Naturalist Attenborough launches appeal for virus-hit London Zoo

Kumbuka, a male western lowland silverback gorilla, touches a chalkboard during a photocall for London Zoo's annual stocktake in central London in January 2014. The compulsory annual count is required as part of the zoo's license. Photo: AFP

Naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough on July 9 warned the coronavirus crisis could kill off the world's oldest zoological society, along with the London Zoo and the animal conservation projects it supports worldwide.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), founded in 1826, runs both London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo north of the capital, and supports conservation projects in more than 50 countries.