Is There a Zoo in Tehran?

Not the one this directory tracks. Tehran has its own zoo, the Tehran Zoological Garden -- also called Eram Zoo -- which has run since 1992 and now holds more than 290 species, but it isn't a WhatWildlife listing. The only Iranian venue covered here is Isfahan Aquarium, about 440km south of the capital, in Iran.

What not to miss

Isfahan Aquarium sits inside Nazhvan Forest Park, on the Zayandeh River in Isfahan, and describes itself as Iran's first tunnel aquarium. Its centrepiece is a 35-metre walk-through tunnel, backed by 33 separate tanks of 5-10 metres each, plus thematic tanks, cylinder tanks and touch tanks. Between the tunnel and the tanks it holds more than 6,500 aquatic animals across roughly 350 species from five continents, including six shark species -- and around 100 of its species are rare or considered dangerous.

Featured location Isfahan Aquarium اصفهان, Iran The aquarium contains 33 separate tanks, and its tunnel sits six metres below ground level.

The collection runs from saltwater and freshwater fish to starfish, seahorses, turtles and crabs alongside the sharks. There's a souvenir shop, a café and a photograph stall on site if you want to make a longer stop of it.

Thematic aquariums, cylinder aquariums and touch tanks can be seen in the complex

Getting there

Isfahan is about 440km (270 miles) south of Tehran, and has its own international airport, Isfahan Shahid Beheshti International Airport, so you don't need to route through the capital first. If you're travelling in summer, expect a hot, dry city: highs typically reach around 35°C (95°F).

Other wildlife nearby

Tehran's own zoo, the Tehran Zoological Garden, sits on the Tehran–Karaj Freeway inside the Eram Amusement Park. It has run since 1992, covers 4.5 hectares, and now holds more than 290 species -- but because it isn't a WhatWildlife listing, nothing about it is checked here the way Isfahan Aquarium is.

Some of its most notable animals arrived through international exchanges rather than local stock. Iran's wild lions disappeared decades ago -- the last confirmed sightings were in 1941 between Shiraz and Jahrom, and in 1942 near Dezful -- so in 2019 the zoo brought in a male, Kamran, from Bristol Zoo in the UK, followed by a female, Eilda, from Dublin Zoo, to begin reintroducing the species.

The animals actually native to the country are easier to find in the wild than on any zoo map. Iran holds the largest surviving population of the Persian leopard, estimated at 550-850 animals in 2022, and is the last place on Earth with wild Asiatic cheetahs, mostly spread across five protected areas -- Kavir National Park, Khar Turan National Park, Bafq Protected Area, Dar-e Anjir Wildlife Refuge and Naybandan Wildlife Reserve -- in the country's arid centre and east. Even so, the cheetah population had fallen to fewer than 50 individuals as of December 2017.