Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Africa
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every zoo in Africa that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo
Zoo in Johannesburg
The collection runs to roughly 2,000 animals across 320 species, and management has customarily rested with the city council.
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National Zoological Garden of South Africa
Zoo in Pretoria
This serves as the country's national zoo and ranks among the eight largest zoos in the world. Animals on show include Southern Ground Hornbill, Samango monkey, gorilla, Cape vulture and elephant.
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Animal encounterBehind-the-scenes tour
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre
Zoo in Post Office Subward
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, opened in 1952, is a zoo in Post Office Subward, Uganda. Its exhibits include Primates, Carnivores, Hoof Stock, Reptiles and Birds.
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Dream Village
Zoo in Sidi Moussa El Majdoub ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵎⵓⵙⴰ ⴰⵎⵊⴷⵓⴱ سيدي موسى المجدوب
Dream Village, opened in 2008, is a zoo in Sidi Moussa El Majdoub ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵎⵓⵙⴰ ⴰⵎⵊⴷⵓⴱ سيدي موسى المجدوب, Morocco. Animals on show include lions, girafes and tigres.
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Animal encounterGuided tour
Cango Wildlife
Zoo in Oudtshoorn
It was set up in 1976 as a crocodile ranch by Andrew and Glenn Eriksen, and opened to visitors the following year as the country's first crocodile show farm. More than 400 crocodilians are bred there. It now operates as a broader zoo, breeding other kinds of animal as well.
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Keeper talk or showOn-site dining
Exotic Animal World
Zoo in Klapmuts
Exotic Animal World is a zoo in Klapmuts, South Africa. Animals on show include Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Canaries, Bourke’s parakeets, Chinchillas and Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.
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Mitchell Park Zoo
Zoo in Durban
Standing in the Morningside suburb, it is the city's only zoo. It was set up in 1910 as an ostrich farm, and poor returns led to other animals being brought in. It once held large animals, best known among them an Indian elephant called Nellie.
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Overnight stay
Ogba Zoo & Nature Park
Zoo in Benin City
Set up in 1971 inside a forest reserve in Ogba District, four kilometres out of the centre, it spans 300 hectares of land and water. The animals held include primates, lions, giant tortoises, rock pythons, equines and antelope. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, named it among Nigeria's leading tourist sites.
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On-site dining
OOPL wildlife park
Zoo in Abeokuta
OOPL wildlife park is a zoo in Abeokuta, Kwara State. Things to do include WILDLIFE PARK, AMPHI THEATRE, BAMBOO GROOVE BAR, ADIRE & AFRICAN FABRICS and CULTURAL VILLAGE.
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Botanical and Zoological Garden of Tsimbazaza
Zoo in Antananarivo
Several of the Malagasy species shown are found nowhere else on display. An on-site museum holds tribal carvings together with skeletons of extinct giants — elephant bird, pygmy hippopotamus and giant lemur. The grounds contain the country's biggest herbarium, coded TAN, with about 80,000 specimens.
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Animal feeding experiencePlayground
East London Zoo
Zoo in East London
The zoo was established within the Queens Park botanical gardens in 1936. Early conditions were poor, with damp, freezing concrete cages and animals fed on sweet potatoes. It now keeps around 300 animals of 83 species.
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Alexandria Zoo
Zoo in الاسكندرية
The zoo stands in the Nozha district, near the Antoniadis Gardens and Smouha, and falls under the central administration for zoological gardens.
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Benghazi Zoo
Zoo in بنغازي
Dated to 1956, it functions as a tourist park as well as an animal collection. In 1991 the Italian firm Cairtieri Trieste was contracted, for $2 million, to provide a shallow-draught excursion boat named Al-Berka for the park's lagoon.
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Parc du Belvédère
Zoo in تونس
The park dates from the close of the 19th century and lies in the north of the city. Circulation is split between carriage roads, bridle paths and footpaths.
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Umgeni River Bird Park
Zoo in Bromhof
Umgeni River Bird Park, opened in 1984, is a zoo in Bromhof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
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Dar es Salaam Zoo
Zoo in Dar es Salaam
The zoo lies in the Kigamboni district on the eastern side of the city, 37 km from downtown. It is best known for Tanzanian native species, among them zebras, crocodiles, antelopes, tortoises, big cats and birds.
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Port Harcourt Zoo
Zoo in Port Harcourt
Set in the Trans Amadi industrial layout, within Rivers State, it is counted both among the city's principal tourist attractions and among the country's leading conservation centres.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 19 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.