ZSL London Zoo app brings the zoo to you

The ZSL London Zoo’s free iPhone app may soon have animal lovers going bananas on both sides of the Atlantic over a 7-week-old baby gorilla. Using the app, fans can download pictures and footage of mother Mjukuu with her baby boy as he adjusts to life in zoo’s Gorilla Kingdom exhibit.

Since the app made its debut Oct. 19, more than 17,000 people have downloaded it. While the app can guide you during a visit to the London Zoo, you don’t have to go to London to make use of it. Providing animal facts, images and videos, it’s like having an animal encyclopedia in your pocket.

Once at the zoo, the app’s “What’s on” section will make sure that you don’t miss seeing the penguins feed and other activities. You get an interactive map that uses the iPhone’s GPS to show you where you are in the zoo and which animals and facilities are nearby. You can also buy zoo tickets and get directions.

When I tested the app, it was so much fun that I felt like jetting over to London. When I clicked on “First Aid,” I learned about the history of the zoo’s clock tower, which was rebuilt after World War II. It now serves as a first aid post and a meeting place for lost children. I learned that London’s only living rain forest is in the zoo’s new “Rainforest Life Exhibit,” which includes a nocturnal area where you can appreciate bats and rats -- if that’s possible.