The Košice Zoo () is a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in the borough of

Kavečany Kavečany () is a borough (city ward) of Košice, Slovakia. The borough is situated 6 km northwest of Košice, at an altitude of roughly above sea level, in the Košice I district. Kavečany retains a rural character, with a population of mo ...

. It covers and is the largest zoo in Slovakia and the third largest in Europe. Visitors are allowed in only about one third of the site. Another area outside the visitors area is preserved as the Carpathian Biom, with many wild Slovak species of fauna and flora, including the Imperial Eagle, Black Storc, and Raven. The zoo hosts about 250,000 visitors each year. Inside the zoo is a large Slovak "Jurassic Park" and many educational trails.

History

Construction of the zoo started in 1979. It opened to the public in 1985 with 23 species and an area of . A petting zoo opened for children in 2000.

Animals

As of 1 January 2020 the zoo housed the second largest animal collection in Slovakia. Species bred in the zoo include:

Cuban Boa The Cuban boa (''Chilabothrus angulifer''), also known as the Cuban tree boa and by locals as ''Majá de Santa María'', is a very large species of snake in the Family (biology), family Boidae. With lengths exceeding and a relatively heavy build ...

Humboldt Penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. ...

Toco toucan The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco'') is a species of bird in the toucan Family (biology), family Ramphastidae. It is the largest species of toucan and has a distinctive appearance, with a black body, a white throat, chest and uppertail-Covert ( ...

, Silvery-checked hornbill, Himalaya Monal pheasants, European Brown Bear (

Guinness Book ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

recorded 5 cubs born and reared in one litter in 2002), Przewalski wild horse (3 animals released to wilderness in Mongolia), Blasboock, Kafue red lechwe, Siberian ibex, Alpine Chamois, European Bison, Hutsul horse (protected horse form of Carpathians). Animals are mostly from Europe and Asia, though the zoo keeps some non-Eurasian species. The zoo has about 1200 animals in 280 species including the brown bear,

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Go ...

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

ibex An ibex ( : ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. T ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

european bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

Breeding programs

The zoo breeds the hucul horse, birthing 92 foals. The zoo returns some of its animals to the gene pool of the species beginning in 1996. The zoo includes an off-visitor area for horses to roam. Other breeding efforts at the zoo include

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

s (a litter of 5 born in 2002 is in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the biology, genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow ba ...

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered wild horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after t ...

s, Shetland ponies,

Chapman's zebra Chapman's zebra (''Equus quagga chapmani''), named after explorer James Chapman (explorer), James Chapman, is a subspecies of the plains zebra from southern Africa. Chapman's zebra are native to savannas and similar habitats of north-east South ...

Siberian wapiti Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states sin ...

Capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

s, and

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosice Zoo Zoos in Slovakia Tourist attractions in Košice Buildings and structures in Košice Zoos established in 1979