zoo [M19th] The first zoo was the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, London. It was established in 1828 in the gardens of the London Zoological Society, and was at first just for scientific study, but was opened to the public in 1847. Practically all English words beginning zoo-, including zoological [L16th] and zoology [M17th], go back to Greek zōion ‘animal’, source also of zodiac [LME] which got its name because most of the signs of the zodiac are represented by animals.