Zoo Zurich has welcomed visitors to the Fluntern quarter above the city of Zurich, Switzerland, since 1929, making it the third-oldest zoo in the country. Spread across roughly 27 hectares (about 67 acres) on a hillside overlooking the city, the zoo has grown from a modest municipal collection into one of Europe’s most respected conservation-focused institutions, drawing around 1.2 to 1.3 million visitors annually.
The zoo’s reputation rests heavily on its immersive habitat builds, most notably the Masoala Rainforest hall, a vast greenhouse dome replicating Madagascar’s vanishing rainforest, along with the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park and the Lewa Savanna. Zoo Zurich is also internationally recognized as the first European zoo to successfully breed Galapagos tortoises, sending offspring to more than two dozen other institutions over the decades.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Fluntern, Zurich, Switzerland
- Opened: 1929
- Size: About 27 hectares (67 acres)
- Species: About 320 species (end of 2024)
- Annual visitors: About 1.2-1.3 million
- Famous for: Masoala Rainforest dome and Galapagos tortoise breeding program
Signature Habitats
The Masoala Rainforest, opened in 2003, is the zoo’s centerpiece: a massive glass-and-timber dome enclosing a free-flight rainforest environment modeled on Madagascar’s Masoala National Park, complete with lemurs and tropical birds roaming among the vegetation. The Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park, which opened in 2014, gave the zoo’s Asian elephant herd a large naturalistic outdoor and indoor habitat, while the Lewa Savanna, opened in 2020 beneath the elephant park, recreated a Kenyan grassland for around 15 species of African mammals, birds, and reptiles.
These large-scale habitat projects are part of a long-term development plan the zoo has pursued since the 1990s, replacing older, smaller enclosures with expansive, multi-species environments designed to mimic natural ecosystems rather than isolate individual animals.
Conservation and Research
Zoo Zurich is a member of both the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and it has built a track record in breeding programs, most notably becoming the first European zoo to successfully breed Galapagos tortoises. In 2005, zoo researchers helped identify a group of lemurs as a previously unrecognized species, later named the Goodman’s mouse lemur in honor of primatologist Steven Goodman.
The zoo has also drawn international attention for less celebratory reasons: in July 2020, a Siberian tiger fatally mauled a zookeeper in front of visitors, an incident that prompted a review of enclosure safety protocols.
Explore more: Explore more top zoos and aquariums.
Zoo Zurich FAQs
When did Zoo Zurich open?
Zoo Zurich opened in 1929, making it the third-oldest zoo in Switzerland.
What is Zoo Zurich most famous for?
It’s best known for the Masoala Rainforest, a large dome-covered rainforest habitat modeled on Madagascar, and for being the first European zoo to successfully breed Galapagos tortoises.
How many species live at Zoo Zurich?
Zoo Zurich is home to about 320 animal species and nearly 8,000 individual animals, as of its 2024 annual report, ranging from Asian elephants to lemurs and African savanna wildlife.
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Photo: Adrian Michael / CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.