Wildlife lovers can take a trip back in time and visit London Zoo as it was in 1904 this spring, in a digital recreation made for Planet Zoo – a simulation game where players can digitally construct and manage their own zoos and wildlife parks.
Launched a year before our we celebrate ZSL’s 200 year history, the online recreation of London Zoo from more than 100 years ago allows visitors to explore the buildings and see the animals that called the world-famous Zoo home in 1904, with extraordinary attention to detail on everything from the building materials used to the animal information signs.
Meticulously designed by Ralph Stickley, our London Zoo Engagement Officer and Planet Zoo devotee, the Planet Zoo recreation took almost three years to build on top of the countless hours spent trawling through a century’s worth of Zoo maps, site diaries, and historic photos.
What inspired the recreation of London Zoo in 1904?
Ralph Stickley said: “London Zoo is a really special place to work, with an incredible history and the evolving landscape of the site in Regent’s Park has long been a fascination of mine. I’ve always loved playing Planet Zoo, and after reading ‘London Zoo from Old Photographs’ by John Edwards, while stuck at home during lockdown, I had the spark of an idea to recreate London Zoo from days gone by.
“I knew I wanted the recreation to be absolutely accurate, so I began my research in earnest more than three years ago – I cross-referenced maps with photographs, and descriptions from visitors and old zoo records to understand the precise layout of the grounds, and while I’ve had to employ some creative licensing when it comes to the plants and trees, the zoo buildings are as close to reality as I could get them.”
Most of the buildings that Ralph recreated no longer exist, but eagle-eyed Zoo-goers might recognise some of the facades that have been painstakingly recreated in the game – including what is now a tropical birdhouse, the Blackburn Pavilion, which was a ground-breaking reptile house in 1904, and the Clock Tower atop a building that once housed camels, but now serves as the Zoo’s first aid post.
Why did Ralph choose 1904?
Ralph added: “It was fascinating learning so much about the past of London Zoo, a place where so many developments in animal care and understanding have been made. I deliberately chose to recreate London Zoo in 1904 as it was the year before some really significant changes were made to the site by then-Secretary, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, so it gives a glimpse into a Zoo that’s quite unrecognisable today.”
Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell joined ZSL as Secretary in 1903 and introduced what were then groundbreaking ideas to the world of animal care and zookeeping. His revolutionary approach saw huge changes to how animal habitats were planned, and we purchased land to open a second wildlife park, Whipsnade Zoo—the world’s first open zoo in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.
What a way to celebrate one year to go until our 200th anniversary
Tina Campanella, ZSL Bicentenary Manager, said: “As ZSL gears up to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2026, this remarkable glimpse into the history of London Zoo is a great way to see all we have achieved and how far we’ve come. As our knowledge of animals and their needs grew, so did our approach to zookeeping and their habitats, making this rendering of the Zoo in 1904 quite unrecognisable from the bustling venue we know today.”
“Ralph’s attention to detail is really quite astonishing, from the intricacies of the railings surrounding exhibits to the order in which the lions, tigers and leopards lived inside the big cat habitat, you can spend hours investigating every corner of London Zoo a century ago.”
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