page_title: London Zoo
section_title: The Attenborough Komodo Dragon House
hierarchical_section_title: London Zoo / Areas and attractions / The Attenborough Komodo Dragon House
caption_attribution_description: Images from London Zoo. Komodo Dragon Location: NW1 4RY
context_page_description: London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. Today, it houses a collection of 673 species of animals, with 19,289 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom. The zoo is sometimes called Regent's Zoo.
  It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London, and is situated at the northern edge of Regent's Park, on the boundary line between the City of Westminster and the borough of Camden. The Society also has a more spacious site at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire to which the larger animals such as elephants and rhinos have been moved.
  As well as being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the first reptile house, first public aquarium, first insect house and the first children's zoo.
  ZSL receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows' and 'Friends' memberships, entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income.
context_section_description: London Zoo's Komodo dragon enclosure was opened by Sir David Attenborough in July 2004. The zoo used to own two Komodo dragons, a female named Rinka and a male named Raja. A new male dragon called Ganas (one of the parthenogenic hatchlings from Chester Zoo) moved to London in 2015 after the previous dragons died. Their enclosure is designed to resemble the dragon's natural habitat of a dry river bed, and sounds of Indonesian birds are regularly played into the enclosure.
caption: Raja, the male Komodo dragon
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