Established in 1931 at the request of deceased Cecil Rhodes,[1] it was free of charge and a very popular attraction in Cape Town until its closure sometime between 1975 and 1985.

The zoo shut down due to a combination of the financial burden that the Apartheid government faced and an increase in animal welfare standards.

The most prominent feature of the zoo is the Lion's Den, both when it was open and today where it still stands, full of overgrown vegetation.

[1] In 1974, three students attempted to kidnap a lion cub in a drunken escapade following a University of Cape Town (UCT) rugby win.

One of the students, a winger on the team, was bitten by one of the lionesses and rushed to hospital,[4] where he fought infection for six months before eventually recovering.