National Zoological Garden

Our History
The National Zoological Gardens, Dehiwala – more commonly called Colombo Zoo – has a long history. In the early years of the 20th century, John Hagenbeck, brother of the famous animal trainer, Carl Hagenbeck had established the Ceylon Zoological Gardens as a company at Dehiwala. The 11-acre plot of land was used by the Hagenbecks as a collecting depot for captured wild animals destined for the Zoos of Europe. However, the company was bankrupt in 1936 and was purchased by the Government.
Initially the Zoo came under the purview of the Government Agent of Colombo and was headed by a Superintendent. When it was made an autonomous department in 1946, the main aim was to satisfy people’s curiosity and thus the Zoo was more focused on entertainment rather than conservation.
The first director, Major Aubrey Weinman, built cages to house an ever-increasing number of animals. He also introduced animal shows, such as the elephant performance and the chimpanzee tea party, which brought in thousands of visitors.
In 1970s and 80s vast advancements were made in Zoo management. The Zoo soon became the pioneer of the open Zoo concept in Asia. For most animals menagerie concept of old was abandoned for open spaces and ‘soft’ barriers instead of bars. The educational functionality of a Zoo as a tool of scientific research and conservation was also realized.
Type of exhibits and many other associated features have taken into account for animal enclosures with the changes of new zoo concept the existing techniques. Numbers of species in exhibits were scaled down and many animals were given significant spaces in order to facilitate their natural behavior.

MOBILE EXHIBITION UNIT
It comprises of selected stuffed animals, educational descriptive boards, selected animal skulls and horns etc. Schools and Universities can obtain the service of the mobile exhibition unit for their exhibitions and other events with prior booking.
Live snakes are given strictly for academic purposes.

ZOO LIBRARY
It consists of subject related special books, journals, magazines etc. Students / visitors need educational services can use the library with the prior permission of the Assistant Director (Dehiwala zoo).

SALES CENTER
Sales center provides various types of gifts and educational materials.

MUSEUM
It is a place for students and other enthusiast visitors to observe native and exotic animal morphology and anatomy. Demonstrations, short descriptions and lectures are provided on request for more details.

Animals

Amazing Primates
Primates (Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes) are the most active mammals in the zoo.Brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus albifrons), Ring tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and Slender Loris sub species (Loris tardigrates)are primitive Primates in the zoo.
There are around 16 varieties of monkeys. Purple Faced Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus vetulus) is endemic while Toque Monkey (Macaca sinica sinica) sub species is endemic.
Swinging style and jumping from branch to branch using prehensile tails attract visitors to drawn Spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth).Monkeys in family groups with mothers caring babies, it is worth to see attraction great apes Orang Utans and Chimpanzees.

Aquarium
The aquarium, which is a star attraction of the zoo, consists freshwater, marine and brackish water sections. It was established for 40 years.
Many fish species and corals, mollusks, echinoderms and arthropods are in 22 tanks.Visitors could observation most behavior patterns of these aquatic organisms such as breeding, colonization, symbiosis and competition etc., from outside the tank.
There are 50 fish species identified as endemic to Sri Lanka. Out of them many different varieties are exhibited in the aquarium. Very rare varieties of fish including endemics have been bred in the aquarium and in zoo ponds as well.
An Amphibian section has been opened in side the aquarium to make aware the public on Amphibians.
Currently there are three tanks with Amphibians, where as six species are living in their near natural conditions. Endemic frog species Polypedates cruciger is among the six Amphibian species.

