The Wrocław Zoological Garden (), known simply as the Wrocław Zoo (), is a zoo on Wróblewski Street in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is the oldest zoo in Poland, having been first launched in 1865 as the Breslau Zoological Garden while the city was part of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. During the World Wars it was first shut down, then reopened and finally destroyed. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was rebuilt and ultimately opened in 1948 and now it is also the largest (in terms of the number of animals/species) zoo in the country. The zoo covers near downtown Wrocław. It is home to about 10,500 animals representing about 1,132 species. In terms of the number of

animal species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and ...

it is the third largest zoological garden in the world. The Wrocław Zoo is the most visited zoo in Poland and the fifth most visited zoo in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The zoo is an accredited member of 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) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

History

The beginnings of the zoo date back to 1863 when the decision to establish a zoological garden in Breslau was made at the initiative of a local community. The city authorities designated 9 hectares of land by the Oder River for the purposes of building the zoo, and on 10 July 1865, the grand opening ceremony of the new complex took place, accompanied by a fireworks display, and a military

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

. The zoo was in possession of 452 animals representing 50 species. The first visitors could see such animals as

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

s and

big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

s. In the first year of its existence, the zoo was visited by approximately 67,000 people. The zoo enjoyed considerable popularity among the inhabitants of Breslau despite a relatively limited variety of animals to be seen. The first elephant was bought in as late as 1873. It was an

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

named Theodor and was transported from the London Zoo. It instantly became one of the biggest attractions of the zoo in Breslau. In later years, the garden also acquired such animals as an

anteater Anteaters are the four extant mammal species in the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue"), commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with sloths, they ar ...

, eared seals, and

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

s. Among other favourite animals of the zoo were

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

Moritz and

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

Pussy which arrived in the city in 1897 from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. A commemorative statue devoted to her can still be found to this day in the Wrocław Zoo. One of the biggest breeding successes of the zoo was the birth of the first in the world Malayan tapir, and in the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

named Anton. The zoo could also boast Muschi, the only Amazonian manatee in Europe, which died in the winter of 1945 (it lived for nine years). Arctocephalus pusillus in Wroclaw ZOO 04

Arctocephalus pusillus in Wroclaw ZOO 04

After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the zoo was forced to close due to an economic crisis, and the animals had to be transferred to other zoological gardens in Germany, mostly to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. The area of the former zoo was turned into a large park. In 1927, the zoological garden reopened and operated up until 1945. During the siege of Festung Breslau, most of the animals were killed and the remaining ones were sent to other zoos located in a number of Polish cities including

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the plans to rebuild the zoo were drawn and one of the main initiators of this project was

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Stanisław Kulczyński from the Wrocław University of Technology. In 1947, Karol Łukaszewicz, who previously worked at the Kraków Zoo, was appointed the first Polish director of the zoo that was soon to be reopened. He played a key role in rebuilding the ruined zoo, bringing back the animals that were taken away from the zoo as well as acquiring new ones. On 18 July 1948, the Wrocław zoo was ceremonially opened. At that time, it possessed 224 animals representing 72 species, including wolves, bears,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...

s, a

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

s and a South American tapir. By the end of 1948, the zoo was visited by 365,000 people. In the following years, it was expanded by 15 hectares, which allowed to increase the number of animals that the zoo could exhibit. In 1997, the nearby Oder River overflowed, causing the zoo to be nearly damaged by a flood. Wroclaw zoo and centennial Hall

In the second half of the 20th century, the Wrocław zoo achieved great success thanks to a popular TV show ''With A Camera Among Animals'' (Polish: "Z kamerą wśród zwierząt") hosted by Hanna and Antoni Gucwiński, who in 1966 became the director of the zoo. The programme ran for more than three decades on TVP Channel (ending in 2001) and contributed to turning the Wrocław Zoo into the most popular zoo in Poland. In 2006, Radosław Ratajszczak, previously working at the Poznań Zoo, became the new director of the zoo and initiated an extensive programme of investments. New pavilions and enclosures were built, including the ones for

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

es, and

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

es. The Seal Centre was constructed as well as the Odrarium building. However, the biggest and most successful investment was the building of Africarium, an

oceanarium An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale Public aquarium, aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine (ocean), marine animals, especially large ocean dwe ...

specially designed to feature the

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

which opened in 2014. The building is home to such species as rays, sandbar sharks,

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

s, hippopotamuses,

manatee Manatees (, family (biology), family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivory, herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing t ...

s, speckled mousebirds, hadada ibises, hamerkops, and African grey hornbills. It attracted even more visitors and made it the most frequently visited zoo in Poland with an annual number of visitors amounting to around 2 million.

