ZSL Science

🦋 ZSL is now also posting on Bluesky! Join us over there for the latest science and conservation updates: bsky.app/profile/zsloff…

Cracking the case on a deadly fungus 🐸🔎 The chytrid fungus is a major cause of devastating declines in amphibians around the world. We've spent the last two decades at the forefront of better understanding the fungus and protecting species from it. A brand-new study of common midwife toads in the Pyrenees - led by us, led by us, @ucl and @imperialcollege reveals why some toads are able to recover from outbreaks of the fungus. Read more here 👉 zsl.org/news-and-event…

📢 Exciting opportunity to celebrate young people making a difference for wildlife through conservation, creativity or campaigning. Submit a nomination for our Young Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award 🏆 Find out more, deadline 1st Sept: zsl.org/about-zsl/awar…

Why was His Majesty The King painting a tiny snail at London Zoo? 🐌 During a special visit to mark ZSL's 200th anniversary, ZSL Patron His Majesty The King helped give two very special partula snails a dot of “snail varnish” ahead of their release back into the wild later this year. The tiny dots of colour help our conservationists identify individual snails and monitor their progress once they return home to French Polynesia. This year’s cohort will be marked orange, but these two received a special Royal Purple mark to commemorate the visit. Partula snails were once driven to the brink of extinction after the introduction of another snail species devastated their populations — with some disappearing from the wild entirely. But thanks to decades of work by ZSL conservationists and partners around the world, these species have been rescued, cared for at London Zoo, and are now returning to their island homes. It’s one of ZSL’s longest-running conservation projects, led by some of our longest-serving experts, proving that no species is too small to save.

Bird sampling efforts for our project led by @ZSLScience 's Ava Jenkins featured in the recent issue of British Trust for Ornithology's Lifecycle magazine. 🐦 Listen to the podcast where Ava and @sangerinstitute researcher Tom Mathers chat bird genomes🎧open.spotify.com/episode/6VXYCz…

Join us on 16-17 Nov for our bicentenary symposium, Turning Points for Wildlife, as scientists, policymakers and practitioners discuss how to navigate responsible species rescue for populations on the very edge of extinction 🌎 Find out more 👇bit.ly/4oYRkKf #ZSLat200

Happy #PostboxSaturday from this ERII pillar box in Orpington with crocheted topper celebrating the bicentenary of wildness and wonder at The Zoological Society of London. 💌🐘🦒🦓 @letterappsoc #ZSLat200

Back at @ZSLScience after recovering this adult male common dolphin earlier today- live stranded and died at Mortlake in the Thames, #CSIoftheSea exam to follow tomorrow. Many thanks to our friends at @BDMLR and the @TidewayScullers team for all their help today!

Finally, learn how (and, importantly, why) we conduct postmortem examinations on invertebrates in this Science and Conservation Event looking at the amazing world of wildlife pathology 🔬 6/6 youtube.com/watch?v=aiucyd…

Hear how we successfully translocated and reintroduced the #ChequeredSkipper butterfly to English woodlands, following extinction in 1976 as a result of devastating habitat loss, supported by our Disease Risk Analysis and Health Surveillance team 🌳 5/6 open.spotify.com/episode/21HF3y…

Happy #InsectWeek! 🐛🕷️🦋🐝🐞🪲 To celebrate our invertebrate friends we wanted to highlight some fascinating resources from ZSL teams working with the little things that run the world 🧵 1/6 @insectweek

📢 Upcoming closure notification: ZSL Library & Archives will be closed on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 July to allow the team to attend the upcoming @SHNHSocNatHist Conference. Thank you for your understanding.

We can't wait for this event tomorrow! 🎟️ Limited in-person tickets are still available (for free!), or join us live online from anywhere in the world. Book now before they sell out: zsl.org/news-and-event…

How can #rewilding contribute to global commitments to protect, conserve, and manage 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030? Join the @Rewilding_BES on 24th September at ZSL as we host discussions to learn more 🌎 Book your ticket: britishecologicalsociety.org/content/rewild…

We are proud to share that Dr Becki Lawson, wildlife vet and researcher at our Institute of Zoology, @ZSLScience , has been awarded an MBE for her services to Wildlife Health! 🐸🐦‍⬛🩺 This honour recognises 25 years of work dedicated to understanding diseases that affect wildlife and their impacts in the UK and beyond. 🦭 After completing her studies in MSc Wild Animal Health with ZSL and the @RoyalVetCollege , Becki joined us in 2002, working with CSIP colleagues to investigate an outbreak of seal distemper. She has since gone on to work with a variety of species - from Critically Endangered Caribbean frogs threatened by a deadly fungus, to researching the health of otters, birds and bats in the UK. 🐦 Since 2013, Becki has focused on monitoring and protecting British garden birds, amphibians, reptiles and hedgehogs on a national scale through her work in the Garden @wildlife_health (GWH) project. 🦔 A collaboration between ZSL, @_BTO , @froglifers and RSPB @Natures_Voice , GWH combines scientific expertise with the power of citizen science to detect and respond to wildlife health threats. Over the last 13 years, Becki and the GWH team have used reports from members of the public to build a national database of wildlife disease, informed government policy and helped nature-lovers safeguard the health and welfare of wildlife in their gardens. We’re delighted to see Becki’s outstanding commitment to wildlife health be recognised as part of HM The King’s Birthday Honours list. HM King Charles serves as our Royal Patron, continuing a 200-year tradition of the reigning British Monarch being our Royal Patron. Congratulations Becki for this remarkable achievement! 👏

Take a look at the Young Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award from ZSL, new for 2026, celebrating the many ways young people connect with wildlife and the natural world 🏆 Find out more & nominate yourself, or a young conservationist you know 👉 zsl.org/about-zsl/awar…

@sangerinstitute @GigaScience @Thomas_Mathers If you'd like to hear an interview about MicroFinder and birds with @sangerinstitute first author Dr Tom Mathers, head to the @ZSLScience podcast episode #50 'mapping nature's code' - the team discusses birds, sampling, and genomes! It's a great listen ⤵️ open.spotify.com/show/6oXspubfl…

🤝 Join ZSL at London Climate Action Week 2026 From ocean conservation and sustainable finance to conservation technology and youth leadership, ZSL experts will be contributing to some of the week's most important climate and nature conversations. Highlights include: 🌊 Ocean Hub at Kanaloa House 🐟 Economist Enterprise Ocean Event 🪙 N4C Invest with Nature (hosted at London Zoo) 🌱 Future Streets Forum 🦁 LCAW Youth Summit 🌍 EarthFest Our specialists, researchers and conservation educators will be sharing insights from our international work in over 80 countries and work in the UK alongside our London and Whipsnade conservation zoos. If you're attending London Climate Action Week, we'd love to connect. #LCAW2026 #LondonClimateActionWeek #ClimateAction