For all animal lovers who like both travelling and exploring the nature and its secrets, the best way is to visit a zoo.
Each tourist can find many popular and also some exceptional species there. But beyond this idea it is really important to see all the animals in their natural environment and everyday habits.
Here you can find information about some famous zoos worldwide and interesting profiles of the most popular and worth seeing zoos.
Zoos in the US
As there are different climate and nature around the world, it is really fascinating to find dangerous, exotic and rare animals gathered together at one place. Some of the biggest and most diversified zoos are situated in the United States.
- One good example is the Columbus Zoo, located along the banks of Scioto River. This Zoo is well known for its successful gorilla breeding program and for its extensive reptile collection.
- The Toledo Zoo exhibits more than 5000 types of animals and also hosts summer concert series and a number of other fun family events.
- The world- famous zoo of San Diego is located in Balboa Park and has a lush landscaping of over 700,000 exotic plants.
- The Phoenix Zoo was voted one of the top 5 best zoos in the country for children, mainly because it offers several interactive playgrounds and a safari train.
- Other popular and interesting zoos in the USA are: Saint Louis Zoo, Oklahoma City Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Memphis Zoo, Oregon and Bronx Zoo.
The zoos in the USA are really famous, but there are a lot of interesting and unique zoos across the other continents, either.
Zoos in Asia and Africa
- Wellington Zoo on the North Island of New Zealand is one of the biggest, situated on 32-sprawling acres. The zoo is dedicated to quality and sustainable enclosures for its animals.
- Toronto Zoo, Ontario, Canada has 5000 animals from 460 species, combined with many native animals, such as Grizzly bear, Moose, Wood Bison, raccoons, lynx, and cougar.
- Australia Zoo, Sunshine Coast, Australia is the wildest and most adventurous zoo on earth. It has various snakes, koalas, kangaroos, wombats, tigers, elephants, as well as viewings of over 1000 different animals.
- Yokohama Zoo, Japan is really large, with 7 different areas and that's why binoculars are given to each guest upon entrance for optimal spotting of the inhabitants.
- The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa is split into two main areas, one of which is flat and the other one located on the slopes of a hill.
- The Beijing Zoo is now home to one of the largest animal collections in China. With more than six million people that come to see it each year, Beijing Zoo is among the world’s most visited zoos today
Popular zoos in Europe
So let us turn towards the most impressive Zoos we have in Europe. Most of them are located in the capital of the respective country and they all are an object of national pride.
Berlin Zoological Gardens
This is the oldest zoo in Germany, visited by nearly three million people each year. It has over 17,500 animals and gives the opportunity to see some of the most rare species in the world, including polar bears and giant pandas. It became open to the public on 1. August 1844 and covers 35 hectares. Today the zoo takes part in a scientific research with several universities and other prestigious zoos in the world. It is a great opportunity for each tourist to visit the Berlin Zoological Gardens, because there he can find the balance between nature and animals. Open 9am-5pm, tickets cost €13 for adults and €6.50 for children.
Barcelona Zoo
The zoo has more than 4 000 animals, set in the Barcelona's Park de la Citadel. It is really famous for once housing the world’s only known albino gorilla, Snowflake, who died in 2003. It has a lot of entertaining attractions such as a reptile house, an aviary and the Land of the Dragons. Except the huge variety of animals, the zoo is very well kept and picturesque and the most important thing is that the animals look very healthy and happy, so each visitor can enjoy an amusing and positive atmosphere.Open 10am-5.30pm, tickets cost €19 for adults and €11.40 for children.
ZSL London Zoo
It has all the qualities of a touristic attraction by itself. Visitors can find over 750 species of animals (about 18500 exhibits) daily and many dangerous species. The London Zoo is also the world’s oldest scientific zoo, opened in 1828 for the purpose of scientific study. The most recent project is called the Tiger S.O.S. program, which is intended to raise funds to help save the Sumatran Tiger. The zoo is divided up into many different areas which are great fun to explore and help make it one of London's most popular tourist attractions with different daily attraction such as: tropical bird tour, penguin beach live, animals in action, hungry otters and many others. Probably England is the country of rain but at the ZSL London Zoo everyone has the possibility to find different weather changes across the various areas in the zoo. Open 10am- 6pm, tickets cost £28.18 for adults and £20.45 for children.
Vienna Zoo
Founded in 1752 as an imperial menagerie, this is actually the first zoo in the world. A visit to the Schönbrunn Zoo is a gorgeous tour through every continent in the fascinating world of animals and various species. Vienna zoo is a modern place, so it has become also an educational centre with different showcases, research activities and teaching hours. Vienna zoo is one of the few places where visitors can find giant pandas. Also in 2007 there was the first natural insemination panda birth in Europe. Other attractions include rainforest house, aquarium and a walk, underneath a simulation of the Amazon in flood. A tourist can combine both a visit into the oldest zoo and an exciting nature experience. Open 9am- 6.30pm, tickets cost €16,50 for adults and €8 for children.
Welsh Mountain Zoo
It is situated near the town of Colwyn Bay in Conwy County, Wales. Its founder was Robert Jackson (in 1963). The zoo covers an area of 37 acres. Guests are treated to wooded acres, tree lined paths, and rolling hills teeming with gray heron, grass snakes, and badgers. It is really interesting to see the modern Eurasian Otter showcase—outfitted with a river, and waterfall for happy otters to slide and frolic about—and that of the California Sea Lions and the Humboldt Penguin. It is a fascinating place with green and boundless areas. Open 9am- 6pm, tickets cost £10.95 for adults and £8.25 for children.
Paris Zoo/ Zoo de Vincennes
It is a completely restructured zoo, divided into five geographical zones. Animals live in their natural environment, where visitors can meet a pleasant and green attraction, on the edge of busy Paris. Tourists will be able to see more than a thousand animals of 179 different species, many of which are endangered. A key attraction is the 65 meters "grand rocher", rocky hill. Open 10am to 6pm/ 9.30am to 7.30pm on week-ends, tickets cost €22 for adults and €14 for children.
Prague Zoo
It is one of the best rated zoos in the world. In the Prague Zoo valuable species of animals were saved from extinction. The first idea of the garden came up in 1881 with the marriage of Prince Rudolf of Austria and Princess Stephanie of Belgium. Then, a local newspaper has called for the establishment of the Prague zoo which today has an area of 45 hectares and houses about 4,600 copies of 630 animal species. The so- called “treasure” of the zoo is the core of Przewalski’s wild horse or Mongolian wild horses. It is really a valuable experience to see all the astonishing places and species in the Prague Zoo. Open 9am- 6pm, tickets cost czk 200 for adults and czk 150 for children.
Of course, there are a lot of different and unique zoos in Europe and all around the world. Probably not everyone will have the opportunity to visit all of them, but once you are in one of those cities you might think about a zoo-visit!
Go green and enjoy the zoos!
Last modified: 26.03.2018, edited by: Nils