Zürich Zoologischer Garten

It is considered one of the best zoos in Europe. Opened in 1929, it is the third oldest zoo in Switzerland (after Basel and Arth-Goldau) and it accumulated a collection of 2,200 specimens of 300 species by its seventy-fifth year. It is located on Zürichbergstrasse, on the lower reaches of the Zürichberg in the Fluntern quarter.

Zürich Zoologischer Garten
Entrance
47°23′6″N 8°34′23″E / 47.38500°N 8.57306°E / 47.38500; 8.57306
Date opened	1929
Location	Zürich, Switzerland
Land area	27 ha / 0.1 sq mi
No. of animals	4673 (2016)
No. of species	375 (2016)
Annual visitors	1.2 Million (2016)
Website	www.zoo.ch/en

One of its popular events is the penguin parade, which is performed daily after noon if the outside temperature is below ten degrees Celsius.

The zoologist Heini Hediger was director of the Zürich Zoo from 1954 to 1973. The current director is Severin Dressen. The zoo is member of WAZA and the EAZA.

The most famous attractions are the Asian elephant exhibit and Masoala Hall, which are inside of a large dome. Guests can even view elephants from underwater. They are also known as the only and first European institution to successfully breed Galápagos tortoises. Over the course of the years, the Zürich attraction has sent the baby tortoises to more than two dozen other zoos. In 2005 the zoo discovered that the seven lemurs caught in Andasibe thought to be mouse lemurs were actually a new species later named Goodman mouse lemur.

The zoo made international headlines in July 2020 when a Siberian tiger mauled a zookeeper to death in front of members of the public.

In 1992 a new plan for the development of the zoo was presented. The area of the zoo was to be doubled by 2020, while keeping the number of species the same and redoing most of the enclosures. The goal was to shift the focus away from displaying animals towards displaying ecosystems, allowing animals to retreat into spaces hidden from visitors. To house these ecosystems - Eurasia, South America and Africa/Madagascar - the zoo was geographically divided into distinct zones.

An updated master plan serves as guideline even recently:

Already implemented and preexisting enclosures

 

• (renovated 1989 and 2016) Exotarium - sea and freshwater fishes, penguins, reptiles and South American birds, mammals and amphibians.
• Evolution-themed house - Galápagos tortoises
• Asian steppe and antelope house - zebras, Arabian oryx and gazelles
• Great apes house - orangutans, siamangs, gibbons and gorillas
• (1995) Sangay cloud forest - Spectacled Bears and Coati
• (1998) Selenga Eurasian wetlands - waterfowl
• (2003) Himalaya - Amur Tigers, Snow Leopards, Mongolian Wolves and Red Pandas
• (2002) Zoolino and nature workshop - children's zoo with farm animals and Bat World
• (2003) Masoala Rainforest (walkthrough) - Madagascian fauna and flora (Red ruffed lemurs, birds, geckos, chameleons, etc.)
• (2006/2007) Gir Forest - Asiatic lions
• (2008) Semien highlands - Gelada and Nubian ibexes
• (2012) Pantanal wetlands - South American tapirs, giant anteaters, capybaras, squirrel monkeys and capuchin monkeys
• (2014) Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park - Asian elephants
• (2015) Mongolian Steppe - Bactrian camels, yaks and cashmere goats
• (2018) Australia (previously Africa house) - koalas, wallabies, emus, kookaburras, and lorikeets
• (2020) Lewa Savanna - giraffes, white rhinoceros, Grévy's zebras, antelope, ostriches, spotted hyenas and meerkats.

As of 2023:

Further developments

• Zoo aerial cableway
• New building for great apes
• New coastal ecosystem for seals, otters and sea birds
• Event location
• Asian steppe ecosystem for banteng and Arabian oryx

•   Media related to Zürich Zoo at Wiki Commons
• Official website