What London Zoo will look like when it reopens with customers told to keep a ‘tiger’s length’ apart in queues

ZSL LONDON Zoo has been busy revamping its park ready to welcome back visitors from Monday.

The Sun has been given an insider tour around the popular attraction to find out what changes have been made to make it safe for customers and staff post-lockdown.

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Visitors will have to follow a new set of rules when at the park, including standing two meter "tiger's length" apart while queuing for the toilets.

Zoos in England have been given the green-light to reopen from June 15 following a desperate appeal in The Sun from Boris Johnson's dad, conservationist Stanley Johnson.

Most zoos will be reopening over the coming weeks, including Chester, Colchester, London and Whipsnade.

But like all businesses, zoos have to make sure they're "Covid-19 secure" before opening to visitors again.

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Thankfully, as most of London Zoo is outside, visitors will still be able to see hundreds of animals as long as they follow the social distancing rules.

But unfortunately all indoor areas will remain closed to visitors including the reptile house, rainforest life and bugs house.

Despite this, prices will stay the same at £26 per adult and £16.90 for a child – this includes a 10 per cent GiftAid donation that supports ZLS's International conservation work.

One of the biggest differences though, is that you'll have to book tickets online before you get to the park.

Which animal houses will remain closed?

Indoor animal houses at London and Whipsnade Zoos – both owned by ZLS – will remain temporarily closed. These include:

  • The reptile house
  • Butterfly paradise
  • Blackburn pavilion
  • Rainforest life
  • Bugs house
  • Squirrel monkey and lemur walkthroughs

This is to monitor numbers, as there's now a lower limit in force on how many visitors can be in the park at the same time.

You'll be turned away at the gate if you arrive without booking a time slot.

Tickets went back on sale at 12:30pm yesterday and within half an hour the website crashed as visitors rushed to book a slot.




This is back up and running now though and tickets are still available.

Inside the park, the zoo has put spray painted giant paw prints on the ground to guide visitors through the new one-way system installed, which is designed to help social distancing.

And if you want to stop moving to look at the animals, you'll have to stand on one of the animal prints on the floor outside the enclosure to remind you to stand two meters apart from others.

Promoting good personal hygiene and hand washing has always been a high priority for the zoo where visitors mix with animals, but more signs and washing stations have been put up around the park.




Visitors will still be able to buy food and drink at the cafes and restaurants at the zoo but they'll be takeaway only so you won't be able to sit indoors while you tuck in.

Gift shops will be open but there will be one-way rules in place.

Customers won't be able to pay with cash either and will be restricted to contactless payments only.

Kathryn England, chief operating officer at ZSL London Zoo told The Sun: "The gates will go up at 10am on Monday June 15, so that will be a really momentous moment for us and we can't wait to start welcoming people back again."

But like many others in the industry, she warned that conservation sites will need more help in the future to continue funding research projects.

Zoos have lost millions of pounds in sales due to lockdown, with Chester Zoo warning that a £5million loss at its site could put it "at risk of extinction".

"The challenge for us is about income," Ms England added.

"We're running at a limited capacity and that really is only a fraction of the income we would normally be getting at this time of year.

"So financially, we're still going to find it really tough." 

As easing lockdown is a matter for devolved governments, it's not clear when zoos in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to reopen.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) had hoped to open Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore by the end of June with increased safety measures in place, but it said the Scottish government has rejected its plans.

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