Pretoria Zoo

Pretoria Zoo
Pretoria Zoo
	Okapi at Pretoria Zoo
	25°44′18″S 28°11′21″E / 25.73833°S 28.18917°E
Date opened	21 October 1899; (125 years ago)
Location	232 Boom Street, Pretoria, South Africa
Land area	85 hectares (210 acres)
No. of animals	About 9,000
No. of species	About 700
Annual visitors	More than 600,000
Memberships	WAZA, PAAZA, AKAA
Major exhibits	Aquarium, Aviary, Mammals, Reptiles
Management	South African National Biodiversity Institute
Website	https://www.pretoriazoo.org/

The National Zoological Garden of South Africa (Afrikaans: Nasionale Dieretuin van Suid-Afrika; also informally known as The Pretoria Zoo) is an 80-hectare (200-acre)^[2] zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. Pretoria Zoo is one of the eight largest zoos in the world^[3]

The Sammy Marks Fountain in the Zoological gardens

History

The farm Klein Schoemansdal, the property of Z.A.R. president Stephanus Schoeman, was sold to Johannes Francois Celliers who renamed it Rus in Urbe. It was acquired by the state in 1895,^[4] and the zoological garden was established at the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899.^[5] It became the official National Zoological Gardens in 1916. After a period of management under the auspices of the South African National Research Foundation, the Pretoria Zoo today is management under the umbrella of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).^[6]

In 2024, the zoo transferred its last elephant, Charley, to a wildlife reserve following negotiations between the South African government and animal rights groups protesting against his confinement.^[7]

Landscape

Half of the zoo is situated on relatively flat ground, while the other half is located on the slopes of a hill. The two areas are separated by the Apies River flowing through the zoo. Two bridges provide access over the river.

Infrastructure

Around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of pathways are laid out in the zoo. Golf carts are available for rent for those that prefer not to walk; most, but not all of the exhibits are accessible by golf cart. A cable car links the top of the hill with a point close to the entrance at the bottom. Two restaurants are located within the zoo, besides a picnic area on the banks of the Apies River. A crafts market is located outside the zoo entrance.

Exhibits

Group	Species^[1]	Animals^[1]
Mammals	209	3117
Birds	202	1358
Fish	190	3871
Invertebrates	4	388
Reptiles	93	309
Amphibians	7	44
Total	705	9087

Proceeding from the entrance a visitor encounters a walk-through aviary, enclosures for African penguins, Cape fur seals, leopards, flamingoes, and lemurs, further bird aviaries and the hamadryas baboon and monkey enclosures along the western boundary.

At the centre of the zoo large sections are set aside for the African savannah waterhole and a set of large enclosures for smaller carnivores, cheetahs, black and white rhinos, giraffes, African bush elephants, hippos, plains zebras, African buffaloes and okapis respectively. Amongst these are smaller enclosures for primates, African wild dogs, red kangaroos and breeding units for birds.

Against the northern hillside are large enclosures for lions, tigers, brown bears, Nubian ibexes, western lowland gorillas and other animals. In the western section the zoo includes two aquariums, and a reptile park, accessed via a separate entrance.