The opening performance by the children of the City Children's House recreated the life of animals in the Saigon Zoo - Photo: LE PHAN
Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden was built in 1864 (today 160 years old). This is one of the 8 oldest zoos in the world.
Up to now, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is nurturing more than 2,000 animals of 135 species, including many rare species, such as crested pheasants, douc langurs, yellow-cheeked gibbons, golden deer, leopards, clouded leopards... There are also more than 2,500 trees with more than 900 species of preserved plants.
In recent years, this unit has also welcomed good news when rare wild animals were able to reproduce in captivity such as tigers, hippos...
Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden was originally established to raise public awareness and serve as a research site for scientists.
Mr. Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre was the first director of the unit and also the "father" of thousands of ancient trees on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. He was a French botanist. In the early 1850s, he took on the position of director of the Calcutta Botanical Garden (England).
In 1865, he was appointed as the first director of the Botanical Garden (the predecessor of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden). This first director had many solutions to develop infrastructure, as well as collect many rare species of animals and plants from all over the world and bring them here.
Ms. Huynh Thu Thao - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden Company Limited - shared that in the flow of time of the formation and development process of Saigon - Gia Dinh - Ho Chi Minh City over 325 years, the unit is honored to contribute to being a historical witness for half of that time.
"There are so many changes and transformations in the history of nature, people, and landscapes, but the rows of ancient trees in front of us are still standing tall. This is proof of strong and resilient vitality, symbolizing the harmony between nature and humans.
Since its early days of establishment with an area of 12 hectares of wasteland in the northeast of Thi Nghe canal, the zoo has now become an extremely important ecosystem of the largest city in the country. I promise to work with my colleagues to constantly strive to be creative, dare to think, dare to do, and innovate to preserve and develop this place further," Ms. Thao confided.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong - Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee - expressed his hope that in the coming time, the staff and workers of Saigon Zoo will always strive to strongly promote the achievements that have been achieved.
"We will work together to develop this place into a modern zoological and botanical garden, a meaningful tourist attraction for domestic and foreign tourists," said Mr. Cuong.
At the ceremony, the unit was also awarded the traditional flag by the City People's Committee.
Anyone born in March gets free tickets to Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden
To celebrate its 160th anniversary, the unit will offer free tickets to all residents and visitors born in March. In addition, on its anniversary on March 23 and 24, visitors will receive a key chain with the logo celebrating the 160th anniversary.
In particular, residents and tourists whose birthday falls on the same day as this unit's birthday will receive an additional, meaningful gift.
Mr. Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre was the first director of the Zoo and Botanical Garden and also the "father" of thousands of ancient trees on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.
A baby in a tiger costume. This is the pair of tigers Binh - Duong born at the Saigon Zoo. The mother tiger was rescued by forest rangers of Binh Duong province and given to the unit. The names of the two tigers carry this meaning.
Image of mother langur becoming aggressive after being trapped by criminals. Although rescued, the baby langur was lost...
To heal the mother langur, staff at the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens brought in a brown langur (also trapped and rescued) to raise with them. Since then, the mother langur has been active, happy and no longer refuses to eat.
Animals at the zoo are friendly to visitors.
Saigon Zoo is a memory for many generations of city residents.
At the ceremony, the unit was awarded the traditional flag by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.
Photo: LE PHAN
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