Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens

Main gate to Ho Chi Minh Cities Zoo and Botanical Garden

As one of the oldest zoos in the world, the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is famous not only with Vietnamese but also with foreign visitors. It is the home for many rare orchids, ornamental plants, and over a hundred species of mammals, reptiles and birds. Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is a cultural place of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It was ranked eighth among the oldest zoos in the world. Up to now, it is 133 years old. Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is located on 2B Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1, T.P. Ho Chi Minh City. The zoo has two gates: the main gate is on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street at the corner of Le Duan Street, and the other one is on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street.

History

Since the construction of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, the zoo has undergone many changes of different periods of time. On March 23, 1864, the Commander of the provincial army named De La Grandiere signed the convention that allowed building the zoo in SaiGon. Mr.Louis Germain, a veterinarian, built the zoo on an area of 12 ha from the wild land in Northeast of Thi Nghe Channel. After that, The Governor-general of Indochina realized that they needed a profession, therefore they invited Mr.Louis Pierre, who had worked in the botanical garden in Calcutta (India), to become the director on March 28, 1865. At the end of 1865, the zoo was 20ha large. On December 15, 1867, Mr.De La Grandiere promulgated the 183 decree to regulate, organize and manage the zoo. On February 17, 1869, Vice Admiral, Mr G.Ohier, who worked as the president of South Vietnam, signed the decree number 33 to establish Permanent Committee. Mr. Philastre was the president of this committee, and he was responsible for the spending of the zoo. Based on that decree, in the National Day of France, the zoo was opened permanently for the public to visit. In 1924, the precinct had been extended to 13ha more. In 1927, a bridge across Thi Nghe Channel was built to connect two parts of the zoo: the area reserved for animals and that for plants. On November 27, 1927, French government built a museum called Blanchard de la Bross, following the design of Beijing Summer Palace. In the same year, the Japanese government gave the zoo more than 900 rare plants. The Temple Du Souvenir which followed the design of palace in Hue was built in 1929. In 1956, Saigon government repaired and re-built the Blanchard de la Bross. They renamed it as The Saigon National Museum, and also renamed the zoo as “Thao cam vien”. In 1984, people built more things such as: stone jetty, improved the electric wire. Since 1989, the facilities were improved to make the environment suitable for animals. Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden was recognized as a member of the Southeast Asian Zoological Association in 1990. In 1991, the garden in the zoo was re-established. After 130 years of construction, it became the biggest biological garden of the country.

Characteristics and values

Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden has a diversity of fauna and flora. There are 590 animals of 125 species, 1830 trees and plants of 260 valuable species, some of which are over 100 years old, 20 species of orchid, 32 species of cactus, and 34 species of bonsai. Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is divided into many areas: animal conservation, plant conservation, orchid garden and the amusement area. In the botanical garden, rare and valuable plants of many species are grown. Some of them cannot be found in Vietnam. Some species of cactus, fern and plants are imported from Africa and America. In the zoo, there are many kinds of mammals, reptiles, and birds such as monkey, tiger, leopard, lion, gibbon, deer, elephant, turtle, snake, and so on. Besides common species, there are also many new kinds that have appeared in Viet Nam for the first time: such as Hippopotamus amphibious, Chorepsis liberiensis, Panthera onca, Struthio camelus, Phoenicopterus ruper ruper. It also has lakes with lotus and many kinds of fish which the visitor can see. In the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, there are 2 interesting buildings: the monument for the Vietnamese people who were killed in World War I, and the Saigon National Museum. The Museum keeps a lot of valuable exhibits and documents. The museum contains two areas: one area has 15 rooms displaying things from the beginning of Vietnam to 1930, the other area has 6 rooms displaying things about culture and history of South Vietnam. Outside of the museum is a large yard that displays the weapons of France and Vietnam which were used during the Vietnam's French colonial era. As well, the museum has 25.000 documents of history, culture and ethnography.

Plans and activities

The main aim of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens is to conserve animals and plants, especially those of endangered species and educate the public. One way to protect these species is breeding them in captivity. It is hoped that this program can save many endangered animals and help replenish their populations. Saigon Zoo is the only zoo in the world that successfully bred Crested Argus Pheasants in captivity. Nowadays, the zoo has received the support of foreign countries. In 1993, the Director of the Zoo proposed a long-term plan to conserve the zoo. This was to improve the quality of management, housing and care for animals. This plan lasted until 2003. Besides the conservation plan, the Conservation Education department, which started in 1999, made plan to educate the public to protect the animals and plants. Each year, 3,200 students visit the zoo to have lessons. Students have a one-hour lecture around the zoo with a teacher and along with watching a 30-minute film. After a long time of construction and development, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden has become the biggest zoo of Vietnam, and also a place for people to visit and study about fauna and flora. Visitors not only can study animals and plants, but can also learn how to protect these species. It is an interesting destination that both Vietnamese and foreigners should visit when they come to Saigon.

See also

• List of botanical gardens

References

• Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens