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About East London Zoo |
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The East London Zoological Gardens is situated in a natural coastal
forest close to the city center of East London. The Zoo is developed on
10 hectares of the 45 hectares of coastal forest which surrounds it.
The Queenspark area was officially opened in 1896 by Queen
Victoria. At that stage it was just a botanic park. During the 1930's
some animals was housed at the park and the zoo started. At that time
the road to the city centre ran through the middle of the park.
The lion enclosure was officially opened in July 1959 - it is
currently being used to house the group of chimpanzees. The zoo is part
of the East London Municipality and is being financially supported by
them.
One of the most striking features of the Zoo is the indigenous
vegetation which can be seen everywhere. Part of this natural vegetation
is the numerous Cycads which occur throughout the Zoo. The management of
these endangered plants shows the zoos commitment to the preservation of
all species.
Another well-known feature of the Zoo is the fountain which
is situated close to the Chimp enclosure. This fountain was donated to
the City of East London by William Martin Fleischer at the turn of the
century. It is still in a good working condition today and it houses a
collection of Koi fish.
The zoo also exhibits 47 mammal species, 38 bird species and
7 reptile species. These include the big cats, some indigenous antelope,
primates and various small mammals. There are also a variety of aviaries
where numerous bird species are housed.
One of the biggest attractions is our group of chimpanzees
which can be observed in a large open enclosure. Four babies have been
born to this chimpanzee group. Three of the babies are being hand raised
by the Zoo staff, they are Nina, Samantha and Millie and they have
proved to be very popular with the visiting public.
The East London Zoological Gardens is well known for its
breeding successes with animals like Bushbuck and Blue Duiker, although
numerous other species are also breeding in the Zoo at the moment
including Nyala, Tigers, Lions, Suricates, Marmosets and a number of the
bird species.
The Zoo also boasts of a large collection of Leopard
tortoises. Other tortoise species are also housed in the Zoo but in
smaller numbers. The new snake exhibit houses a number of snakes in a
unique viewing environment.
The future plans for the Zoo include the development of an
African Savannah Exhibit, which will house the newly acquired young
giraffe. The building of new small cat enclosures as well as the
construction of a new Jaguar enclosure as well as renovating and
upgrading a number of existing enclosures. This upgrading is a
continuous process which requires extra funding.
As visitors wander through the Zoo they will see numerous
free-flying birds like Hornbills, Flycatchers, Goshawks. Giant King
fishers etc. to name but a few. A popular attraction with the children
are the rabbits and chickens that roam freely in the Zoo and are happy
to take food from the visitors. Raw peanuts are sold at the entrance to
the Zoo and these afford the visitor the chance of feeding some to the
various animals.
Source: official web of
East London Zoo (2010)
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