For thousands of years, human beings have been fascinated by animals. We've painted them, documented their behaviour, and built spaces where we can observe them more closely. When the Johannesburg Zoo first opened in 1904, it consisted of one enclosure that housed two lions. Other animals in the zoo's collection at the time were a leopard, a giraffe, two Sable antelopes, a baboon, a genet, a pair of Rhesus monkeys, a pair of porcupines, and a Golden eagle. Today, this internationally-accredited zoo covers 55 hectares of land and is home to 2,000 animals from 320 different species.

For families without the means to get out of the city to a wildlife reserve, the zoo has long presented a priceless opportunity for children to see and learn about wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts and caring for Africa's unique biodiversity.

A brief history of the Johannesburg Zoo

Johannesburg Zoo was founded in 1904 when the property of the late Hermann Eckstein was donated to the people of Joburg for recreational use. The land was located in the leafy Saxonwold, which was originally christened 'Sachsenwald' by Eckstein, and was the site where he had planted 3 million trees. Today, residents of Saxonwold and Parkview have been known to occasionally hear the lions roar at night.

In 1910, the Bandstand was built to host brass bands, and the elephant and rhino houses were built using stone in 1913 and 1915 respectively. Throughout its existence, the zoo has always been open to all races, and Eckstein would presumably be happy to know that his inheritance has become central to the urban fabric of Joburg. The original 200 acres donated by Eckstein's mining company are also host to Zoo Lake and the South African National Museum of Military History. The zoo's original collection of animals was donated to it by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, and in honour of this donation, the bronze statue of Fitzpatrick's beloved Jock was moved to the zoo.

The early Johannesburg Zoo was a leafy place with wide avenues that stretched across the property. It was thought of not just as a place for holding animals, but as a garden with planned paths, trees, and lawns. It was, as Kathy Munro puts it, "a place of leisure and a cultural space for bands and concerts". While the animals were orginally a mere novelty, scientific study for educational purposes came to take an increasingly important role in the zoo. In recent years, conservation has also become a central concern, as is evidenced by Johannesburg Zoo's Rhino Conservation Programme.

Another key feature of the zoo is the exhibits: while the animals were originally kept in cages or simple houses, the Johannesburg Zoo became an early pioneer for creating enclosures that resembled the natural habitats of the animals that lived there. This shift dramatically improved public perception of the zoo in the 1960s, and while some of the old enclosures were left intact as heritage structures, this approach continues to inform the design of the individual exhibits. Today, the zoo also hosts a number of educational programmes, and is part of international breeding programmes.

Animals and exhibits: Who's who at the zoo

Activities: What to do at the zoo

Rhino Conservation

Among the zoo's most popular enclosures are the ape house, the reptile house (where kids can ogle some of the world's deadliest snakes!), the flamingo ponds, crocodile country, the Madagascan lemur trail and the more hands-on Farm Yard enclosure where kids can get to meet a range of farmyard animals including the endangered Nguni and Bapedi Sheep. 

If distance is an issue for the little ones, rent one of the zoo's golf carts (R150 per hour) to zoom around the sprawling grounds.

Johannesburg Zoo conservation projects

The zoo also runs a number of important conservation projects that aim to protect endangered species facing extinction, particularly those that make a large contribution to Africa's rich biodiversity.

Since 2006 The Amphibian Research Project has worked to assist with the conservation of endangered amphibian species, particularly the Pickersgill’s Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickergilli), a small endemic species that occurs only on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. The zoo also leads the Wattled Crane Recovery Programme, helping fight the extinction of these critically endangered birds (there are thought to be as little as 250 remaining in the wild) through a breeding programme as well as a breeding programme aimed at protecting the rare indigenous nguni sheep.

Plan your visit

Photos of the zoo