Mitchell Park Zoo

Located in the suburb of Durban in South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, the Mitchell Park Zoo was established in the 1900s as a farm and was later converted into a zoo. Home to many animals such as ostriches, a sea elephant, a lynx, and yellow albatross, an eland, a Cape buffalo, a blesbok, and many more, you can interact and get close with these animals. The Mitchell Park Zoo was initially also run by the police department as the Mitchell Park police station was right next door.

At present, the Mitchell park zoo Durban has many animals including crocodiles, small antelope bucks, cranes, wallabies, monkeys, and tortoises. The oldest animal in the zoo is an Aldabra tortoise which is over 100 years old and was left by a naval officer. The animals in the zoo live in an area that resembles their natural habitat. You can walk through the aviary which will help you get close to the animals and interact with them.

The Mitchell Park Zoo was originally started in 1910 as an ostrich farm and when the owners were able to make profits, they decided not to add more animals to the farm. The animals which were first added to the zoo were leopards, crocodiles, and many birds. The zoo started becoming a popular destination when the Maharaja of Mysore gifted an Indian elephant named Nellie in 1928. The Elephant was known to perform many activities like crushing coconuts with its feet for the visitors. The Mitchell park zoo Durban currently is home to many animals ostriches, peacocks, and raccoons and the largest animal at the zoo is the Aldabra giant tortoise.