Gdański Ogród Zoologiczny

Gdańsk Zoo developed in the Valley of the Forest Mills, among the wooded hills of Oliwa. A stream, slopes and trees have shaped its landscape from the start. A walk leads through extensive grounds where animals are seen against a natural backdrop, with stretches of paths between enclosures.

The zoo opened on 1 May 1954. Residents, schools and workplaces from the Tri-City helped to build it. They created roads, enclosures and a penguin pool and planted trees. Seafarers brought some of the first exotic animals, linking the early collection to the city's port. Today's zoo operates in different circumstances, taking part in European breeding cooperation and the conservation of threatened species.

This change is illustrated by scimitar-horned oryx born in Gdańsk and selected in 2015 for a project to restore the species to the wild in Chad. Conservation breeding therefore goes beyond keeping animals in a zoo. It includes cooperation between institutions and work supporting populations in the wild.

Residents include Angolan lions, Rothschild's giraffes, pygmy hippos, penguins and great apes. Alongside them, grey seals and European bison recall wildlife much closer to Poland. Ten encounters on the route bring together life in water, on the savannah and in forests. The themes change with the animals: from diving and feeding to cooperation within a group and extended care of young.