Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in South 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 South 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 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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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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Umgeni River Bird Park
Zoo in Bromhof
Umgeni River Bird Park, opened in 1984, is a zoo in Bromhof, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
More in South Africa
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Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 9 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.