A nine-year-old aardvark called Misha died in the blaze, while four meerkats remain missing and are presumed dead.

An initial post-mortem on the aardvark suggests she most likely died from smoke inhalation while sleeping.

Dominic Jermey, director general of the Zoological Society of London, told Sky News that staff were "devastated" by the loss of Misha, describing her as a "very popular animal with us".

Apart from the meerkats, all other animals are "safe and secure", the zoo has said.

The fire began at about 06:00 on Saturday in the tourist attraction's Animal Adventure section. As well as tearing through the shop and cafe, it also damaged half an adjacent petting zoo.

Some staff who live on site and who moved animals to safety were later treated for smoke inhalation.

More than 70 firefighters attended the scene, and managed to get the blaze under control by about 9.15am.

London Zoo has reopened following a fire which killed several animals, destroyed a shop and cafe and left several people needing medical treatment.

Sky News