Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is Zoologischer Garten Basel — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents affectionately call it Zolli. Its main entrance is just outside Basel's downtown strip of Steinen-Vorstadt and extends in the Birsig stream valley to Basel's city border with Binningen, Basel-Country.
| Zoo Basel | |
|---|---|
Zoo Basel logo | |
| 47°32′50″N 7°34′44″E | |
| Date opened | July 3, 1874 |
| Location | Basel, Switzerland |
| Land area | 32.12 acres (13.00 ha) |
| No. of animals | 6,894 (2008) / about 5,000 in the aquarium |
| No. of species | 645 (2008) |
| Annual visitors | 1,812,438 (2012) |
| Memberships | 20 organizations, including EAZA, WAZA, and Swiss Zoos |
| Major exhibits | Africa, Antilope House, Aquarium, Australis, Birdhouse, Elephant House, Etoscha, Gamgoas, Kinderzoo, Monkey House, and Rhino Exhibit in the Sautergarden |
| Website | www |
Zoo Basel is Switzerland's oldest (1874) and largest zoo (by number of animals). With over 1.8 million visitors per year, it is the most visited tourist attraction in Switzerland with an entrance fee.
Zoo Basel was ranked as one of the fifteen best zoos in the world by Forbes Traveler in 2008 and in 2009 as the seventh best in Europe by Anthony Sheridan from the Zoological Society of London.
The zoo had the first Indian rhinoceros birth in a zoo, as well as the first greater flamingo hatch. It has had repeated breeding success with animals including cheetahs (18 births), okapi (22), pygmy hippopotamuses (53), and flamingos (over 400 hatches). Every Somali wild ass (a donkey) in zoos worldwide is related to the population in Basel, where this species' zoological breeding program was started.
Zoo Basel is undergoing the most expensive expansion in its history. These include the indoor and outdoor renovation of the monkeyhouse (2011–2012 / Fr. 30 millions), the zoo restaurant renovation/expansion (2015 / Fr. 16 millions) and a new elephant house and outdoor exhibit (2016 / Fr. 28 millions). In the near future, further expansions into the current parking lot and to the south are planned.