Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Lower Saxony
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 Lower Saxony that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Assistance animal policy
Hanover Zoo
Zoo in Hannover
Founded in May 1865 as the eighth German zoo, it covers 22 hectares. In January 2024 it held about 1,473 animals in 158 species. Just over 400 staff are employed in the high season, most of them in visitor services.
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Keeper talk or showOn-site dining
Tierpark Nordhorn
Zoo in Nordhorn
Just under 200 staff work on recreation, species and nature protection, education and research. As an ark park it also covers regional history, through a section themed on the Vechte. It looks after some 170 hectares of protected habitat and hosts an ecological station whose remit spans roughly 40,000 hectares.
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Animal encounterKeeper talk or show
Walsrode World Bird Park
Zoo in Walsrode
The park covers 24 hectares and holds roughly 4,000 birds of 650 species. The Humboldt penguin is the only penguin species kept.
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Keeper talk or showBehind-the-scenes tourParking
Wingster Waldzoo
Zoo in Wingst
Both wild and domestic animals are kept, some of them in a petting section. The collection centres on animals from forest regions around the world.
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Child friendlyGuided tourDisability admission concession
Zoo Osnabrück
Zoo in Osnabrück
The grounds cover 23.5 hectares and hold 3,186 animals of 299 species. They lie on the wooded slopes of the Schölerberg, which is the source of the zoo's forest-zoo nickname. Attendance passed a million in 2022, as it had in preceding years.
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Rides and attractionsParking
Tier- und Freizeitpark Thüle
Zoo in Friesoythe
Enlargement has brought the park to 17 hectares, within the recreation area of the Thülsfeld reservoir. It shows 156 species and also runs fairground rides and play equipment, and is aimed mainly at families with children.
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Keeper talk or showChild friendlyGuided tour
Tierpark Bad Pyrmont
Zoo in Bad Pyrmont
Tierpark Bad Pyrmont is a zoo in Bad Pyrmont, Germany.
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Tierpark Essehof
Zoo in Lehre
The park lies in woodland right beside the A2 motorway, about 15 km from Braunschweig, with the nearest exit roughly two kilometres away. Braunschweig Zoo describes it as its sister zoo. The entrance area holds a water nature trail with five ponds, a 30-metre oak bridge and an underwater station giving a view three metres below the surface.
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PlaygroundOn-site dining
Wild- und Freizeitpark Ostrittrum
Zoo in Dötlingen
The park belongs to the German game-enclosure association and to the German animal-park society. Animals on show include Kängurus, Wildschweine, Hirsche, Emus and Strauße.
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Animal encounterDisability admission concession
Wolfcenter Barme
Zoo in Dörverden
Wolfcenter Barme is a wildlife park in Dörverden, Germany. Animals on show include Wölfe, Silberfüchsen and Alpaka.
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Child friendlyGuided tourEducation program
Arche Noah Zoo Braunschweig
Zoo in Braunschweig
About 300 animals of some 50 species are kept in near-natural enclosures. The zoo is family-owned and the family also runs a sibling site, Tierpark Essehof at Lehre, roughly 15 km away. It opened in 1964, was enlarged in 1995 and gained a new entrance building in 2001.
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Petting zooOn-site diningParking
Jaderpark
Zoo in Jade
Themed zones under development include a farm, an Okavango Delta area, Grizzly Adventure and Lütjes Moor. A listed riding hall on the site was converted into a play barn in 2005.
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Keeper talk or showBehind-the-scenes tourOn-site dining
Wisentgehege Springe
Zoo in Springe
The site covers 90 hectares between Eldagsen and Springe within the Saupark. It shows regional species in the habitat of the northern uplands, oak and beech woods with alder swamps and ponds.
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PlaygroundEducation programOn-site dining
Tierpark Petermoor
Zoo in Bassum
Tierpark Petermoor is a zoo in Bassum, Germany. Animals on show include Kattas, Diepholzer Moorschnucken and Stockenten.
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Wildpark Hardegsen
Zoo in Hardegsen
Over 100 domestic and wild animals of 20 species are kept on 12 largely unmanaged hectares.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 15 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.