The zoo covers about 80 acres (32 ha), and is home to many endangered species, as well as a selection of endemic fauna. Rare species have been successfully bred in the zoo - including the first Californian sea lion to be born in the Middle East in 2002. History
The zoo was built by Khedive Ismail and opened on 1 March 1891. It was built on about 50 feddan (21 hectares (52 acres)) that was once part of the harem gardens. Ismail imported many plants from India, Africa, and South America, of which a banyan tree planted about 1871 can still be seen. The original 180 birds and 78 other animals in the zoos collection were taken from Ismail's private menagerie. In the late 1870s the state took over the zoo as partial payment of the Ismail's debts. In January 1890, the harem building was opened as a natural history museum, and was used in this manner until a new museum was opened in Tahrir square in 1902. The portion of the gardens facing the Nile were sold to the public for large homes, but the harem gardens were kept intact. When the zoo was built, the exhibits with semi-natural habitats were considered spacious by European standards. The animal collection emphasized Egyptian species, and at one time claimed 20,000 individuals representing 400 species, though many of these may have been migratory birds. By the mid twentieth century, the zoo was considered one of the best zoos in the world, but it has had trouble adapting to the pressures of growth in the latter half of the century as human populations in Cairo have increased.
