Lahore Zoo (Punjabi: , ) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, is one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Pakistan. Today the zoo houses a collection of about 1378 animals of 135 species. Lahore Zoo was the host of the fifth annual conference of SAZARC in 2004.
Lahore Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the world. House of Vienna Zoo of Austria, established in 1752 as a menagerie, was opened to public as a zoo in 1779. London Zoo of England, established in 1828, was opened to public in 1847. The Alipore Zoo of India, established some time in the early 19th century, was opened to public as a zoo in 1876.
History
Lahore Zoo had its beginnings in a small aviary donated by Lala Mela Ram in 1872 to the Lahore Municipal Corporation. Over time the animal collection increased and the zoo expanded. It later began to take interest in conservation, education and research in addition to providing recreational facilities to the public. By 2010, the zoo was home to about 1280 trees of 71 species and 1380 animals of 136 species including 996 birds of 82 species, 49 reptiles of 8 and 336 mammals of 45 species.
The zoo was managed by the Lahore Municipal Corporation from 1872 to 1923, when management was turned over to the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore. Management was transferred to the Livestock and Dairy Development department in 1962, and then to the Wildlife and Parks department in 1982. Between its founding in 1872 and its turnover to the Wildlife and Parks department in 1982 there was very little development at the zoo. Since 1982, it has upgraded its exhibits, layout, and landscaping, and has become a self-financing organization.
An 18-month master planning, improvement and development project for the zoo was approved on July 25, 2005. It was carried out by 'Zoo Maintenance Committee' and sponsored by Planning and Development Department of Government of Punjab. The project cost around 202.830 million Pakistani rupees and aimed for the improvement and addition of facilities.
In November 2023, the zoo closed temporarily for renovations. As part of the plan, the zoo will be revamped on the "Singaporean style" with glass cages being installed, the cages incorporating a naturally habitat of the animals, a hologram, and new arrivals including the Giant Panda.
Areas and attractions
Fancy Birds Aviary Located just east of the zoo's main entrance, this is the oldest section of the zoo, as the zoo itself started out as an aviary in 1872. It is home to most of the zoo's gamebirds and parrots. The area consists of four rows of double-sided bird cages housing peafowl, pheasants, partridges, western crowned pigeons and various species of parrots including macaws, grey parrots and conures, among others. Located at the eastern end of this section are a row of enclosures housing a pack of Asiatic jackals, juvenile spur-thighed tortoises and Asian houbara. Nearby is a small enclosure, once home to smooth-coated otters, housing Indian flapshell turtles and red-eared sliders, this enclosure also acts as temporary holding pen for the zoo's juvenile mugger crocodiles.
Lion House Originally constructed in 1872, the current Lion House complex, covering an area of 24,500 square feet was built in 1987 at a cost of 5.1 million rupees and was renovated in 2012. It comprises three concrete buildings with indoor cages and each building have two adjoining outdoor enclosures. The first of these buildings is home to the zoo's Bengal tigers and pumas. Lahore Zoo currently has fifteen tigers and three pumas, most of which have been born at the zoo. The second building, consisting of three indoor compartments and two outdoor enclosures, houses the zoo's lions. From the 2015 to 2016 13 lion cubs were born at the zoo, currently the zoo is home to more than 20 lions. The third, and final, building is home to the zoo's family of black bears. The zoo's resident black bear pair has given birth to two litters of two cubs, born in 2009 and 2011, all of which currently reside at the zoo. This is the only enclosure in the Lion House that does not have indoor viewing for visitors. However, the maintenance is poor and you will find Tiger in Lion's cage and Lioness in Tiger's cage.
Elephant House Constructed in 1972 at a cost of 500,000 rupees, this is one of the most popular attractions of the zoo. It consists of three large indoor rooms each with adjoining outdoor paddocks. Originally housing three endangered pachyderm species native to Africa, The African bush elephant, the Southern white rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus, it currently houses a female hippo, Rani, that was brought to the zoo in July 2006 and a male white rhinoceros. The zoo's only elephant, Suzi, which had been resident at the zoo since 1988 died in May, 2017, from several illnesses, leaving the zoo without an elephant. The zoo's male hippo, Raja, was brought to the zoo in 1974 and at the time of his death, in October, 2015, was the oldest resident of the zoo, at 51. There had been attempts by the zoo administration to breed hippos but these had failed due to Raja's old age. The zoo's female white rhino, Kawo, died in 2014 on account of old age.
Monkey House Constructed in 2012 over Lahore Zoo's previous out of date monkey house, these four new enclosure are located just west of the zoo's main entrance of main gate. The first enclosure houses the zoo's olive baboon family, currently numbering around nine individuals. The next two enclosure houses a pair of tufted capuchins and mantled guerezas. The final enclosure is home to a family of vervet monkeys. Housed, in nearby enclosures, are the zoo's family of porcupines, adult spur-thighed tortoises and a pair of smooth-coated otters. Species previously housed in the Monkey House include black-footed grey langurs, mandrills and spider monkeys.
Chimpanzee House Home to the zoo's chimpanzees, this building houses a wide array of other species including wolves, swamp cats and rhesus macaques. The zoo's first pair of chimps, male Romeo and female Julie, had been brought in 1994. A male chimp, Tinku was born to the pair in 2000 but died due to pneumonia in September, 2004. In August, 2001, Julie gave birth to two female chimps, named Pinky and Honey. Romeo died, also of pneumonia, in 2008. Juliet succumbed to hepatitis in 2012 and Pinky died in 2014, leaving Honey the only chimpanzee left at the zoo. This building also acts as a temporary holding area for various species of cats, including leopards, lions and pumas. Species previously housed here include cheetahs and baboons.