Attractions and activities

The zoo includes among others: the Africarium (the only

of its kind which focuses exclusively on the

fauna of Africa The fauna of Africa are all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna are found in the Afrotropical realm, Afro-tropical realm. Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and stretching ...

), the

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Pavilion, the Odrarium, Terrarium, Zoolandia ropes course, Children's Zoo, the Ranch, as well as food and drinks outlets. Moreover, it houses a collection of a number of rare and exotic species such as

, okapi, bear cuscus,

red hartebeest The red hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus caama''), also called the Cape hartebeest or Caama, is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to ...

, Philippine mouse-deer, L'Hoest's monkey, and long-necked turtle. The zoo also actively participates in a number of initiatives and support programmes aimed at rescuing

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, sends zoo workers on rescue missions, runs open meetings such as ''ZOO na ratunek'' ("Zoo to the Rescue") and offers a variety of educational activities for children and teens. The zoo's breeding program has also had a number of major successes, which include the births of

Pygmy hippopotamus The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small Hippopotamidae, hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Co ...

in 2010 and 2012, Philippine scops owl (the only one in the world outside of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

reticulated giraffe The reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa reticulata'' or ''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'') is a species/subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It is differentiated from other types of giraffe by its coat, which consists of large, p ...

in 2012 as well as the first in the world Sulawesi bear cuscus in 2018.

List of directors

*Franz Schlegel (1864-1882) *Hermann Stechmann (1882-1900) *Friedrich Grabowsky (1900-1929) *Hans Honigmann (1929-1934) *Martin Schlott (1934-1946) *Karol Łukaszewicz (1947-1966) *Antoni Gucwiński (1966-2006) *Radosław Ratajszczak (2007-28th February 2022) *Joanna Kasprzak and Mirosław Piasecki (March 2022-21st April 2024) *Joanna Kasprzak (21st April-26th July 2024) *Sergiusz Kmiecik (26th July-23rd October 2024) *Tomasz Jóźwik (since 24th October 2024)

Gallery

File:Wrocławskie ZOO Wejście od Odry fot BMaliszewska.jpg, Japan Gate File:Afrykarium Wrocław 2015.jpeg, Africarium-Oceanarium (exterior) File:Afrykarium tunel.jpg, Africarium-Oceanarium (interior) File:Wroclaw Zoo Baszta Niedzwiedzi.jpg, "The Bear Fortress" File:Wrocławskie ZOO Dom Dyrekcji fot BMaliszewska.jpg, Building of the management File:Wrocławskie ZOO Żyrafiarnia fot BMaliszewska.jpg,

Giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s File:Wrocław, Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny - fotopolska.eu (259320).jpg, A

meerkat The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body ...

in Wrocław Zoo File:Wrocław, Zoo (terrarium).jpg, A terrarium building at the Wrocław Zoo File:Wrocławskie ZOO Fokarium fot BMaliszewska.jpg, The Seal Centre File:Wroclaw zoo 12 slon indyjski.jpg, Indian elephant File:Chameleon Wroclaw ZOO.jpg, Chameleon File:Wrocław - Zoo 05.JPG,

Zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

s File:Biały tyrgys.jpg, White tiger File:Podargus strigoides (Wroclaw zoo)-1.JPG, Tawny frogmouth File:Agapornis roseicollis and Agapornis fischeri (Wroclaw zoo)-1.JPG, Fischer's lovebird File:Agapornis roseicollis (Wroclaw zoo)-3.JPG, Rosy-faced lovebird File:Phoenicopterus ruber (Wroclaw zoo).JPG, American flamingo File:Hyppo in ZOO Wroclaw.jpg,

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

File:Anolis carolinensis (Wroclaw zoo).JPG,

Carolina anole ''Anolis carolinensis'' or green anole () (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Caribbean Sea, Caribbean. A small ...

File:Cyphotilapia frontosa (Wroclaw zoo)-2.JPG, Cyphotilapia frontosa, a species of fish endemic to

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

File:Fish in Wroclaw ZOO.jpg, Giant grouper

Notes

References

* L. Solski, 2008: Przewodnik Zoo Wrocław.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroclaw Zoo 1865 establishments in Poland Buildings and structures in Wrocław Zoos in Poland Tourist attractions in Wrocław Parks in Wrocław Educational organizations established in 1865 Zoos established in the 19th century