16 Largest Zoos in the World by Area 2024

A zoo can be defined as a place where animals, as well as plants, are conserved outside their natural habitat. It is an ex-situ conservation site where animals are kept so that people can go and look at them or study them. Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park is the largest zoo in the world in terms of land area and if we consider species, Berlin Zoological Garden is the largest with approximately 1500 species and 19,500 animals in total. Here is the list of largest zoos in the world by land area,

Largest Zoos in the World

1.Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (22.39 km²)

Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park is the largest zoological park located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established back on 29 September 1987 covering approximately 22.39 square kilometres of land making it the largest zoological park and in the world by land area. The main features of the zoo are Mayuravani (The house for peafowl), Mrugavani (The house for herbivores) and Vrukavihar( smaller carnivorous animals such as parakeets, mains, ducks, geese and birds like flamingoes, swans, pelicans and raptors).

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Image Source: Wikimedia

2.Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (12.95 km²)

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is an extension of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C situated in the town of Front Royal, Virginia. It is one of the oldest zoos in the United States with approximately 400 species in it. Initially, it was named the Conservation and Research Center and it is known as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in 2010. The zoo plays a leading role in saving wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists. It was opened on May 6, 1889, and has approximately 2,000 animals. Researchers and scientist are breeding more than 20 species including the species that are extinct in the wild such as black-footed ferrets and scimitar-horned oryx.

Image Source: Smithsonian’s National Zoo

3.Living Desert Zoo and Gardens(7.3 km²)

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens which was initially known as the Living Desert Museum is one of the largest zoos in the world with an area of 7.3 km². It is located in the Palm Desert, Riverside County, California, United States and it is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1983. The total number of animals species is 150 and a total of 430 animals living in the zoo. The zoo has participated in the species reintroduction program that includes the peninsular bighorn sheep and returning Arabian oryx to Oman.

Image Source: Wikimedia

4.San Diego Zoo Safari Park (7.3 km²)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park was originally named the San Diego Wild Animal Park in 2010 is one of the largest zoos in the world with a land area of 7.3 km². It is situated in the area of the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It has approximately 2,600 animals with over 300 species and also 3,500 plant species. The zoo has also the world’s largest veterinary hospital and also one of the largest tourist attractions in San Diego Country.

Image Source: Wikimedia

5.Arignar Anna Zoological Park (6.03 km²)

Arignar Anna Zoological Park also known as the Vandalur Zoo is a zoological park situated in the southwestern part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is the second-largest zoo in India followed by Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park with over 2,553 species of flora and fauna across 1,265 acres of area. It is also a popular picnic spot in Vandalur and is an amazing place to discover the flora and fauna of the region. The zoo was established in 1855 and listed as the first public zoo in India. It is affiliated with the Central Zoo Authority of India.

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Image Source: Wikimedia

6.North Carolina Zoo (5.54 km²)

North Carolina Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the world by land area with land covering 5.54 km²). It is situated in the heart of North Carolina, just south of Asheboro in Randolph County. The zoo has approximately 1,800 animals from more than 250 species mostly from Africa and North America. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is also listed as the largest natural habitat zoo in the world and one of two state-supported zoos.

Image Source: Wikimedia

7.Nandankanan Zoological Park(4.06 km²)

Nandankanan Zoological Park is a zoological park situated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It was established in 1960 and opened to the public in the year 1979. This is the first zoo in India to join the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2009. It has a botanical garden and part of it has been declared a sanctuary. It has been located near the capital city of Indian state Orissa. It has 3517 animals with over 157 animal species.

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Image Source: Wikimedia

8.Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens (3.03 km²)

Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens are also known as Zoo Miami are one of the largest zoos in the world located near the southwest of Miami in southern metropolitan Miami-Dade County. This is also listed as the largest zoo in Florida and was originally established in 1948 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, however, later it was relocated near the Richmond Naval Air Station as Miami MetroZoo in the year 1980. It is the only tropical zoo in the continental United States that has over 3,000 animals scattered in an area of 3.03 km².

Image Source: Wikimedia

9.Toronto Zoo (2.87 km²)

Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada situated in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The total zoo is divided into seven zoogeographic regions that include Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the Canadian Domain. The zoo is home to approximately 5,000 animals that includes both invertebrates and fish of around 500 species. It is open to the public every day except December 25. The corporation of the zoo is owned by the municipal government of Toronto and it is founded by John Cameron Egan and business partner, Hugh A. Crothers, an industrialist who became the first Chairman of the Metro Toronto Zoological Society in 1966, the zoo opened on August 15, 1974, as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo.

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10.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (2.53 km²)

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is the third largest zoo in India followed by Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (22.39 km²) and Arignar Anna Zoological Park (6.03 km²). It was named after the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and opened to the public in the year 1977. One of the largest zoos in the world covers an area of 2.53 km² with around 800 species are currently living in the zoo. The zoo also allows the general public to adopt an animal for a certain time period.

Image Source: Wikimedia

11.Columbus Zoo and Aquarium(235 ha)

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is one of the largest zoos in the world situated in the Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, the United States, north of the city of Columbus. It is home to around 7,000 animals that includes over 800 species and sees over 2.3 million visitors annually. The zoo has raised around 3 million for 70 projects.

Image Source: Kārlis Dambrāns

12.Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden(175 ha)

The Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden is also known as Guwahati Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the North East region covering an area of 175 ha. It is situated in the Hengrabari Reserved Forest in Guwahati, India. The zoo is home to about 895 animals, birds and reptiles representing almost 113 species of animals and birds from around the world.

Image Source: Wikimedia

13.The Bronx Zoo (107 ha)

The Bronx Zoo historically known as the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens is a beautiful zoo situated in the Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. This is one of the largest zoos in the United States of America scattered in an area of 107 ha.It is also one of the popular attractions that attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. It contains around 4000 animals belonging to different species.

Image Source: Wikipedia

14.Beijing Zoo (90 ha)

The Beijing Zoo is one of the popular zoological park situated in the Xizhimen, Xicheng District, Beijing, the capital of China. It was founded in 1906 in the late Qing dynasty and also listed as one of the oldest zoos in the world. It has over 450 species of land animals and over 500 species of marine animals and home to approximately 500 species of marine animals.

Image Source: Wikimedia

15.National Zoological Gardens of Africa(85 ha)

The National Zoological Gardens of Africa is also known as the Pretoria Zoo situated in Pretoria, South Africa. This is the national zoo of South Africa and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. The zoo landscape is surrounded by flat plains and a mountainous northern side. The zoo is also home to Koalas, Komodo dragons and Kangaroos along with African animals like leopards, gorillas, elephants and the list goes on.

Image Source: Wikimedia

16.Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium(53 ha)

Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium zoo is home to around 17,000 animals belonging to 962 different species and spread in an area of over 130 acres making it one of the largest zoos in the world. This is also one of the top-rated attractions in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The zoo also has the largest cat complex in North America, the world’s largest indoor swamp, the world’s largest indoor desert and the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world.

Image Source: Wikimedia

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