World's Largest Colobus Monkey Walk-Through Comes To London

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 92 months ago
World's Largest Colobus Monkey Walk-Through Comes To London
The Snowdon Aviary seen from Regent's Canal in 2015. Photo: ZSL

London Zoo plans to open the world's largest colobus monkey walk-through exhibit in its Snowdon Aviary.

The aviary will be home to a group of up to 30 black and white colobus monkeys, and there are plans to introduce other, smaller species of monkey, forest antelope, and birds including the endangered African grey parrot.

It's part of a restoration project for the Grade II* listed structure, which was Britain's first walk-through aviary when it opened in 1965. It can be seen from Primrose Hill and along Regent's Canal.

The zoo has been awarded £4.9million from the Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore the aviary, which is currently home to several species of bird, including white ibis and peacocks. You can walk through it over suspended bridges.

The view from Primrose Hill, with the aviary in the foreground on the right. Photo: fe_wind

The aviary is named after Lord Snowdon, who worked with architect Cecil Price and structural engineer Frank Newby to create it.

On top of the £4.9million HLF grant, ZSL, the charity behind London Zoo, needs to fundraise a further £2.2million for the restoration to take place.

London Zoo is already home to walk-through squirrel monkey and golden orb spider exhibits, as well as these guys:

Find out more about the restoration plans.

See also: Listed buildings and architecture at London Zoo

Last Updated 05 July 2016