Dusit Zoo ( th, สวนสัตว์ดุสิต) or popularly known as Khao Din Wana (เขาดินวนา) and Khao Din (เขาดิน) was a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Located at Khao Din Park in Bangkok's Dusit District next to the Parliament House and

Dusit Palace Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chu ...

, it was the oldest zoo in Thailand, built by King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

(Rama V) as his private garden adjacent to the royal palace. After the king's death, the garden was left unattended for years.

History

In 1938, the constitutional government asked King

Rama VIII Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...

's regency council to give the park to the Bangkok City Municipality to be opened as a public zoo. The King donated deer and a number of other animals from the palace for public exhibition. The City of Bangkok operated the zoo until 1954. Since then it has been transferred to the state Zoological Park Organization, which also operates

Khao Kheow Open Zoo Khao Kheow Open Zoo th, สวนสัตว์เปิดเขาเขียว) is a large zoo in Thailand. It covers an area of about 2,000 acres and contains more than 8,000 animals from more than 300 species. The zoo is located in Si Rac ...

Chiang Mai Zoo Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium is a zoo on Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, just west of Chiang Mai University. It is the first commercial zoo in northern Thailand, established on 16 June 1977. History In 1950 the US government sent m ...

, Songkhla Zoo and Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo. Dusit Zoo, or "Khao Din", spanned a total area of 188,800 square meters, and was regarded as the most popular zoo in Thailand, attracting approximately 2.5 million visitors annually. In August 2018, the Zoological Park Organization announced that the zoo would close and relocate to a new site in Thanyaburi District, Pathum Thani Province. After the announcement, the zoo extended its opening hours until 30 September 2018.เขาดิน ขยายเวลาปิด ให้ประชาชนเก็บภาพความทรงจำถึงสิ้นเดือน ก.ย.

Number of animals

Dusit Zoo was located in the heart of Bangkok, with over 1600 species of domestic and international animals, including: *331 mammals *170 reptiles *849 birds

Zoo Highlights

Dusit Zoo was home to a variety of animals, ranging from the

American alligators The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the g ...

Humboldt penguins The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos peng ...

red pandas The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

, and

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

, to the Thai

brow-antlered deer Eld's deer (''Rucervus eldii'' or ''Panolia eldii''Pitraa, Fickela, Meijaard, Groves (2004). ''Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880–895.), also known as the thamin or brow-antlered deer, is ...

Asian elephants The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

Red-shanked douc The red-shanked douc (''Pygathrix nemaeus'') is an arboreal and diurnal Old World monkey belonging to the Colobinae subfamily. They are endemic to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. They are known for their bright colors and express exhibit sexual dimo ...

s, and

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

s. The Albino

Indian muntjac The Indian muntjac or the common muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak''), also called the southern red muntjac and barking deer, is a deer species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. In popular local l ...

and white

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

were also rare highlights at the zoo. Play Land offered rides and amusement facilities to entertain children throughout the day, while boat peddling and the sightseeing train provided different modes of exploration. Dusit Zoo also contained an animal hospital, zoo museum, and educational center. Zoologico de Dusit

Admission

Dusit Zoo operated from 8am to 6pm. Zoo entry fee: Local People * 100 Baht for adults * 50 Baht for teachers, university students, government officers in uniform * 20 Baht for children * Free of charge for elderly (60 years of age or above), handicapped, monks Foreigners * 150 Baht for adults * 70 Baht for children

References

{{authority control Zoos in Thailand Buildings and structures in Bangkok Dusit district Former zoos 1938 establishments in Siam 2018 disestablishments in Thailand Zoos established in 1938 Zoos disestablished in 2018

History

Number of animals

Zoo Highlights

Admission

See also

References