Date opened July 3, 1874 Land area 32.12 acres (13.00 ha) Annual visitors 1,698,152 (2008) | Location Basel, Switzerland No. of species 645 (2008) | |
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No. of animals 6,894 (2008 / about 5,000 in the aquarium) | ||
The Zoo Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland. Established in 1874, it is Switzerland's oldest and largest zoo (by number of animals) and a major tourist attraction with nearly 1.7 million visitors per year.
Contents
- 1874 1900
- 1901 1950
- 1951 2000
- 2008 2010 Rhino house and outdoor exhibit
- 2011 2012 Monkey house and exhibit
- Former animals
- References
In 1870, the Ornithologiegesellschaft and the city of Basel started a project to establish a zoo where visitors could see Swiss and European animals. For this, the city provided land in the Birsig valley, which was, back then, outside the city walls South of Basel.
1874-1900
This time period was marked by the openening of Zoo Basel in 1874 and by the zoos struggle for survival during the first years. It also started the attachment of Basel's population to "its" zoo, which is evidenced by the local popularity of the Indian elephant Miss Kumbuk and several donations of animals and funds.
1901-1950
The zoo grew in size, popularity, and in number of animals. During the two world wars the zoo suffered, but was not hit by any bombs. It quickly recovered after World War II and took advantage of the opportunity to import foreign animals again.
1951-2000
This time period was marked by the transformation of animal collecting cages to in- and outdoor exhibits. Zoo Basel called it "creating an animal park".
2008 / 2010: Rhino house and outdoor exhibit
In 2008, the renovated and expanded Indian rhinoceros house opened and two years later the new rhino outdoor exhibit opened, which also included muntjacs, and Oriental small-clawed otters.
2011 / 2012: Monkey house and exhibit
Starting in April/May 2010 the monkey house and the surrounding area will undergo extensive construction. This includes the tearing down of the small monkey house (home of the ring-tailed lemurs), the macaques rock, the children's play ground, the old bear exhibits, and several paths.
On June 30, 2011 the enlarged monkey house opened.While visitors have the same amount of space available, the apes' space more than double from 340 square metres (3,700 sq ft) to 700 square metres (7,500 sq ft).
The old outer walls were torn down and the living quarters were extended in depth and height. Eventually, there will be additional compartments with no public access, a service tunnel, worker quarters, and restrooms added.
In summer 2012 five large outdoor "cages", the remodeled monkey house roof, a new ape playground, and several new paths will open. The outdoor cages will have a double net layer; one for safety reasons and the other, outer layer, for plants to grow on. The cages' heights will be 16 metres (52 ft) for the orangutans and 11 metres (36 ft) for the other apes. The apes' outdoor area will grow from today's 70 square metres (750 sq ft) to over 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft). The children's playground is planned to go along with the jungle theme - similar to the one in the Etosha exhibit. The paths on the monkey roof, around the new cages, by the main entrance, and the former bear exhibits will be adjusted and/or newly constructed.
Former animals
A short list of previous animals kept at Zoo Basel can be found towards the bottom of List of animals at Zoo Basel.