8. Central Zoo

The Central Zoo, only zoo of Nepal, was established by late Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumser in 1932 as a private Zoo. With the political changes in 1950, the ownership of the private Zoo came under the Government of Nepal. Over the years, the management of the Zoo remained under various Departments of the Government. On the auspicious occasion of the Golden Jubilee Birthday Celebration of the Late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in December 1995, the Government of Nepal formally entrusted overall management responsibility of the Central Zoo to the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) for 30 years.

The Trust is an autonomous, non-profit making organization, established in 1982 by Legislative Act to work in the field of biodiversity with the peoples participation.

The Central Zoo at present aims at developing it as a centre for recreation, conservation education and wildlife research within the given ideology of modern zoo philosophy. However, the Zoo is also a site of historical and cultural significance for multi-ethnic communities where every year more than a million visitors visit it. In festival like Bhoto Jatra, tens of thousands of visitors visit Zoo in a day. Moreover, with added animals of various species every year has remained attraction to people living far and near. At present the Central Zoo has housed a total of 1,013 individual animals representing 116 different species of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Big mammals like tiger, rhino and hippo are the major attraction to the visitors. The central zoo is not only the place to see wildlife and recreational center but is also site of historical and cultural significance for diverse  groups of people.

“The future of human kind greatly depends on the extensive and effective environment and conservation education. The zoo of the world have the unique role to play in the global effort to educate people” (The world zoo conservation strategy) thus NTNC is committed to develop the central zoo as a center of excellence for “Conservation  Education and Wildlife Research”