The best zoos in the world. The largest contact zoo

A visit to the zoo is a joy not only for children. All lovers of wildlife are happy to visit these interesting institutions, where you can, without leaving your city, to see fauna representatives from around the world. In this article we will introduce you the best, in our opinion, zoos in the world. Many of them were created a long time ago, but even today they are very popular and visited.

Tiergarten (Austria)

The zoo in Vienna originates from the imperial menagerie, which existed already in 1570. The present zoo was opened in 1752, by the order of Emperor Franz. In 1828, the first giraffe was shown here in the Old World, and in 1906 - a baby elephant.

Among the attractions of this park is the "Tropical House" with landscapes of the jungles of Borneo. In Schönbrunn live large pandas. In 2007, their first offspring was born here, born without artificial insemination.

Lovers of observations of the depths of the sea can visit the magnificent aquarium, which is inhabited by whales, sharks, various kinds of fish. In addition, there is a terrarium here. The maintenance of animals is sponsored from corporate and private funds.

Australia Zoo (Australia)

Often, zoos of the world are the main attractions of those countries in which they are located. For example, Australia Zoo, located in the city of Birve (Queensled), was awarded a tourist award as the country's main attraction in 2004.

The area of the park is small - only 0.4 square meters. Km. It is located 16 km from the ocean, in the picturesque area of Sunshine Coast. The zoo is quite young. It was created in 2011. The park was named in honor of its permanent leader - Steve Irwin. During his activity, it was possible to expand the area of the park and significantly increase the number of animals.

Here at every step there are kangaroos who are absolutely not afraid of people, allow themselves to iron, do not hesitate, and even poses before the cameras. And besides, here you can chat with the sympathetic koala.

Zoo of Berlin

If you list the most visited zoos in the world, then the Berlin Zoo, located in the center of the country's capital, will certainly take a leading position. This is the oldest zoo in Germany, its area is more than 35 hectares, the number of animals varies from 14 to 17 thousand, more than 1,5 thousand species.

On the territory there is an aquarium with a huge number of fish, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and insects. The zoo opened in 1844, during the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The peak of its heyday Berlin Zoo reached under the director G. Bodinus, who took over this post in 1869. With it was built a pen for antelopes, rooms for elephants, ostriches and flamingos were brought.

The merits of Bodinus include the construction of the main attraction of the zoo - the unique "Elephant Gate". In addition to them, since the XIX century in the original form preserved "House of Antelopes" and "House of Giraffes". Cages here are more like palaces, not cages for animals. The peculiarity of this zoo is that the animals are separated from the visitors not by cells but by ditches, and the walls of the pools for fur seals and hippos are transparent, and it is clear what is happening inside.

The cold enclosure for penguins is also made of especially durable glass. Employees of the zoo are very proud of rare animals that have appeared in captivity - a kiwi bird, red pandas, snow leopard, ocelot, polar bears, elephants, ring-tailed kangaroos. At the Berlin Zoo, it is officially allowed to feed animals. But not chips and sweets, but special foods that can be purchased in the apparatus installed next to the cages.

One of the new programs of the park is the breeding of miniature short-necked giraffes with striped hair - okapi.

Jerusalem Biblical Zoo (Israel)

Most of the zoos in the world are thematic. But in the park of Jerusalem you can visit the "Corner of Biblical Nature", so the locals call it Biblical. And officially it has a different name - the Tish Zoo, in honor of American benefactors.

Here the landscape of Ancient Palestine is accurately reproduced. And his indisputable pearl is a huge structure - "Noah's Ark". The park was opened in 1940. Here you can see 300 species of animals, there are rhinoceroses and lions, zebras and monkeys, penguins and kangaroos, snakes and parrots, flamingos and chameleons. They are settled in a natural habitat - from the rainforest to the African savannah. Here also operates a veterinary center, equipped with modern operating rooms and laboratories, as well as a quarantine block.

"Children's Zoo" is a great pleasure for small visitors who can feed and iron sheep, dwarf goats, rabbits, and in a special pool - feed koi carp. The staff of the park is very proud of the performances of trained elephants, during which the opportunity for one of the spectators to play a giant artist is played out.

The zoo is located on two levels: there are picturesque lawns for rest, a system of waterfalls and a lake. Visitors can ride a boat or travel on a children's railway.

Singapore Zoo (Singapore)

The largest zoos of the world in our review worthily represents the park of Singapore. In it, animals are practically free - there are no lattices and cells. Therefore, in this place you can feel the whole charm of being in a wild tropical forest.

Zoo opened in 1973 and is one of the most interesting sights of this country. It occupies a rather large territory, with an area of more than 28 hectares. Here, a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and insects feel comfortable. Some of the popular entertainment in the zoo in Singapore - "Lunch with lions" and "Breakfast with orangutans."

It leaves a very vivid impression of the night safari, which was first organized here. Taking part in it will be able to see more than a thousand nocturnal animals that either reluctantly communicate with visitors during the day, or generally hide.

Zoo in Yekaterinburg

And now we will move to Russia, to be exact, to Ekaterinburg. Residents of the city like to rest in their zoo, which covers an area of two and a half hectares. The park was founded in 1930. At that time, his collection was only 60 animals. Today it has increased to 1200 individuals of 320 species.

The Zoo (Yekaterinburg) has five spacious pavilions for heat-loving inhabitants: predators and birds, elephants and monkeys, and the Exotariumarium pavilion. In addition, animals from different latitudes, a wonderful complex for huge cats - Amur tigers - and spacious aviaries for bears settled here.

Zoo (Ekaterinburg) has a large collection (seventy species) of animals that are listed in the Red Book of the Urals, the Red Book of the Russian Federation, and the International Red Book. Among them: Fossa and Cuban crocodile, lion-tailed macaques and Indian elephant, tiger python and Indian elephant, Steller's sea eagles and Moluccan cockatoo, radiant tortoise and frog-tomato.

Contact Zoo

And in conclusion of our review we will visit Moscow, where the largest contact zoo in our country is located. It is located in the shopping and entertainment center VEGAS. Its total area is more than 500 square meters. There are about thirty species of animals - from exotic to domesticated.

Adult visitors and children will be able to get acquainted with various representatives of fauna that are brought from different parts of the Earth. Here you will meet with a cat's lemur and llama alpaca, raccoon crook and porcupine, Canadian fox and mongoose. Some of these inhabitants are listed in the Red Book.