A sneak peek at London Zoo’s new up-close tiger experience

ZSL London Zoo has opened a brand new 2,500sqm (27,000sqft) enclosure housing critically endangered Sumatran tigers.

Costing £3.6m at five times the size of the zoo’s previous tiger exhibit, the new habitat was designed with ZSL’s tiger keepers, conservationists and experts to aptly meet the needs of the big cats. The area features tall trees for the natural climbers to scale, high feeding poles to nurture their predatory behaviours, indoor dens, and a custom-built pool (unusually for cats, tigers love water).

Visitors to Tiger Territory are afforded the opportunity to come face-to-face with real-life tigers through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The experience is set within a simulated Indonesian habitat, which was carefully and expertly planted by the Zoo’s team of horticulturalists.

The project is ultimately a bid to halt the Sumatran tiger’s looming extinction. It enables the breeding of tigers at ZSL London Zoo and allows the organisation to learn more about the elusive animals.

ZSL London Zoo tells us: “Tiger Territory will inform and inspire a generation to treasure the tiger and understand their role in its survival. It will also help fund ZSL’s tiger conservation work in the field, providing a lifeline for years to come.”

The editorial unit

Photos: Andrew Collins

Tiger Territory, ZSL London Zoo’s new flagship exhibit is now open to the public. For further information or to book visit here.