Zoo (Basel)

• Address: Binningerstrasse 40,4054 Basel, Switzerland
• Phone: + 41-61-295-35-35
• Website: http://www.zoobasel.ch/
• Area: 12-13 hectares
• Foundation date: July 3, 1874.
• Opening hours: every day from 8:00 to 18:00
• The cost of the visit: adults - 18 francs, young people aged 16 to 25 years - 12 francs, children from 6 to 16 years - 7 francs, to children under 6 - free of charge

The Zoo in Basel is one of the five most popular on the planet. Its territory occupies approximately 13 hectares, to which adjoins the park zone. The number of animals that permanently reside in the zoo has about six thousand, and this is approximately six hundred species. Attendance is more than one million people a year, which even for Switzerland is quite a lot.

Cages and aviaries with animals are equipped in such a way that nothing prevents visitors to observe the life of animals in their usual environment, but all security measures are carefully observed. At the entrance to the zoo in Basel there are special stands, which indicate all the necessary information, for example, where the various pavilions are located, which exhibition is held or what can be surprising to see on a particular day. Especially it is convenient for tourists.

What should you look at the Basel Zoo?

The territory of the Basel Zoo is divided into several parts: the African and Australian pavilions, the pavilion "Etosha", a huge aquarium and the home of elephants and primates.

1. The African pavilion is famous for the inhabitants of the savannah. Here live and reproduce such rare animals as zebras, lions, giraffes, ostriches, hippos and other species. Near the giraffes graze okapi, antelopes and kudu, hippos walk, resting zebras.
2. The Australian pavilion will interest its visitors with marsupials, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Here you can see how the mother of a kangaroo is carrying her little baby in her bag, as well as watching the life of birds and spiders.
3. There is also a special place in which representatives of the cat family are gathered, it is called "Etosha", in honor of the nature reserve in Namibia. Here you can get acquainted with the life of predators: these are lions, panthers, cheetahs, snow leopards, and also very rare white leopards.
4. Particular attention deserves the house of elephants, where in the summer heat, under the sprawling trees, you can observe their bathing, as well as the house of primates, which is constantly replenished with different kinds of these animals. Next to the enclosures, on specially designated sites, we can see the life of the closest relatives of human monkeys, and this always evokes special interest and cheerful laughter of the visitors of the zoo.
5. There is a special pavilion with the smallest inhabitants in the Basel Zoo. It is here that you can observe the life and development of various young animals. Most often they appear in the spring, so at this time of year parents with children will be especially interesting and informative here. After all, children can closely contact with the animal world, and children older than 8 years even participate in caring for them. See how nature awakens, how animals grow, how they eat and play, how they will know the world - all this is very necessary and useful for the development of every baby.
6. Separately, I would like to note a very interesting place in the Basel Zoo - it's a great fascinating aquarium, called "Vivarium". Here you can trace the evolution of life on Earth, observe rare species of fish and other inhabitants of the sea. The aquarium is in a warm indoor area, so visitors to the Basel Zoo enjoy the coral reefs or the life of the Amazon River even in winter. On the territory of the "Vivarium" live several families of different kinds of penguins, who in winter have access to the street and go for a walk in the snow. Many visitors celebrate penguins as one of the most interesting inhabitants of the zoo and consider them a visiting card.
7. A couple of words I would like to say about birds, which are in the zoo in large numbers. Here breed as rare birds: cormorant, black grouse, pelican, and exotic, such as toucan, parrots, flamingos. If you are lucky, you can see the feeding of pelicans. This is an interesting sight, when pelicans hide the fish in a special bag under the beak, and run for a new portion.

What is the famous zoo in Basel?

The Basel Zoo every year spend the Night of the open doors. At this time, visitors to the zoo can enter at 17:00 and be until 24:00. They can observe the behavior of animals at night. On such days in the zoo include additional lighting, establish convenient observation posts for visitors. In the zoo, you can take photos and videos throughout the territory, except for some places where announcements of prohibition hang. Fences are installed in such a way that they do not obstruct and do not interfere with taking close-up photos.

The Zoo in Basel is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the European Endangered Species Program (EEP). Participating in the program of breeding endangered species, the zoo in Basel breeds such species of endangered animals: snow leopard, pygmy hippopotamus, Indian rhinoceros, saamiri, cheetah, etc. I would like to talk about the achievements of the zoo using the example of Indian rhinoceros.

Recently a baby of this amazing beast appeared in the zoo. His birth was a sensation for workers and visitors to the zoo, since this is the first time in Europe when a young mother had a baby with his older brother or sister. Usually the young are excommunicated from the mother before the birth of the next offspring. There are only a few known cases in captivity. In nature, the number of Indian rhinos is constantly decreasing due to constant cases of poaching. In this regard, the zoo in Basel participates in a project to preserve the number of these animals in their homeland and provides assistance in the amount of approximately 40 thousand francs per year.

How to get there?

The zoo is in Switzerland , in the center of the city of Basel. It can be reached on foot from the railway station Swiss Railway Station in 5-10 minutes, by tram number 1, number 2 and number 8 (the stop is called Zoo Bachletten) and №10, №17 (stop - Zoo Dorenbach), and also by buses No. 34 and No. 36 to the stop of Zoo Dorenbach.