The oldest and largest zoo on the Balkan Peninsula is located in Sofia. It was discovered in the early 1888s in the park of the former royal palace in the capital. The beginning of the collection is given by a black vulture (card) presented to King Ferdinand.
Due to the great interest of the king in collecting wild animals, soon after the emergence of the zoo, its territory proved to be insufficient. As a result, the collection was moved to the royal botanical garden. Nowadays the territory of the garden falls between Evlogi Blvd. and Hristo Georgievi Blvd. (Perlovska Reka), Gurko St. and Vasil Levski Blvd.
In 1984 the new Zoo was built specially designed for the purpose at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. The zoo is located 15 minutes from the ideal center of Sofia and is connected by convenient transport links to different parts of the capital. It is among the Hundred National Tourist Sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. The vegetation in the park is carefully selected and has many open spaces and green areas.
Inhabitants of the zoo
The collection of animals is impressive. On an area of 360 acres in the zoo live 281 different species and their total number is more than 1900. Among the most attractive species are Indian elephants, polar bears and brown bears, polar bears, tigers, lions, hyenas, chimpanzees, nilgai antelopes, zebu. , European otters, etc.
The zoo is divided into the following sectors according to its inhabitants:
- Herbivores and primates
- Predators
- Birds
- Aquarium, Terrarium and Vivarium
- Educational
Ecological research and educational center
The Ecological Research and Education Center at the Zoo – Sofia is located Educational sector of the zoo. In this sector are bred animals that are suitable for the educational activities of the center. The ecological center works with organized groups of students from 1st to 12th grade.
