Dominic Jermey NHS sign at the Giraffe House at London Zoo - Credit: ZSL As London Zoo reopens after the third lockdown, ZSL Director General Dominic Jermey looks back on a pandemic year at the Regent's Park attraction. Little did I know on March 21 last year, what lay ahead as we closed the gates to London Zoo for the first time since World War Two. Behind closed doors, Bhanu the lion continued to roar. White cheeked gibbons Jimmy and Yoda sang their morning song. But without visitors, the zoo was eerily quiet. Two days later, we entered the first national ‘lockdown’, and the whole of London fell quiet around us.