Opened on 1 August 1844, the Zoologischer Garten Berlin was the second zoo in Germany after the short-lived "Thiergarten" in Hamburg-Horn.

The first animals were donated by Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, from the menagerie at Pfaueninsel island and pheasantry of the Tiergarten.

[6] Zoo director Lutz Heck was named chief of the Oberste Naturschütz Behörde im Reichsforstamt (highest nature preservation agency in the state department of forestry) by his friend Hermann Göring in the summer of 1938 and in this capacity he was the senior responsible person for the entire nature management.

[7] During World War II, the zoo area was hit by Allied bombs for the first time on 8 September 1941.

Most damage was done during the Battle of Berlin: from 22 April 1945 onwards, the zoo was under constant artillery fire of the Red Army.

Following the zoo's destruction, it and the associated aquarium was reconstructed on modern principles so as to display the animals in as close to their natural environment as feasible.

[8] There was virtually no public attention paid to the zoo's Third Reich history until 2000, when Werner Cohn, whose father was a former shareholder, wrote to enquire about the fate of those shares.

The zoo initially denied that Jewish shareholders were forced to sell their shares, but as a public scandal ensued, it ultimately acknowledged this.

[11] The number of larger animals displayed has gradually thinned as enclosures become increasingly designed to recreate natural habitat.

Berlin Zoo supports conservationists in other countries (for instance, in Madagascar) and as a partner of the Stiftung Artenschutz [de], a species protection foundation.

The zoo houses four types of great ape: orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos.

The bird house presents a walk-through aviary and offers a broad variety of forms, including several regularly breeding species of hornbills and many parrots.

[12] In addition to fish and other aquatic life, it is home to most of the zoo's reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

Because of this, the cub was largely responsible for a significant increase in revenue, estimated at five million euros, at the Berlin Zoo in 2007.

[18] The same year, Blaszkiewitz admitted to breaking the necks of several feral domestic housecat kittens found at the zoo.

They also criticised the fact that quality in the area of education was no longer a priority, although this is one of the main tasks of a scientifically working zoo.

These accusations highlighted problems within the organisation and led to a wave of terminations by the zoo and resignations from dissatisfied employees.