It was also responsible for another world first when it bred the European white-tailed eagle. The 17-hectare zoo forms part of the 202-hectare grounds of Schönbrunn Palace, the summer retreat of Austria’s royalty during the Hapsburg Dynasty.

Remarkably, the 200-year-old buildings coexist well with this modern zoo, home to more than 4500 animals and over 480 species. ‘Schönbrunn is one of the most famous and most modern zoos in the world,’ says Dr Gerhard Heindl of the zoo’s Archives & History Department, ‘where you can see animals like giant pandas, koalas, African elephants, giraffes, hippopotamus and Indian rhinos.’

ANIMAL ATTRACTION: The zoo acquired its first giant pandas in 2003 (a pair, on loan from the People’s Republic of China for 10 years). The cuddly-wuddly couple are the star attractions, along with the zoo’s polar-bear mom and her one-year-old cubs. The zoo also features a Rainforest House, Desert House, Mexican House, an aquarium and polarium, and inhabitants include the Russian ratsnake, giant anteater, bearded dragon, terrible poison frogs and flying foxes.

NEED TO KNOW: Open daily 9am to 6.30pm (closes between 4.30pm and 5.30pm in the colder months). Entry €12/about R155; children under six free. zoovienna.at

THE BRONX ZOO, NEW YORK
This zoo in Bronx Park is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States. Spread out over 107 hectares of native forest and constructed exotic landscapes, the zoo also maintains this ‘bigger is better’ approach in its animal population (more than 17 800), number of species (1210), number of visitors (4-million a year) and the conservation work (in more than 60 countries) of its founder, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS, formerly the New York Zoological Society).

The zoo opened in November 1899 as the New York Zoological Park. Its naturalistic, park-like settings and carefully considered simulations of the animal’s native habitats were markedly different to the small exhibits in other zoos of the day. Architectural historian Victoria Newhouse describes the original Bronx Zoo as a ‘brilliant precedent’ and says moated zoos did not gain ascendancy until the 1930s. Bronx Zoo had the world’s first predator-prey exhibit, with only dry moats separating lions and nyalas.

Despite its rich history, the Bronx Zoo is fighting for its survival with state funding for the 2010 financial year at risk of being cut altogether. But if any zoo is game for a big, boisterous claws-out fight, it’s this one.

ANIMAL ATTRACTION: The Tiger Enrichment programme gives visitors the chance to get up close and personal with Amur tigers on a woodland that closely mirrors the felines’ Russian home. During three daily tiger-feeding and enrichment demonstrations, zoo staff reveal how training, toys and games help keep the tigers fit and stimulated.

Other inhabitants of the zoo include grizzly bears, pygmy marmosets, snow leopards and black-tailed prairie dogs that are more rodent than hound. The Lion House is also home to the Madagascar! exhibit, including lemurs, crocodiles and hissing cockroaches.

NEED TO KNOW: Open daily 10am to 5/5.30pm (in winter 4.30pm). Entry $15/about R140; kids under two free. bronxzoo.com