Yangon Zoological Gardens — Zoo in Yangon

Yangon Zoological Gardens and its collection

Yangon Zoological Gardens, opened in 1906, is a zoo in ရန်ကုန်, Myanmar.

The 70-acre park also contains a natural history museum, an aquarium and a funfair. It holds almost 200 species and 1,100 animals, and draws close to 2.2 million visitors a year. The Forest Department ran it until April 2011, since when a private company has done so.

History

A collection of wild animals was begun in 1882 next to Phayre's Museum. Building work by Kandawgyi Lake started in 1901, paid for by 240,000 kyats given by the public, and the 42 acres took the name Victoria Memorial Park and Zoological Gardens in honour of Queen Victoria. The Forest Department was in charge until April 2011, since when a private company has run it.

Animals and collection

Animals on show include Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Common Zebra (or) Plain Zebra, Bornean orangutan and Red Panda.

Exhibits

The zoo keeps 145 species of land animal, eight of them endangered, among them takin, great hornbill and eld's deer, and in 2000 it held over 300 plant species totalling more than 15,000 specimens. Its aquarium, opened in 1998, was the country's first on a large scale. Animal shows run at weekends and on public holidays from November to April.

Things to do

Things to do include Taking Photos with Birds and Keeper Talk.

What the venue says

• visitors can also rent bikes, trikes, or utilize a tram service to get around
• visitors are permitted to purchase vegetables and food on-site to directly feed certain animals
• You can find snacks, drinks (such as fresh coconut and mango), and local vendors offering food both inside and outside the park
• Options include free and paid parking lots as well as paid street parking
• a wheelchair-accessible entrance and a wheelchair-accessible parking lot