas in the area, trekking across the forest for 3 months to successfully estimate over 2,000 gorillas living in the Dja 🇨🇲
📸 Zookeeper Rhiannon
#Gorillas #LondonZoo
Tips on becoming a Zookeeper 🦒
Join us on 31 October for the ZSL Zoos and Conservation Careers Conference, where we’ll be providing advice on how to get into the world of wildlife conservation.
From veterinarians to field scientists and everything in between, hear from our experts and take part in hands-on workshops.
Tickets in story 🎫
#LondonZoo
Zookeepers’ favourite animals 🐌
Pygmy hippo expert on Moo Deng 🦛
Extinct snail now reestablished
An extremely special day at the Zoo 🙌 🐌
For the first time in 40 years, our conservationists have found born-in-the-wild adult Partula tohiveana – meaning they have now successfully established themselves in French Polynesia.
This moment is a culmination of decades of dedication and collaboration, beginning with saving the last individuals from extinction to coordinating a global conservation zoo breeding project.
A huge thank you to all the conservation zoos that have with us on this journey 🙌 Whipsnade Zoo Marwell Wildlife Detroit Zoo Bristol Zoo Project Edinburgh Zoo Saint Louis Zoo Sedgwick County Zoo Woodland Park Zoo Zoo Schwerin
Gen Z slang vs our volunteers 💪Our volunteers are great communicators, whatever your age or background they will chat to you about animals in a way you can understand!
How to tell if a pygmy hippo is happy
By working so closely with Amara at the Zoo, we can learn all kinds of things about pygmy hippos which just wouldn’t be possible out in the wild.
Only 2500 pygmy hippos remain in their native Liberia, and by sharing our expertise with fellow conservationists we’ve helped advance conservation for the species in the country.
