Zoo

the second zoo

1794 BCE

Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes
Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes. Opened a couple of decades after Tiergarten Schönbrunn, the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes is the world's second oldest zoo and the first opened in France.

The first zoo

1752 BCE

Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Vienna's Tiergarten Schönbrunn is the oldest zoo in the world. It began as a royal menagerie in 1752, symbolic of imperial Austrian extravagance, and of Emperor Franz I's keen interest in the natural world.

the thirds zoo

Apr 27, 1828

ZSL London Zoo
The ZSL (Zoological Society of London) London Zoo or just the London Zoo opened on April 27, 1828, two years after the ZSL was established. While the London Zoo is not the oldest zoo overall, it is the oldest scientific zoo as the two older zoos in the world started out as royal menageries. For the first few decades, the London Zoo was only open to fellows of the ZSL to study the exotic animals. To help aid funding, the London Zoo was open to the public in 1847.