Darwin and the orangutan

On 28 March 1838, Charles Darwin came to the Zoo to see Jenny. It was his first sight of an ape. He described Jenny in a letter:

“The keeper showed her an apple, but would not give it her, whereupon she threw herself on her back, kicked & cried, precisely like a naughty child. - She then looked very sulky & after two or three fits of pashion [sic], the keeper said, 'Jenny if you will stop bawling & be a good girl, I will give you the apple.' - She certainly understood every word of his, &, though like a child, she had great work to stop whining, she at last succeeded, & then got the apple, with which she jumped into an arm chair & began eating it, with the most contented countenance imaginable.”

Jenny made a profound impression on Darwin. Leading him to write in his notebook: “Let man visit Ouranoutang in domestication, hear expressive whine, see its intelligence when spoken [to]; as if it understands every word said - see its affection. - to those it knew. - see its passion & rage, sulkiness, & very actions of despair; ... and then let him boast of his proud preeminence ... Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble and I believe true to consider him created from animals.”

Jenny the orangutan 

Jenny made a profound impression on Darwin. Leading him to write in his notebook: “Let man visit Ouranoutang in domestication, hear expressive whine, see its intelligence when spoken [to]; as if it understands every word said - see its affection. - to those it knew. - see its passion & rage, sulkiness, & very actions of despair; ... and then let him boast of his proud preeminence ... Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble and I believe true to consider him created from animals.”

Darwin visited Jenny two more times, noting that she was "astonished beyond measure" when she saw her reflection in a mirror.

Another distinguished visitor, Queen Victoria, did not see the first Jenny, but did see the next orangutan to arrive in 1839 after Jenny’s death. As part of a tradition, the new orangutan was given the same name by her keepers, and so was also called Jenny. (This has lead to a certain amount of confusion…)

Queen Victoria was fascinated but repulsed by her first view of an orangutan in on 27 May 1842, calling Jenny “frightful and painfully and disagreeably human.”

This second Jenny was also seen by the famous zoologist Richard Owen and his wife on their visits to the Zoo. Mrs Owen wrote: “We saw Jenny have her cup of tea again. It was spooned and sipped in the most ladylike way, and Hunt, the keeper, put a very smart cap on her head, which made it all the more laughable. Hunt told me that, a few days ago, the Queen and Prince Albert were highly amused with Jenny's tricks, but that he did not like to put the cap on Jenny, as he was afraid it might be thought vulgar!”

Journey through our history

  • Portrait drawing of a young Charles Darwin
    Two-hundred years of science at the Zoo

    Charles Darwin at the Zoo

    As a ZSL fellow, Darwin studied animal behaviour at the Zoo to develop his scientific work. our 19th-century curator of birds even helped inspire Darwin’s famous theory on Galapagos finch evolution.

  • Historic photo of flamingos at Mappin Terraces at London Zoo
    Built over 100 years ago

    Mappin Terraces and Pavilion

    At the time of their creation in 1913, they represented an innovative step to provide more naturalistic settings for animals at the Zoo. Over the years, the terraces have been home to goats, bears, penguins, ibex and snow leopards

  • The Reptile House at London Zoo in 1928 with formal flower beds along the paths to the entrance.
    Pioneering reptile understanding

    Reptile House history

    The Reptile House was designed by Dr Joan Beauchamp Procter, our first woman curator, and became hailed as one most sophisticated building for animal care and science.

  • London Zoo fish house, the first public aquarium in the world. Fish tanks are laid out on tables.
    Introducing aquariums to the world

    World's first aquarium

    We were home to the world's first public aquarium in May 1853. Our 'Fish House' was revolutionary for its time, the possibility of making tanks from large sheets of plate glass enabled visitors to have an underwater view of the life in tanks.

  • A portrait of the gorilla 'Meng'. London Zoo, June 1939.
    One of Britain’s first modernist buildings

    Round house

    Designed for gorillas by Berthold Lubetkin, the building was home to our first gorillas Mok and Moina.

  • Zookeeper with a toucan bird
    Home to more than 50 different birds

    Blackburn Pavilion history

    Blackburn Pavilion originally housed crocodiles, and is one of the only Victorian animal houses at the Zoo to remain in use today.

  • The London Zoo aquarium photographed in July 1981
    World's first public aquarium

    The Aquarium

    We were home to the world’s first public aquarium. We popularised the name “Aquarium” and pioneered the first environments to provide the correct living conditions for salt-water animals.

  • History of the Zoo