NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

London Zoo opens new human enclosure

By Cahal Milmo
27 Aug, 2005 12:41 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jo Cook had good reason to be wary of the latest arrivals in the large mammals section of London Zoo yesterday.

Since their evolution from the primordial slime, they have been responsible for the destruction of 844 other species, not to mention some 800 million of their own kind.

Fortunately
the new humans enclosure at the zoo, situated next to five bemused Langur monkeys and four non-plussed Sloth Bears, was populated by five of the more agreeable specimens of the genus homo sapien whose main activity seemed to be playing Connect Four and listening to Radio 2 rather than the destruction of the planet.

Ms Cook, 28, a senior mammals keeper who normally spends her time looking after the needs of the zoo's bears and apes, had just returned from supplying a set of hula-hoops to ensure the "behavioural enrichment" of her new charges.

She said: "They are far more demanding than my usual animals. We have to keep them occupied and entertained - we are responsible for their welfare.

"I gave them a football this morning to run around with to do some exercise. It is quite important to keep the weight off them."

The spectacle of five of the planet's most advanced Great Ape species hanging about in swimwear on Bear Mountain, the 91-year-old Grade II-listed terraces that once housed polar bears and grizzlies, is the opening salvo in a campaign by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which runs the zoo, to highlight humanity's status as a "plague species".

It is estimated that there are currently nearly 15,600 separate species threatened with extinction as a direct result of human activity across the planet.

To underline the point, displays greeted visitors outside the enclosure comparing homo sapiens with chimpanzees and gorillas, noting that more humans are born every hour than the total existing population of the two other apes.

Managers were therefore unapologetic about their selection of eight largely trim and shapely specimens, including an international kick boxer and a professional dancer, to ensure maximum publicity by cavorting around the enclosure next to the bears and monkeys during open hours over the bank holiday weekend.

All similarities with that other Petri dish of scantily-clad human captives, Big Brother, were strictly superficial, the zoo insisted.

Simon Rayner, ZSL's communications manager, who dreamt up the idea of the human zoo, said: "There is a voyeuristic element but the point is to jolt people into recognising the impact of human beings on their own environment and that of other animals.

"We are saying, look, here are humans stripped down and treated exactly the same way as other animals. We are the same and the way we treat all animals has consequences."

It was a point largely lost on 11-year-old Rory McDonald, from Purley, Surrey, as he gazed past the electric fence and moat up towards the cart-wheeling human exhibits, who also include a biologist, chemist and veterinary student.

Rory said: "Cool, I want to have a go? It looks like Baywatch up there. And they even get a better view of the monkeys."

Justine Appleby, 34, a science teacher from Hertford, who was accompanying her two young sons, was among others who applauded the high-brow publicity stunt.

She said: "I did a double take when I saw them - for a split second, I found myself thinking, 'blimey, what kind of animals are they?'

"It's actually quiet a powerful message - what if we are so successful in destroying our environment that one day the only place you could see human beings is in a zoo?"

For the exhibits themselves, who will spend eight hours a day in their elevated nest before being let out to spend each night in their own beds, life as zoological curiosities was proving highly acceptable - right down to the gourmet vegetarian lunch provided by the zoo's on-site catering firm.

Simon Spiro, 19, a veterinary science undergraduate at Pembroke College, Cambridge, shivered slightly as he sat in his boxer shorts and felt fig leaves in a brisk wind.

He said: "I leapt at the chance to do this. We've been sitting around, getting to know each other, discussing a bit about the philosophy of being behind bars.

"I'm fascinated by how we perceive animals and how they see us. So this is an opportunity to be on the receiving end. In so many ways we are inferior to other animals. I wouldn't fancy my chances if I wandered in with the bears."

- THE INDEPENDENT

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Technology

Premium
Business|companies

Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi Facebook Marketplace inventor is back home to give back

05 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
World

A new global divide: AI boom creates gap between nations

04 Jul 08:00 PM
Premium
Business|personal finance

Surge in new vehicle sales: Industry insiders explain three factors behind spike

04 Jul 05:00 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Technology

Premium
Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi Facebook Marketplace inventor is back home to give back

Silicon Valley to NZ: Kiwi Facebook Marketplace inventor is back home to give back

05 Jul 12:00 AM

Bowen Pan says NZ's tech sector is 'unrecognisable for the better' after 13 years away.

Premium
A new global divide: AI boom creates gap between nations

A new global divide: AI boom creates gap between nations

04 Jul 08:00 PM
Premium
Surge in new vehicle sales: Industry insiders explain three factors behind spike

Surge in new vehicle sales: Industry insiders explain three factors behind spike

04 Jul 05:00 AM
Premium
No one likes meetings. They’re sending their AI note-takers instead

No one likes meetings. They’re sending their AI note-takers instead

03 Jul 07:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP