The 25 Largest Zoos in the World by Acres (2026)

How big can a zoo get? Big enough that you tour it by safari truck and can’t see the far fence. This list ranks the 25 largest zoos and safari parks in the world by total land area in acres, using figures verified against each institution’s own published numbers.

The largest zoo on Earth is in Ohio: The Wilds, a 9,154-acre conservation center on reclaimed strip-mine land in Cumberland, where rhinos and wild horses roam pastures measured in square miles. Second place goes to India’s Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati at 5,532 acres.

The 25 Largest Zoos on Earth

The full ranking is below. Zoos with a ThrillZing profile are linked. One famous name is deliberately absent: Longleat Safari Park’s oft-quoted 9,000 acres describes the whole Longleat estate, not the animal park, so it doesn’t make this table.

#	Zoo	Location	Opened	Acres
1	The Wilds	Cumberland, Ohio	1994	9154
2	Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park	Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh	1987	5532
3	Monarto Safari Park	Monarto South, South Australia	1993	3700
4	North Carolina Zoo	Asheboro, North Carolina	1976	2600
5	Sharjah Safari	Al Dhaid, Sharjah	2022	1977
6	Cabarceno Natural Park	Penagos, Cantabria	1990	1853
7	Bannerghatta Biological Park	Bengaluru, Karnataka	1974	1808
8	San Diego Zoo Safari Park	Escondido, California	1972	1800
9	Fossil Rim Wildlife Center	Glen Rose, Texas	1984	1800
10	Knuthenborg Safaripark	Bandholm, Denmark	1969	1600
11	Arignar Anna Zoological Park	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	1985	1490
12	The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens	Palm Desert, California	1970	1200
13	Nandankanan Zoological Park	Bhubaneswar, Odisha	1960	1080
14	Al Ain Zoo	Al Ain, Abu Dhabi	1968	990
15	Zoo Miami	Miami, Florida	1980	750
16	African Lion Safari	Hamilton, Ontario	1969	750
17	Taronga Western Plains Zoo	Dubbo, New South Wales	1977	741
18	Reserve Africaine de Sigean	Sigean, France	1974	740
19	Toronto Zoo	Toronto, Ontario	1974	710
20	Indira Gandhi Zoological Park	Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh	1977	625
21	Wildlife Safari	Winston, Oregon	1972	615
22	Lion Country Safari	Loxahatchee, Florida	1967	600
23	Port Lympne Reserve	Lympne, England	1976	600
24	ZSL Whipsnade Zoo	Whipsnade, England	1931	600
25	Columbus Zoo and Aquarium	Powell, Ohio	1927	580

The Open-Range Revolution

Almost everything at the top of this list is an open-range park rather than a traditional city zoo. The Wilds is run in partnership with the Columbus Zoo (itself #25 at 580 acres); San Diego Zoo Safari Park (1,800 acres) plays the same role for its famous city sibling; and Australia’s Monarto Safari Park (3,700 acres) claims the largest safari park title outside Africa.

India puts four zoos in the top 25 — Tirupati, Bannerghatta, Chennai’s Arignar Anna, and Nandankanan — a reminder that some of the world’s most ambitious zoo campuses aren’t in Europe or North America at all.

Big Doesn’t Mean Famous

The household names mostly live at the bottom of this table or below it. Toronto Zoo (710 acres) is Canada’s largest; ZSL Whipsnade (600 acres) was the world’s first open zoological park when it debuted in 1931; and the Bronx Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and Henry Doorly Zoo — regulars atop ‘best zoo’ lists — all measure a few hundred acres at most and miss this ranking entirely.

Acreage measures room to roam, not collection quality. But for breeding programs — the quiet core of modern conservation — all that space is exactly the point.

Explore more: the oldest zoos in the world, the largest aquariums in the world, all zoo and aquarium guides.

Largest Zoos in the World FAQs

What is the largest zoo in the world?

The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio is the largest zoo in the world at 9,154 acres. It’s a safari-style conservation center built on reclaimed mine land and operated in partnership with the Columbus Zoo.

What is the largest zoo in the United States?

The Wilds in Ohio (9,154 acres) is the largest US zoo by land, followed by North Carolina Zoo (2,600 acres) — the largest walk-through natural-habitat zoo — and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (1,800 acres).

Is Longleat the biggest zoo in the world?

No. The 9,000-acre figure often quoted for Longleat covers the entire Longleat estate in Wiltshire, not the safari park itself, so it doesn’t top verified rankings by zoo land area.

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Photo: Becker1999 from Grove City, OH / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.