Birds
Sri Lanka is incredibly rich in birds. There are 453 species of avifauna. The distribution of these birds varies with habitats and climatic changes. Nearly 225 species of residents including 33 species of endemics make huge avian diversity in this island.
Large number of different varieties of birds colour the zoo. Bird section comprises of, beautiful parrot species, flightless birds, aquatic and semi aquatic birds and many other flying birds.
Group of Flamingos beautifies the entrance of the zoo. Ostrich, the fastest and largest flightless bird occupies the close by enclosure at the entrance and other two flightless birds, Cassowary and Emu occupy the rear enclosures.
There are two walk-in aviaries; one is for endemic and indigenous birds and the other one is for exotic birds. Visitors can observe freely flying birds, inside beautifully landscaped aviaries under shady and cool environment.
Swan pond is another attractive place in the zoo. A large waterfall flows steady downward from high elevation and the island at the center provide a natural habitat for aquatic birds.
Number of different types of free-living aquatic and semi aquatic birds could observe at another pond of the zoo. Night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), Cormorant (Phalacocorax species), Egrets (Egretta species) and Spotted Billed Pelicans (Pelecanus philippensis) are nesting around the pond. Flocks of Pelicans live in out side the zoo used to come here for feeding time.
Some migratory birds like Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) also could observe here during the migratory season, November to February.
Most colorful birds like Macaws, Pheasants, and Lovebirds etc., please eyes of the visitors. Visitors can observe carnivore adaptations of birds from the birds of prey like Owls, Eagles and Kites etc.

Butterfly Garden
Almost 245 species of butterflies have been recorded in Sri Lanka, of which 26 species are endemic and 100 species are threatened.
The Zoo has a small but attractive butterfly garden, which is rich in shrubs and flowers. A small stream flows through the butterfly garden, makes the surrounding more pleasant and cool.
Though there are so many butterflies flying throughout the zoo, Butterfly Park is the place where visitors should visit to see different varieties of butterflies in a beautifully landscaped area. Flowering plants and feeding plants of butterflies make this place more attractive.
Around 30 species of butterflies could observe here. In addition to the natural nectar, butterflies are fed with artificially provided bee honey and fruit juice and also fresh fruit pieces are provided to suck juices. Not only butterflies but other stages of butterfly life cycle also display there, in order to educate visitors.

Cats
Cat family (family Felidae) members are prominent among carnivores in the zoo. Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), African Lion (Panthera leo) and Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) are the big cats found in the zoo.
Both orange and white Bengal Tigers could see here. The Sri Lankan leopard colloquially known as “Kotiya” and “Diviyā” in Sinhala, is a subspecies of leopard native to Sri Lanka and it is the country’s top predator. Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), Rusty spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi) and Jungle cat (Felis chaus kelaarti) are the small indigenous cats found in the country and in the zoo as well.

Elephants
African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) and Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus maximus) are different species that live in different parts of the world. You can see both species in the Dehiwala Zoo. There are six Asian Elephants and one African eEephant (Loxodonta africana).Any body can see the educational display of Elephants in every evening at free of charge.

Reptilium
Sri Lankan reptiles count nearly 209 known species with great diversity. These reptiles consist of snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles and tortoises. Almost 125 species of them are endemic to Sri Lanka.
Approximately 32 species of reptiles inclusive of foreign species exhibit in the Reptilium.
Two types of Sri Lankan Crocodiles, Marsh Crocodile (Crocodylus patustris) and Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) with the Galapagos Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) are at the entrance of the Reptilium to welcome the visitors. Cuban Crocodile, Indian Gavial, False Gavial and three Dwarf crocodiles, the smallest crocodile species in the world enhance the value of the Crocodile collection.
Tortoises and Terrapins live in harmony with Rhinoceros, Iguanas and False Gavial. Snakes dwell in – house section of the Reptilium. Russell’s viper (Daboia russelli), Sri Lankan Cobra (Naja naja), Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Ceylon Krait (Bangarus ceylonicus) and Hump Nosed Viper (Hypnale hypnale) are found in the zoo out of the seven species of highly poisonous snakes in Sri Lanka. Albino form of Sri Lankan Cobra also found here.
Pythons with their gigantic size and elongated bodies astonish visitors. Being a famous character in movie world Green Anacondas have drawn special attraction of the visitors, especially children.
Even the indoor enclosures are made to receive sunlight and ventilation and therefore have facilitated snakes to live with nature.

