Arignar Anna Zoological Park
The main entrance of the zoo
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| Date opened | 1855 (as Madras Zoo) 1985 (in current location) |
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| Date opening | 24 July 1985 |
| Location | Vandalur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Coordinates | 12°52′45″N 80°04′54″E / 12.87917°N 80.08167°ECoordinates: 12°52′45″N 80°04′54″E / 12.87917°N 80.08167°E |
| Land area | Total: 602 ha (1,490 acres) Zoo: 510 ha (1,300 acres) Rescue and Rehabilitation Center:92.45 ha (228.4 acres) |
| No. of animals | 2,200 (2016) |
| No. of species | 170 (2016) |
| Annual visitors | 2.21 million (2012-2013) |
| Memberships | CZA |
| Major exhibits | Tiger, leopard, lion (hybrid), wild dog, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, hyena, jackal, blackbucks, Indian bison, barking deer, sambhar, spotted deer, crocodile, snakes, water birds |
| Website | www |
Arignar Anna Zoological Park (abbreviated AAZP), also known as the Vandalur Zoo, is a zoological garden located in Vandalur, a suburb in the southwestern part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, about 31 kilometres (19 mi) from the city centre and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Chennai Airport. It is India's largest zoo in terms of area covering 1,300 acres. Its previous location was set up in 1855 and was the first public zoo in India. It is affiliated with the Central Zoo Authority of India. Spread over an area of 602 hectares (1,490 acres), including a 92.45-hectare (228.4-acre) rescue and rehabilitation centre, the park is the largest zoological garden in India. The zoo houses 2,553 species of flora and fauna across 1,265 acres (512 ha). As of 2012 the park houses around 1,500 wild species, including 46 endangered species, in its 160 enclosures. As of 2010, there were about 47 species of mammals, 63 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, 25 species of fishes, and 10 species of insects in the park. The park, with an objective to be a repository of the state's fauna, is credited with being the second wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu after Mudumalai National Park.
In 1854, Edward Green Balfour, the then director of the Government Central Museum at Madras, persuaded the Nawab of the Carnatic to donate his entire animal collection to the museum. This attracted large crowds and became the nucleus of the Madras Zoo, which was founded in 1855. Balfour started the zoo on the museum premises, and a year later it had over 300 animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. It was later transferred to the Madras Corporation and shifted to People's Park near Chennai Central railway station at Park Town in 1861, as it was growing. The municipal zoological garden occupied one end of the 116-acre (47 ha) park and was open free to the public.
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