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

Bearded emperor tamarin

Palette surgeonfish

Xingu peacock bass

Gelber Tentakel-Schluckspecht im Aquarium

Weedy scorpionfish

Black arowana

Bird wrasse

Chindongo saulosi

Bonnethead shark

Spotted garden-eel

Yellowtail tang

Tiger-tail seahorse

Longhorn boxfish

Black-breasted leaf Turtle

Malawi hawk cichlid

Moon jellyfish

Clown triggerfish

Rainbow shiner

Monterrey platyfish

Fire eel

Domestic koi

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse

Koala

Golden lion tamarin

Duckbill catfish

Teardrop angelfish

Klasio-Regenbogenfisch

Oman-Kuhnasenrochen schwebt durchs Wasser

Oman cownose ray

Bluegirdled angelfish

Leopolds Süßwasserstechrochen im Aquarium

White-blotched river stingray

Fresh water puffer fish

Budgerigar

Ein Orange-Ringel-Anemonenfisch schwimmt in einer Anemone

Clown anemonefish

Smooth-back river stingray

Coppery titi monkey

Kotsovato cichlid

Mexikanischer Streifensalmler im Aquarium

Mexican tetra

Zwei Schomburgks Scheibensalmler im Aquarium

Disk tetra

Gelber Segelflossen-Doktorfisch im Aquarium

Yellow tang

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, coppery titi monkeys and bearded emperor tamarins.

Plunge into fascinating underwater worlds

From 2019 to 2021 our aquarium was elaborately refurbished. In the salt water pools of the circular building you will find colourful symbiotic communities from various tropical seas. The 360˚ panorama tank on the upper floor is particularly impressive, which is home to hammerhead sharks and cownose rays. The historical part of the aquarium mainly shows tropical freshwater fish with the highlight being a gigantic panorama tank with an 11m curved transparent panel overhead.

360°

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.