| Wrocław Zoological Garden Ogród Zoologiczny we Wrocławiu | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Wrocław Zoo | |
 The main entrance | |
 | |
| 51°06′16″N17°04′27″E / 51.10444°N 17.07417°E /51.10444; 17.07417 | |
| Date opened | 1865, 1927, 1948 |
| Location | Wrocław,Poland |
| Land area | 33 hectares (82 acres) |
| No. of animals | ~10,500 |
| No. of species | 1,132 (2016) |
| Annual visitors | 2,000,000 |
| Memberships | EAZA,[1]WAZA[2] |
| Major exhibits | 12,000 |
| Director | Sergiusz Kmiecik |
| Website | zoo |
TheWrocław Zoological Garden (Polish:Ogród Zoologiczny we Wrocławiu), known simply as theWrocław Zoo (Polish:Zoo Wrocław), is azoo on Wróblewski Street inWrocław,Poland. It is the oldest zoo in Poland, having been first launched in 1865 as the Breslau Zoological Garden while the city was part ofPrussia. During the World Wars it was first shut down, then reopened and finally destroyed. AfterWorld War II, it was rebuilt and ultimately opened in 1948 and now it is also the largest (in terms of the number of animals/species) zoo in the country. The zoo covers 33 hectares (82 acres) near downtown Wrocław. It is home to about 10,500 animals representing about 1,132 species. In terms of the number ofanimal species it is the third largest zoological garden in the world.[3]
The Wrocław Zoo is the most visited zoo in Poland and the fifth most visited zoo inEurope.[4]
The zoo is an accredited member of theEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)[5] and theWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).[6]
The beginnings of the zoo date back to 1863 when the decision to establish a zoological garden in Breslau was made at the initiative of a local community. The city authorities designated 9 hectares of land by theOder River for the purposes of building the zoo, and on 10 July 1865, the grand opening ceremony of the new complex took place, accompanied by afireworks display, and a militaryorchestra. The zoo was in possession of 452 animals representing 50 species.[7] The first visitors could see such animals aswolves,monkeys,bears andbig cats. In the first year of its existence, the zoo was visited by approximately 67,000 people.[8]
The zoo enjoyed considerable popularity among the inhabitants of Breslau despite a relatively limited variety of animals to be seen. The first elephant was bought in as late as 1873. It was anAfrican elephant named Theodor and was transported from theLondon Zoo. It instantly became one of the biggest attractions of the zoo in Breslau.[7][9] In later years, the garden also acquired such animals as ananteater,eared seals, andpenguins. Among other favourite animals of the zoo werechimpanzee Moritz andgorilla Pussy which arrived in the city in 1897 fromLiverpool. A commemorative statue devoted to her can still be found to this day in the Wrocław Zoo.[8]
One of the biggest breeding successes of the zoo was the birth of the first in the worldMalayan tapir, and in theInterwar period ahippopotamus named Anton. The zoo could also boast Muschi, the onlyAmazonian manatee in Europe, which died in the winter of 1945 (it lived for nine years).[9]
After theFirst World War, the zoo was forced to close due to aneconomic crisis, and the animals had to be transferred to other zoological gardens in Germany, mostly toBerlin,Leipzig andCologne. The area of the former zoo was turned into a large park. In 1927, the zoological garden reopened and operated up until 1945. During the siege ofFestung Breslau, most of the animals were killed and the remaining ones were sent to other zoos located in a number of Polish cities includingPoznań,Kraków andŁódź.
After theSecond World War, the plans to rebuild the zoo were drawn and one of the main initiators of this project waszoologist Stanisław Kulczyński from theWrocław University of Technology. In 1947, Karol Łukaszewicz, who previously worked at theKraków Zoo, was appointed the first Polish director of the zoo that was soon to be reopened. He played a key role in rebuilding the ruined zoo, bringing back the animals that were taken away from the zoo as well as acquiring new ones. On 18 July 1948, the Wrocław zoo was ceremonially opened. At that time, it possessed 224 animals representing 72 species, including wolves, bears,wild boars,baboons, acamel,bisons,parrots and aSouth American tapir. By the end of 1948, the zoo was visited by 365,000 people. In the following years, it was expanded by 15 hectares, which allowed to increase the number of animals that the zoo could exhibit.[10]
In 1997, the nearbyOder River overflowed, causing the zoo to be nearly damaged by a flood.[9]
In the second half of the 20th century, the Wrocław zoo achieved great success thanks to a popularTV showWith A Camera Among Animals (Polish: "Z kamerą wśród zwierząt") hosted by Hanna and Antoni Gucwiński, who in 1966 became the director of the zoo. The programme ran for more than three decades onTVP Channel (ending in 2001) and contributed to turning the Wrocław Zoo into the most popular zoo in Poland.
In 2006, Radosław Ratajszczak, previously working at thePoznań Zoo, became the new director of the zoo and initiated an extensive programme of investments. New pavilions and enclosures were built, including the ones forrhinoceroses, andlynxes. The Seal Centre was constructed as well as the Odrarium building. However, the biggest and most successful investment was the building of Africarium, anoceanarium specially designed to feature thefauna ofAfrica which opened in 2014. The building is home to such species asrays,sandbar sharks,Nile crocodiles, hippopotamuses,manatees,speckled mousebirds,hadada ibises,hamerkops, andAfrican grey hornbills. It attracted even more visitors and made it the most frequently visited zoo in Poland with an annual number of visitors amounting to around 2 million.[8]
The zoo includes among others: theAfricarium (the onlyoceanarium of its kind which focuses exclusively on thefauna of Africa), theMadagascar Pavilion, theOdrarium, Terrarium, Zoolandiaropes course, Children's Zoo, the Ranch, as well as food and drinks outlets.
Moreover, it houses a collection of a number of rare and exotic species such asmanatee,okapi,bear cuscus,red hartebeest,Philippine mouse-deer,L'Hoest's monkey, andlong-necked turtle. The zoo also actively participates in a number of initiatives and support programmes aimed at rescuingendangered species, sends zoo workers on rescue missions, runs open meetings such asZOO na ratunek ("Zoo to the Rescue") and offers a variety of educational activities for children and teens.[11]
The zoo'sbreeding program has also had a number of major successes, which include the births ofPygmy hippopotamus in 2010 and 2012,[12]Philippine scops owl (the only one in the world outside of thePhilippines),reticulated giraffe in 2012[13] as well as the first in the worldSulawesi bear cuscus in 2018.[14]
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