We visited The London Zoo today. I was hoping to practice taking wildlife photography, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The animals are either behind glass or fencing, which of course makes photographing them difficult.
This tiger photo is the best I could do. But, even though it looks OK here, it was pretty far away and I couldn’t get a great shot. This is a Sumatran Tiger. They’re slightly smaller than Siberian tigers (but still huge) and alarmingly there are only about 400 of these magnificent predators left. Check out this Sumatran Tigers website to find out more about these cats.
The London zoo itself is not really what I expected. I get the feeling that the zoo is much more about preserving endangered and threatened species than a showpiece of animals. In fact, I’m against the idea of keeping animals in small enclosures for human entertainment. As a way of preserving species though, I’m all for it. Also, the enclosures aren’t “small” as such – they’re actually quite big, but obviously no cage can be big enough for a wild animal.
I encourage anyone who is concerned about our natural heritage to spend the ú14 and go to the zoo. They are doing very good work.
Attie Heunis's Journey 
Attie, I can only agree with your comments. I have heard a lot of negative comments about the London zoo but I get the feeling these are more from people who have been disappointed by the fact that they weren’t ‘entertained’ rather than their concern for the animals. I think zoos play an integral part in the ongoing management of endangered species as well as serving as an excellent way of educating the public about the plight some of these animals face.
Thx for the comment, Rob.