Where Was the First Zoo?

Though the first public zoo was the "Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes", founded in PARIS in 1794, The Vienna Zoo in Austria founded in 1753 is considered as the oldest existing zoo. Earlier than that, a similar place was known as MENAGERIE, which refers to a historical form of keeping wild and exotic animals in human captivity.The "Tower Menagerie in London" that began in 1235, was the royal menagerie of England for six centuries. ... more

The earliest collection of animals, though not a public zoo, was established by Shulgi, ruler of Ur (now Southeast Iraq), around 2400 B.C. Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt collected animals from all parts of Africa and established the first real zoo in 1500 B.C. Chinese Emperor Wen Wang followed her example in 1100 B.C., when he built an enormous zoo to display his wealth and power. This zoo, named The Garden of Intelligence, covered about 1500 acres and contained animals from all parts of his empire. Large collections of birds and mammals were also kept in public zoos by the ancient Greeks, so that their students could study animal life. The ancient Romans brought animals from the foreign lands they had conquered and kept them in private zoos. They used many of the wild animals for bloody fights with slaves and prisoners in the Coliseum. Although interest in zoos declined in Europe for several hundred years, exploration to the New World renewed that interest, and new zoos were established. A ... more

The first zoo founded primarily for scientific and educational reasons was the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris (1794). The founders and members of the Zoological Society of London adopted the idea of the early Paris zoo when they established London Zoo in 1828. source.... ... more