The much loved family of Asian elephants are the first encounter with animals as you enter the reception, shop and cafe area at the zoo. 

In 1930 George Mottershead bought Oakfield House and seven acres of land to house the first animals of Chester Zoo. Later, in 1967, in order to control movement of animals after the Foot and Mouth scare, the zoo bought all the land around it in Caughall. This land now encompasses the UK's largest habitat for endangered Asiatic Lions. The area is modelled on the Gir Forest in India, which is the only place that Asiatic Lions survive in the wild. More that 1.9 million people visit the zoo, annually.  

There are fewer than 500 Sumatran tigers left in the wild. Their existance is hanging by a thread. Seeing them at Chester Zoo is a previlege and a delight

It is indeed a pretty bridge, taking cars, walkers and cyclists over the Shropshire Union Canal from Chorlton into Caughall. At this point, there is Public Right of Way which passes through the middle of Chester Zoo.