Hoofed Animals
They are mammals that have hooves in feet. Depending on the number of hooves, they are classified as even toed mammals (Artiodactyla) and odd toed mammals (Perisodactyla).
Visitors are quickly fascinated at the entrance of the zoo, by a group of Chapman’s Zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum). Visitors do not miss the chance of pose in to a photograph in front of the zebra enclosure where can see galloping, jumping and eating Zebra family behind.
Being highly endangered and second largest animal in the land, Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) family receive the attention of almost all visitors. Rhinoceros, Domestic Ass (Mule), African Wild Ass (Donkey), Przewalsk’s Wild Horse and Pony are the odd-toed mammals (Perrissodactyla) could see in the zoo.
Majority of even-toed Mammals (Artiodactyla) in the zoo are from family Cervidae. There are native species such as Sambhur, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer and Hog Deer and exotic species such as Japanese Sika Deer, Mongolian Deer etc., belong to family Cervdae. Deer species live in herds. The antlers in most of the males give elegant appearance to the herd.
Two species of Mouse Deer family, Moschiola meminna and Moschiola indica, are in the zoo. Moschiola meminna is endemic and in the dry forests of Sri Lanka.
African continent animals, Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) and Pygmy Hippopotamus (He xaprotodon liberiensis) are semi aquatic even toed mammals found spending most of the time in the water.
In addition to Hippos, Rhinos and African Elephant (Loxodonta africana), the tallest land-living and the largest ruminant Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), Greater Kudu (Hippotragus niger), Red Lechwe (Leche leche), Scimmitar Horned Oryx (Oryx dama gazella) and Wild Buffaloes (Syncerus cafer) are some key African Mammal species in the zoo.
One who visits the zoo should not forget Elephants. A group of Sri Lankan Elephants (Elephas maximus maximus), some females and ‘Bandula’ one of the largest male Elephant in the country ‘Bandula’ are living harmony in elephant area with African elephant ‘Joe’.
Some Rodents like Indian Crested Porcupine, largest Rodent found in Sri Lanka, Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) and Rabbits enhance the diversity Zoo animal collection.

Activities

MEET THE SEA LION “CHAKKU”
1600 hrs
Location :- Aquarium

HELLO TO ELEPHANTS
1630 hrs
Location :- Elephant arena number 02

MEET OUR BIRDS
3.00 pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Location :- Elephant arena number 02

SNAKES ARE OUR FRIENDS
1430 hrs
Saturday and Sunday
Location :- Elephant arena number 01

SPECIAL SHOWS
Meet the Sea Lion “Chakku” – LKR 3000.00
Hello To Elephants – LKR 5000.00
Meet Our Birds – LKR 3000.00

Birthday Parties – Out of the box and into the nature
Take your birthday party out of hotels or homes and join with the nature. Children can enjoy the beautiful environment of Dehiwala Zoological Gardens.
Holding a party at Colombo zoo is easy.
Two Birthday Party Packages are available:
• Lawn with Animals LKR 5,000.00
Animals – Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, Tortoise, Brahmini kites, Cockatoos, Python etc.
• Lawn without Animals LKR 3,000.00
You can bring your own refreshments or can receive from our food outlets.
Select your need and contact Assistant Director (Dehiwala Zoo)
Send your request through zoosl@slt.lk, by hand, post or fax

Visitor Information

Opening Hours
8.30 hrs – 18.00 hrs, every day. (Last ticket sale at 17.30 hrs)

Entrance Fees
Sri Lankans
Adult LKR 100.00
Children LKR 30.00 (3-12 Years)
Children LKR 20.00
School/Nursery Group

Overseas Visitors
Adult LKR 2500.00
Children LKR 1250.00

SAARC Visitors
Adult LKR 700.00
Children LKR 350.00