Waterfowl Lake Located south of the Fancy Aviary, this lake houses various species of waterfowl and wading birds. It consists of four islands with some of the oldest trees in the zoo. Located adjacent to the enclosure is a banyan tree that is reported to be over 400 years old. Species housed in this part of the zoo include black swans, Muscovy ducks, lesser flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans. Located nearby is a small enclosure housing a pair of wild boars.
Reptile House This building houses most of the zoo's reptiles, including Indian cobras, Sindh kraits, saw-scaled vipers and Indian pythons. The Reptile House was renovated in 2006, providing better ventilation to the exhibits and air conditioning for the animals. A small taxidermy museum, displaying various species of animals that previously lived at the zoo, is also present in the building. This visit is separately charged and the enclosures are in a dirty condition.
Walk-through Aviary Located directly east of the Reptile House, the three-domed walk-through aviary is relatively new construction. Entry to the aviary is not included in general admission ticket of the zoo. Species housed in this enclosure include various species of pheasants, Indian peafowl and demoiselle cranes. As of 2015 the Walk-through Aviary was not open to the public.
Chimpanzee Island This is a large moated enclosure located south of the waterfowl lake that was originally created to house the zoo's chimpanzee, but because of deaths of all but one of the chimpanzees, this enclosure currently houses a pair of Himalayan brown bears.
Urial hillock Located on west of, and right in front of the entrance to, the Reptile House, is a small naturally created hill that is home to urials and mouflons held in two separate enclosures.
Others Other notable animals found at Lahore Zoo include giraffes, mugger crocodiles, blackbucks, nilgais, red deer, hog deer, guanacos, plains zebra, ostrich, emus and southern cassowary, vulturine guineafowl.
Exotic flora Lahore Zoo has about 1280 trees of 71 species. Many of the exotic species have information boards to promote education. Some of these are listed below:
Alstonia scholaris - locally termed ditabark - native to India and Pakistan Bombax ceiba- sunbal or silk cotton tree - native to Himalayas Callistemon citrinus - bottle brush - native to Australia Dalbergia sissoo - shisham - native to India and Pakistan Delonix regia - gulmohar - native to Madagascar Erythrina suberosa - coral or gul nister - native to Myanmar Ficus benghalensis - banyan - native to Bangladesh Ficus religiosa - pipal - native to India and Pakistan Ficus retusa - bobari - native to Malaysia Kigelia africana - gul-e-fanoos or sausage - native to Africa Livistona chinensis - bottle palm - native to China Mangifera indica - aam - native to India and Pakistan Mimusops elengi - molsery - native to Pakistan Pongamia pinnata - sukh chayn or Indian beech - native to Himalayas Syzygium cumini - jamu - native to India and Pakistan Ziziphus zizyphus - jujube - native to Himalayas
Safari park
Lahore Zoo Safari was opened on January 21, 2009, a renovation of Lahore Wildlife Park (also called Woodland Wildlife Park) which was established in 1982. The Safari Park is located near Raiwind Road about from the Lahore Zoo. The species housed here include Indian peafowl, Bengal tiger, common pheasant, emu, lion, mute swan, nilgai, ostrich and silver pheasant among a few others. The wildlife park is now considered to be an extension of Lahore Zoo.
The Government of Pakistan turned management of the wildlife park over to the Zoo Maintenance Committee headed by the chairman of the Punjab branch of the Wildlife & Parks department. Vice-chairman Tauqeer Shah said this transfer of control was due to poor previous management that was not working to improve the park. A ticket system was introduced in the wildlife park so that the Lahore Zoo Safari could become a semi-autonomous, self-financed organization.
Species list
Aves
Accipitriformes Black kite Common kestrel Golden eagle Steppe eagle White-eyed buzzard Anseriformes Bar-headed goose Black swan Common shelduck Common teal Eurasian wigeon Gadwall Greater white-fronted goose Greylag goose (domestic goose) Mallard Muscovy duck Mute swan New Zealand scaup Red shoveler Ruddy shelduck Wood duck Columbiformes Rock pigeon Black Sherazi pigeon Indian Fantail pigeon Western crowned pigeon Galliformes Black partridge Chukar partridge Common pheasant Emerald peafowl hybrid of green peafowl and Indian peafowl Golden pheasant Yellow pheasant (mutation) Green peafowl Grey francolin Grey partridge Indian peafowl Black shouldered peafowl Common blue peafowl Pied peafowl White peafowl Silver pheasant Swinhoe's pheasant Vulturine guineafowl Wild turkey Gruiformes Demoiselle crane Eurasian coot Houbara bustard Pelecaniformes Dalmatian pelican Great white pelican Phoenicopteriformes Greater flamingo Lesser flamingo Psittaciformes Grey parrot Alexandrine parakeet Blossom-headed parakeet Blue-and-yellow macaw Budgerigar Cape parrot Cockatiel Green-winged macaw Lilian's lovebird Panama amazon Rose-ringed parakeet Sulphur-crested cockatoo Strigiformes Indian eagle-owl Struthioniformes Emu Ostrich Southern cassowary
Mammals
Artiodactyla Bactrian camel (1) Blackbuck