Okapis are in a separate, neighbouring, house (as are Malayan Tapirs). The only other species in this building are Chapman's Zebras in the lower run of stalls at the far end.
Okapis are in a separate, neighbouring, house (as are Malayan Tapirs). The only other species in this building are Chapman's Zebras in the lower run of stalls at the far end.
I've always really liked this building. It is remarkable that an 175 year old building can still adequately house giraffes. How did they manage to get this so right?
There are also nice silent film style projections on the walls of the visitor area about giraffes and their history at the zoo. I like it when London educates visitors about the history of the zoo.
One other thing about this building - I had a cardboard 'cut out and build' zoo one Christmas as a kid, and it had a giraffe house clearly based on this building - the tall, arched doors (rather than plain rectangular) in particular.
To this day, nothing non-animal says 'zoo' to me more than the tall, arched doorways of this building.
The original extension, on the eastern side of this building, was built in 1850 for London Zoo’s first hippopotamus ‘Obaysch’.
I was only about six years old when the old Hippopotamus House was demolished in 1960 and even more than half-a-century on I still have very vivid memories of seeing the hippos there; it was always my favourite part of the zoo as a small child.
