The Tiger Territory enclosure is carefully designed to encourage the resident Sumatran tigers to behave as they would in the wild. Tigers are enthusiastic tree climbers and here the high walkway with floor-to-ceiling windows allows you to see the big cats and their young lounging in the treetops.
The zoo’s bug house has been delighting little children with icky wee beasties for years, but now there is a new interactive experience where the spiders are no longer behind thick glass, they’re right next to you! The domestic spider in the bath, the black widow, the huntsman, the giant bird-eating spider… you’ll encounter them all on a visit to walk-through exhibit ‘In with the Spiders’. Just make sure one of them doesn’t try to sneak home with you in your hoodie.
Did you know the group name for these beautiful stripy-tailed furries is a ‘conspiracy’ of lemurs? Take a walk through their enclosure, as they run along branches over your heads, nibble on fruit right in front of you and bask in the sun on specially designed platforms. Lemurs love to snooze in the sun, so these platforms are positioned to get as much sunlight as possible.
The Land of the Lions enclosure gets you super-close to the zoo’s pride of Asiatic lions thanks to newly installed ‘windowless-views’ (created using fine wires). Interactive experiences include helping the forest rangers with a ‘lion emergency’ and the chance to see if you can cycle faster than a lion runs. Yikes!
Nothing beats watching otters scooting down their watery slopes to the pool at feeding time. But more often than not they’re hiding out somewhere so try to time your visit for noon, when lunch is being served. (Top tip: come back just before closing time when it’s quiet, as they can often be found out of hiding then, too).
Stuck for things to do with the kids this May half-term in London? Panic over, we've got loads to keep them sweet.
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