Timișoara Zoological Garden (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''Grădina Zoologică Timișoara'') was a

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

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, located in the northeastern part of the city, near the Green Forest. It was originally opened in 1986 with 30 species of animals, mostly local to Romania.

History

The zoo was opened to the public in 1986, and was home to about 30 species, most of which were native to Romania. It was originally administered by the Horticultura Autonomous Authority, which was eventually turned into a commercial enterprise. In its early years the zoo was poorly administered, and in order to remedy this, the city acquired the land in 2002 and started a feasibility study on rehabilitating the zoo. The zoo was eventually closed to the public in the autumn of 2004. Renovation started with the infrastructure (electrical, sewage, and pumping systems) in 2004 and 2005 and continued in 2006 with parking, walkways, bridges and construction of habitats. The zoo became a member of the Romanian Zoo and Aquaria Federation in order to collaborate with other zoos in the country and the

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...

(EAZA). The renovation was finished in 2007, and the zoo opened again on 1 June 2007. In November 2020, after the local press reported on the mismanagement of the zoo and the ill-treatment of animals, the mayor's office decided to close it and relocate all the animals to the zoos in the country and abroad until the zoo is modernized. Their relocation actually began in April 2021. In 2023, a local councilor proposed the reopening of the zoo as a promenade park, but the project did not meet the required number of votes in the Local Council.

List of animals

* mammals:

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

European wildcat The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Great Britain, Turkey and the Caucasus. Its fur is brownish to grey with stripes on the forehead and on the sides and has a bushy tail with a bl ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, roe deer,

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Oryctolagus''. The European rab ...

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

Shetland pony The Shetland pony or Sheltie is a Scottish breed of pony originating in the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. It may stand up to at the withers. It has a heavy coat and short legs, is strong for its size, and is used for riding, dr ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

, patas monkey,

guanaco The guanaco ( ; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

Patagonian mara The Patagonian mara (''Dolichotis patagonum'') is a relatively large rodent in the mara genus ''Dolichotis''. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy or Patagonian hare. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open and semiopen ...

red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been i ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

* birds:

common ostrich The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain areas of Africa. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members of the genus ''Struthio'' in the ratite group ...

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

Indian peafowl The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, or blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. While it originated in the Indian subcontinent, it has since been introduced to many other part ...

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

swan goose The swan goose (''Anser cygnoides'') is a large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, Northeast China, and the Russian Far East. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China. Vagrant birds are encountered ...

ruddy shelduck The ruddy shelduck (''Tadorna ferruginea''), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a bird species in the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, in length with a wingspan of . It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, whil ...

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy T ...

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic Range (biology), distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is bird migration, migratory an ...

, Chiloé wigeon,

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a duck native to the Americas, from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. The species has been Domestic Muscovy duck, domesticated, and feral Muscovy ducks can b ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

helmeted guineafowl The helmeted guinea fowl (''Numida meleagris'') is the best known of the guinea fowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus ''Numida''. It is native to Africa, mainly south of the Sahara, and has been widely introduced, as ...

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

Eurasian collared dove The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto''), often simply just collared dove, is a dove species native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It has also been introduced to Japan, North and Central America, and the islands in the Cari ...

* reptiles:

pond slider The pond slider (''Trachemys scripta'') is a species of common, medium-sized, semiaquatic turtle. Three subspecies are described, the most recognizable of which is the red-eared slider (''T. s. elegans''), which is popular in the pet trade and ha ...

European pond turtle The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called Common name, commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the Family (biology), family Emydidae. The species is E ...

Hermann's tortoise The Hermann's tortoise (''Testudo hermanni)'' is a species of tortoise native to Europe. Etymology The specific epithet, ''hermanni'', honors French naturalist Johann Hermann. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Epo ...

Greek tortoise Greek tortoise (''Testudo graeca''), also known as the spur-thighed tortoise or Moorish tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. It is a medium sized herbivorous testudinae, widely distributed in the Mediterranean basin, M ...

green iguana The green iguana (''Iguana iguana''), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly Herbivory, herbivorous species of lizard of the genus ''Iguana''. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gradina Zoologica Timisoara Zoos in Romania Buildings and structures in Timișoara Tourist attractions in Timișoara Zoos established in 1986

History

List of animals

See also

Notes