Zürich Zoologischer Garten

Zürich Zoologischer Garten
Entrance
Date opened 1929
Location Zürich, Switzerland
Coordinates 47°23′6″N 8°34′23″E / 47.38500°N 8.57306°E / 47.38500; 8.57306Coordinates: 47°23′6″N 8°34′23″E / 47.38500°N 8.57306°E / 47.38500; 8.57306
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
Interior of the Masoala Hall

The Zürich Zoologischer Garten (Zürich Zoological Garden) is a zoo located in Zürich, Switzerland. Opened in 1929, 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.

One of its popular events is the penguin parade, which is performed daily after noon if the outside temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius.

The zoologist Heini Hediger was director of the Zürich Zoo from 1954 to 1973.

The zoo is most famous for its successful Asian elephant exhibit, which is inside of a large dome. Guests can even view them from underwater.

Master plan

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[1] now serves as guideline up until 2030:

Developments in progress

An Australian-themed section is to open in 2018; featured animals include koalas, kangaroos, emus, and Komodo dragons, among others.

The Lewa Savanna section is planned to open in 2020 and will feature animals such as giraffes, rhinoceroses, zebras, antelopes and ostriches.

Further developments

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

References

  1. ↑ "Masterplan Zoo Zürich". Official Website of Zoo Zürich.


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