Saigon Zoo & Botanical Garden

City: Ho Chi Minh City

Country: Vietnam

Province: Ho Chi Minh City

Opend 1865

Species 125

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 monkeys, tigers, leopards, lions, gibbons, deers, elephants, turtles, snakes, and so on. Besides common species, there are also many new kinds that have appeared in Vietnam for the first time: such as the Hippopotamus, the pygmy hippo, the jaguar, the ostrich, the caribbean flamingo. 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