A filmmaker famous for producing documentaries about the natural world is calling on the British people to save the oldest scientific zoo in the world as it struggles to remain solvent during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sir David Attenborough, who narrated the wildly successful Planet Earth docuseries, is hoping a two-minute spot arguing for the preservation of the London Zoo, which the Zoological Society of London opened in 1828.
“Today, ZSL’s work is vital in driving forward a vision of a world where wildlife thrives … ZSL now faces its toughest challenge to date — put bluntly, the national institution is now itself at risk of extinction,” he said in a TV spot now airing on U.K. television.
The zoo, which reopened to the public on June 15, needs more than $20 million to keep the park afloat as it faces a mammoth rebuilding task even after it furloughed close to 250 employees.
Attenborough noted that the zoo, which had not been closed since the Second World War, is instrumental in helping better understand the natural world and asked the public to help the ZSL maintain the “global preservation charity.”
“The Zoological Society of London has made an outstanding contribution to conservation and to our understanding of wildlife for 200 years,” he said. “The coronavirus pandemic forced London and Whipsnade Zoo to close its gates for the first time since World War Two, cutting off vital income. Without your help, we could see the closure of the world’s oldest scientific zoo.”
