Tiergarten Schönbrunn

 

Tiergarten Schönbrunn or Vienna Zoo is a zoo located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. Founded as an imperial menagerie in 1752, it is the oldest zoo in the world. Today Tiergarten Schönbrunn is considered and regards itself as a scientifically administered zoo which sees its main purpose as a centre for species conservation and general nature conservation as well as in the fulfillment of the education mandate given to it by the legislation. The still preserved buildings of the baroque era, which have been complemented in the last years by elements of modern zoo architecture, convey still a good impression of the 18th century menagerie-buildings after the Versailles model.

Tiergarten Schönbrunn is one of the few zoos worldwide to house giant pandas. The zoo's pandas are named Yang Yang (F), Long Hui (M), Fu Long (M), and Fu Hu (M). Fu Long's birth on 23 August 2007 was the first natural insemination panda birth in Europe. Fu Hu was born exactly 3 years later, and he was also conceived via natural mating.

Since its privatization in 1992, it has been led by Helmut Pechlaner, also president of WWF Austria, who managed to modernize most parts of the zoo and sustain its financial situation. Nowadays, the zoo is managed by Dagmar Schratter.

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