The zoo is where Vernon and Petunia Dursley took Dudley Dursley, Piers Polkiss and Harry Potter for their son's eleventh birthday. It appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
History[]
The zoo's gorilla that Harry thought had the same look of Dudley
In June 1991, Vernon and Petunia Dursley decided to take Dudley Dursley to the zoo for a birthday treat. They invited one of his friends, Piers Polkiss. Though they had hoped not to, they had to take Harry Potter when Arabella Figg was unable to look after him. Dudley threw a tantrum about Harry going, and Vernon and Petunia would have rather left him behind.[1]
They visited the zoo on a Saturday which was a warm day, and it was busy. Vernon and Petunia purchased two large chocolate ice-creams for Dudley and Piers at the entrance. The lady selling the ice-creams from a van asked Harry what he wanted before they had the Dursleys' chance to get him away, so they had to purchase a cheap ice-lolly. Harry noticed a gorilla which he thought looked like Dudley.[1]
At lunchtime, they ate a meal at the zoo when Dudley and Piers began to find the animals boring. Dudley asked for a knickerbocker after lunch which he thought was too small. Vernon let Harry eat the knickerboxer when he purchased an even larger one for Dudley.[1]
They then went to the reptile house which housed cobras and pythons. The largest snake was the boa constrictor which was asleep. Dudley wanted to wake it up and he and Vernon tapped the glass but it was only when Harry stood in front of the window that it woke and winked at him. Harry and the snake then communicated through Parseltongue but Harry didn't realise he was speaking another language and he was confused to why the snake understood what he was saying.[1]
The snake looked at Vernon and Dudley, who it had found rude and loud, and raised its eyes to the ceiling. It then began speaking to him in Parseltongue, saying it had to put up with that all the time. Harry spoke back, telling the snake he knew how it felt and that it probably found it very annoying. He also asked the snake where it was from and it pointed its tail at a sign which stated that the boa constrictor was native to Brazil. However, this snake was born and raised in the zoo.[1]
Piers shouted to Vernon and Dursley that it was awake. Dudley punched Harry to the ground and when Dudley and Piers leant towards the glass, he magically made it vanish. The snake then escaped to head for Brazil and thanked Harry when the others in the reptile house run out in fear. The zoo keeper apologised to a shocked Vernon, Petunia, Dudley and Piers but Harry was later punished when Piers said to Vernon and Petunia that he saw Harry speaking to the snake.[1]