Top most popular zoos in India for watching wild animals

In foreign countries, zoos are top attractions, which draws visitors from around the world, including India. But if you don’t want to spend so much (travelling abroad to watch animals), you can checkout these top zoos in India.

There are some good zoos in India as well, that have plenty of wild animals that will surely excite kids (Well, I guess you cannot say the same about the one in Mumbai though).

Here are the most famous zoos in India.

Mysore Zoo

The Mysore Zoo (Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens) is one of the oldest (established in 1892) and most popular Zoos in India. Its located near the the Mysore palace.

It has the most number of elephants (more than any other zoo in India). Its also home to striped Hyena, Jungle cat, Asiatic black bears, African Elephant, and even a Gorilla.

Hyderabad Zoo

Hyderabad Zoo (The Nehru Zoological Park) is among the largest and best kept zoos in India. Adjacent to a picturesque lake, the zoo houses numerous species of birds, animals, reptiles and fishes. Special attractions include Tiger & Lion Safari, Elephant rides and children Train.

Trivandrum Zoo

Trivandrum Zoo (Thiruvananthapuram Zoo) is located in the temple city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of kerala, India. Its located adjacent to the Napier museum. Here, animals are kept mostly in open enclosures. You can spot Indian rhino, Asiatic lion, royal Bengal tiger, leopard, and more. The zoo also has a reptile farm which has several snakes.

Chennai Zoo

Chennai Zoo (Arignar Anna Zoological Park, also known as the Vandalur Zoo), is another popular destination in Chennai (besides its beaches). The Arignar Anna Zoological Park is the largest zoological garden in India. Its home to several exotic species of animals, including the white tigers. The Chennai Zoo is a specialty breeding place for the rare Lion Tailed Macaque (monkey), found only in the Western Ghats.

Guwahati Zoo

Guwahati Zoo (Assam State Zoo) Guwahati Zoo is located within the Hengrabari Reserved Forest at Guwahati, Assam, India. Founded in 1957, its the largest zoo in North East India. The zoo is a home to Asiatic lion, the royal Bengal tiger, the Himalayan black bear, the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, capped langur, the stump-tailed Macaque and a variety of animals/reptiles.

Nandankanan Zoo

Nandankanan Zoological Park (zoo and botanical garden) is located in the capital city of Bhubaneswar (Orissa), within the Chandaka forest. Nandankanan Zoo is famous for its white tigers. The zoo is home to Gharial (alligators), Black Panthers Pangolin, Hippopotamus and Wild Ass. Special attractions include Lion safari Tours.

Darjeeling Zoo

Darjeeling Zoo (Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park) is located on the slopes of Jawahar Parbhat (just below the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute). You can spot snow leopard, red panda, Tibetian wolf, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan salamander, Siberian tigers and many other animals.

Delhi Zoo

Delhi National Zoological Park, located near the Old Fort, is home to thousands of species of animals and birds. The zoo is well organized and animals are kept in large enclosures. The rare Manipur Brow-antlered deer is a popular attraction at the Delhi Zoo, which also has hillock, gibbon, white buck, white tiger.

Nainital Zoo

Nainital Zoo (Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Zoo) is situated in the hills of Sher ka Danda, in Uttarakhand. The high altitude zoo (2100 meters above sea level) boasts of snow leopard, barking deer, Siberian tiger, the Himalayan black bear, eagle, hill fox, wolf and many other animals.

Junagadh Zoo

Junagadh Zoo (Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden) was established by the Nawabs of Junagadh in 1863 in the state of Gujarat. The Sakkarbaug Zoo is the largest breeding center for Asiatic Lions in India; lions are bred in the zoo and then let out in the nearby Gir Forest. Other animals found in the zoo are tigers, leopards, lions, elephants, flamingo birds, and more.

Jaipur Zoo

Jaipur Zoo, located near the Albert Hall Museum, has wild animals like Black panther, Large Indian civet, Flamingo and Guineafow.

