Tower of London.. Zoo???

At one time the Tower of London was once a Royal Menagerie. There were actually animals living in the tower and it was open to the public. There were actually leopards, lions, a lynx, elephants, jackals, hyenas, and an old brown bear and a polar bear living there along with a hand full of monkeys… Oh my!

One could get in free if they brought a cat or dog with them to feed to the lions. To me that’s a horrible though, but I suppose back then it was how they actually fed the animals at the time. The feeding times were also used as some form of twisted entertainment for the Royals back then.
The animals are now long gone and were replaced with sculptures of those who lived in the Tower. The wire sculptures are placed sporadically where the animals had lived. The London Zoo became the home for the zoo animals in 1832. This reason was because the were escaping and attacking the other animals, visitors or staff.

Check out this link for more information on the Royal Menagerie ~ Royal Menagerie

The only creatures living there now are the ravens. There are at least 6 ravens who reside at the tower and are cared for by the Raven Master. There is a superstition surrounding the ravens and that is.. “If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it”.

Check out this link for some more information on the Tower’s Ravens ~ Ravens of the Tower of London