Go for a walk through Founder’s Garden

When you pass through our entrance portal you can’t help but sense the history of Founder’s Garden with its numerous buildings from the zoo’s early years. Here, you will see the handwriting of Ernst Pinkert, who laid the first stone of our zoological garden back in 1878.

Our historical ensemble of buildings comprises of the Explorers’ House Ark, the Koala house and the Aquarium (currently under renovation) with its adjacent Terrarium.

Animals

Nicaraguan slider

Baja blue rock lizard

Frilled lizard

Western hingeback tortoise

Common agama

Radiated tortoise

Dwarf caiman

Softshell tortoise

Armadillo girdled lizard

Koala

Copperhead

Berlandier’s tortoise

Bearded emperor tamarin

Peach-throated monitor

Golden lion tamarin

Yellow-spotted river turtle

Panther chameleon

Puff adder

Ring-necked spitting cobra

Alligator snapping turtle

Chuckwalla

Chinese Stripe-necked turtle

Mangrove snake

Green bush snake

Blue spiny lizard

Green crested basilisk

Fiji banded iguana

Caiman lizard

Budgerigar

Madagascar giant day gecko

Zwerg-Netzpython im Proträt von der Seite

Asian reticulated python

Great plains toad

American alligator

Black-breasted leaf Turtle

Black-tailed prairie dog

Animal encyclopaedia

Feeding Times & Talks

Food & Drinks

Map of the Zoo

A lively welcoming committee

After passing through the zoo entrance you will be greeted by the welcoming committee of the Monkey Isles, comprising of the rare golden lion tamarins and bearded emperor tamarins.

Cuddly marsupials in the koala house

The koala house is a very special attraction that opened in 2016. The former ape house built in 1901 went through a complex renovation process so that we could keep these koalas. The environment inside the building attempts to resemble the eucalyptus forest found in the koala’s natural habitat. Our solitary koalas have two separate areas.

An oasis for budgerigars

Directly opposite the koala house you can come into close contact with a chatter of bubbly budgerigars! A path takes you straight through the aviary of these social Australian birds.

Explorer’s House Ark − a voyage of discovery

The Explorer’s House Ark is in the historical carnivore house. This was also known in the past as "Leipzig’s lion factory", which is no coincidence given that 2,300 big cats were bred here over 100 years. Today visitors go into the Ark on a safari of the senses: in an interactive exhibition you can learn more about our role as a modern zoo. You can also see, smell, touch and listen to animals and plants from Asia, Africa and South America.

As cool as a reptile

There are many different reptiles in the terrarium. Tortoises slowly munch away on a lettuce leaf, snakes wrap themselves casually around branches, and lizards sunbathe on ledges. We have even recreated a piece of the Everglades for our alligators. Wait for the right moment for one of them to emerge from the water.

360°

Loads of diligent diggers

Right in front of the external historical walls of the terrarium is the territory of a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs. They live in an underground tunnel system with several entrances. It’s not unusual to come across an escapee on the visitor’s path.