[9] It has had repeated breeding success with animals including cheetahs (18 births),[10] okapi (22),[11] pygmy hippopotamuses (53),[12] and flamingos (over 400 hatches).

[13] Every Somali wild ass (a donkey) in zoos worldwide is related to the population in Basel, where this species' zoological breeding program was started.

According to Zoo Basel, its "exhibits are designed not to reveal everything at the first glance and are planned to invite visitors to stop and make personal observations.

The aquarium (called Vivarium in Basel) was opened in 1972 and has had several notable breeding successes through the years.

During the winter months, the gentoo and king penguins have access to an outdoor area and can be observed walking from the Vivarium to it every morning around eleven.

[30] Gamgoas is part of the Etosha theme area, but it refers mainly to the lion and crocodile house.

"[31] In the Gamgoas house are two colonies of termites, one chameleon, five Nile crocodiles, several dozen East African cichlids (fish), a semi-large information exhibition, and three lion observation windows.

The 30-million Swiss franc project[35] was completed in the fall of 2012 with the opening of the outdoor exhibits, which are now about thirty times larger than before.

[37] In the rhinoceros exhibit, Indian rhinoceroses, muntjacs, and oriental small-clawed otters share the outdoor area.

In 1935, the forerunner of the WAZA (the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens or IUDZG) was founded in Basel.

As such, the new pair of female cheetahs that came to Basel in 2001 did not show interest in the presented males and had no offspring - until "Survivor" came from Vienna in 2006.

[43] In 2008, Basel's Ahadi fathered the first okapi birth in the Czech Republic and Slovakia at Zoo Dvur Kralove.

[44] Zoo Basel started its breeding program for pygmy hippopotamuses in 1928, which has resulted in 53 hippo births.

[45] In 1870, the Ornithologiegesellschaft together with the city of Basel started a project of establishing a zoo where visitors could see Swiss and European animals.

[46] On opening day, many visitors flocked to the zoo and saw mainly Swiss animals, such as bears, lynx, otters, and mountain goats.

[46] In 1884, the Zolli nearly doubled its area from 4,3 ha by adding the Sautergarten in the south towards Binningen and built a festival meadow in its center.

[47] On this meadow people from Nubier, Marocco and Singhalesen built traditional villages and performed war and other ceremonial dances.

During the past years, Zoo Basel focused on renovating and expanding existing exhibits, mainly to combine them into larger theme areas.

The hippos no longer had an indoor pond, the four rhino boxes were converted into two large stalls with a soft, jungle-like, wooden floors and a bath was added.

[53] On April 10, 2013, Zoo Basel published following update: "Construction work on the new elephant enclosure will begin in August [2013].

As well as elephants, the zoo plans to house guinea fowl, white storks, harvester ants and Norway rats.

"[54]On March 17, 2009, Zoo Basel announced its intent to build Switzerland's first large-scale ocean aquarium.

Mainly through private donors, a 70-million-Swiss-franc building[55] is planned to be built on the Heuwaage square and will extend into the downtown nightlife strip of Steinen.

Two hours after birth he weighed 60.5 kg and was 105 cm long and quickly gained 1.5 kilograms per day.

He became a celebrity sensation at the Jersey Zoo where on August 31, 1986 he cared for a 5-year-old boy who fell into the gorilla habitat.

She came to Basel on November 1, 1952, and was, while living, nine years older than North Americas oldest African elephant Hy-Dari at Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ruaha was found dead in the outdoor exhibit early morning on Thursday, July 29, 2010, by her zoo keeper.

[67] Farasi is a male hippopotamus that became world-famous when news broke that zoo officials apparently intended to kill him and feed him to the lions (or tigers, as per MSNBC).

[70] On November 17, 2010, Farasi left Zoo Basel to Tshukudu Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

The wounds were not severe, but a veterinarian was called; Farasi had to be tranquilized and was brought back to safety in an enclosure with an electric fence.