Patna Zoo

Patna Zoo (Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park/Jaivik Udyan) is Patna’s (capital city of Bihar) most popular picnic spot. Its home to tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, hippopotamus, crocodile, Elephants, and many more animals.

Kanpur Zoo

The Kanpur Zoo is located in Kanpur, the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh in North India. The zoo is created in a natural forest and is home to Cheetah, Chimpanzees and orangutans.

Lucknow Zoo

Lucknow Zoo (Nawab Wazid Ali Shah Prani Udyan / Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens, popularly known as Lucknow Zoological Garden) is located in the heart of the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Top attractions include Bengal Tiger, White Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Wolf, Common Fox, Jungle Cat, Hyaena, Hippopotamus, and other animals. Then there’s also Toy Train, Vintage train.

Kolkata / Alipur Zoo

Kolkata Zoo (Alipore zoo / Alipore Zoological Gardens) is a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, and is home to several animal species including one horned rhinoceros, Indian elephant, zebra, hippopotamus, red kangaroo, nilgai, giant squirrel, dromedary camel, indian python, Indian cobra, other snakes.

More Zoos in India

Aizawl Zoo, Aizawl, Mizoram
Alipore Zoological Gardens, Kolkata, West Bengal
Allen Forest Zoo, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Amirthi Zoological Park, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Arignar Anna Zoological Park Vandalur Zoo, Chennai, Tamil Nadu- (India’s biggest zoo)
Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden, Guwahati, Assam
Bannerghatta National Park, Bengaluru
Bhiwani Zoo, Haryana
Birsa Deer Park (Kalamati Birsa Mrig Vihar), Ranchi[3][4][5]
Black Buck Breeding Centre, Pipli Mini Zoo, Kurukshetra, Haryana
ChattBir Zoo, Zirakpur, Punjab
Chennai Snake Park Trust, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Chinkara Breeding Centre Kairu, Bhiwaninear Bahal in Bhiwani district, Haryana
Crocodile Breeding Centre, Kurukshetra , Bhaur Saidan (Kurukshetra)
Gopalpur Zoo, Gopalpur, Himachal Pradesh
Gulab Bagh and Zoo, Udaipur, Rajasthan .
Gandhi Prani Udyan, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Hisar Deer Park, Haryana
Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (3rd biggest in India)
Indore Zoo, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Jaipur Zoo, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Jawaharlal Nehru Biological Park, Bokaro Steel City [6]
Jhargram Zoo, Jhargram, West Bengal
Jijamata Udyaan, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Kanan Pendari Zoo, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
Kankaria, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Kanpur Zoo, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Kurukshetra Zoo, Haryana
Lucknow Zoo, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Maitri Bagh, Bhilainagar, Chhattisgarh
Marble Palace zoo, Kolkata, West Bengal
Mysore Zoo, Mysore, Karnataka
Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (2nd biggest in India)
National Zoological Park, Delhi
Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, Telangana
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, West Bengal
Parassinikkadavu Snake Park
Peacock & Chinkara Breading Centre, Jhabua, in Rewari district, Haryana
Pheasant Breeding Centre, Berwala in Panchkula district, Haryana
Pheasant Breeding Centre Morni in Panchkula district, Haryana
Pt. G.B. Pant High Altitude Zoo, Nainital, Uttarakhand [7]
Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, Maharashtra
Ranchi Zoo (Bhagwan Birsa Munda Biological Park), Ranchi, Jharkhand (est. 1987)[3][8]
Rohtak Zoo, Haryana
Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Junagadh, Gujarat
Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan, Patna, Bihar
Sarthana Zoo, Surat, Gujarat
Sayaji Baug Zoo, Vadodara, Gujarat
Sipahijola Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura
Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park tiniest in India, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
Tata Steel Zoological Park, (Jubilee Park) Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
Thim Park, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, Trivandrum, Kerala ,built by Maharaja of Travancore (One of the oldest in Asia)
Thrissur Zoo, Thrissur, Kerala
Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore, Haryana