The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens opened on November 28, 1966, in Griffith Park, replacing the smaller Griffith Park Zoo that had operated on a nearby site since 1912. Owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles, the 133-acre facility sits near the junction of the Golden State (5) and Ventura (134) freeways and now draws more than 1.5 million visitors a year.
Today the zoo is home to over 1,700 individual animals representing more than 270 species, alongside botanical gardens with roughly 7,000 plants across 800-plus species. It is perhaps best known for its role in the California Condor Recovery Program, which it joined as a founding member alongside San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in 1981, helping bring the species back from just 22 birds in the wild to hundreds today.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California
- Opened: November 28, 1966
- Size: 133 acres
- Species: 270+ species, about 1,700 animals
- Annual visitors: 1.5+ million
- Famous for: California condor breeding and recovery program
What to See
Major exhibits include the Campo Gorilla Reserve (2007), Red Ape Rain Forest for orangutans and gibbons (2000), Rainforest of the Americas (2014), and the LAIR, a $14 million reptile and amphibian complex that opened in 2012. The zoo’s regional layout groups animals by continent, guiding visitors through Africa, Eurasia, the Americas, and Australia.
Conservation Legacy
The zoo’s condor program is its signature achievement: in 2024 it hatched a record 17 California condor chicks, breaking a mark set back in 1997, using surrogate-rearing techniques pioneered by its animal care team. The zoo also houses Topa Topa, one of the world’s oldest living California condors, a living symbol of the species’ recovery from near-extinction in the 1980s.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
Los Angeles Zoo FAQs
When did the Los Angeles Zoo open?
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens opened on November 28, 1966, in Griffith Park, replacing the earlier Griffith Park Zoo that had operated since 1912.
How big is the Los Angeles Zoo?
The zoo covers about 133 acres within Griffith Park and is home to more than 1,700 animals representing over 270 species.
What is the Los Angeles Zoo known for?
It is widely known for its California Condor Recovery Program, which it joined as a founding member in 1981 and which helped grow the species from just 22 birds to hundreds today, including a record 17 chicks hatched in 2024.
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Photo: The original uploader was Geographer at English Wikipedia. / CC BY 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.