Oldest zoological society

The oldest zoological society is the Zoological Society of London (UK), aka ZSL, which was founded on 29 April 1826 and celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2026. As of 2026, the scientific conservation charity cares for approximately 20,000 animals across two UK sites: London Zoo located in Regent’s Park and Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable in Bedfordshire.

London Zoo pioneered a number of groundbreaking zoological milestones, including the first public aquarium (1853–2019), the first insect house (1881) and the first children’s zoo (1938), though neither now exist in their original form.

The record annual attendances are 3,031,571 in 1950 for Regent's Park and 756,758 in 1961 for Whipsnade.

By comparison, the oldest continuously operating zoo is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, part of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. Created in 1752 by order of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, initially as a crown menagerie, it was first opened to the public in 1779 and remains open as of 2026.

The earliest-known zoo, dating back to c. 3500 BCE, was discovered south of Luxor in Egypt in 2009, with remains of a vast menagerie of animals including elephants, wildcats, baboons, hartebeests (antelopes) and hippos, totalling 112 creatures in total. The zoo, which was likely to have been privately owned as the animals were buried in an elite cemetery, was unearthed during excavations of the ancient settlement of Hierakonpolis. Not only can Hierakonpolis be considered the first zoo, but very significantly, the animals were given special treatment in death; some were covered with linen, and buried with pottery and other artefacts.