Opened in 1929, it is the third oldest zoo in Switzerland (after Basel and Arth-Goldau) and it accumulated a collection of 2,200 specimens of 300 species by its seventy-fifth year.

One of its popular events is the penguin parade, which is performed daily after noon if the outside temperature is below ten degrees Celsius.

The most famous attractions are the Asian elephant exhibit and Masoala Hall, which are inside of a large dome.

[3] The zoo made international headlines in July 2020 when a Siberian tiger mauled a zookeeper to death in front of members of the public.

To house these ecosystems - Eurasia, South America and Africa/Madagascar - the zoo was geographically divided into distinct zones.