Sapporo Maruyama Zoo

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo (札幌市円山動物園, Sapporo Maruyama Dōbutsuen) is a municipal zoo in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It opened on May 5, 1951.^[1]

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo
Main gate of Sapporo Maruyama Zoo
43°03′05″N 141°18′27″E
Date opened	1951
Location	Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Land area	22.5 ha
No. of animals	737
No. of species	168
Owner	Sapporo City
Website	www.city.sapporo.jp/zoo

The zoo is located within Maruyama Park in western Sapporo, and is the oldest zoo in Hokkaido.^[1]

History

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo officially opened in 1951 with its origin stemming from hosting a travelling zoo for the "Ueno Zoo". While hosting the travelling zoo, it received such a overwhelmingly good response from the residence that the City of Sapporo decided to open a zoo itself.^[2] The theme and the overarching philosophy of the Maruyama Zoo was to create habitats that mimic the natural environments that the animals originate from. Therefore, the exhibits host a variety of different habitats for various different animals with themes that correspond to their natural habitat. Throughout the decades the Zoo has opened new exhibits, notably the Wakuwaku Asia Zone that opened in 2012, and the Polar Bear Pavilion that opened in 2018; with the Polar bear Pavilion being the largest polar bear exhibit in Japan.

Incidents

Starting in 2010, the zoo tried for four years to mate two hyenas until they discovered they were both males.^[3][4]

Access

The zoo is approximately 15 minutes' walk from Maruyama-Kōen Station on the Tōzai Line.^[5]

Attractions and Animals

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo covers an area of 22.5 ha, and is home to 168 different species and 737 animals.^[5]

Exhibits	Animals
Polar bear pavilion (Opened in 2018)	Polar bear Spotted seal Harbor seal
Asian elephant house (Opened in 2018)	Asian elephant
Africa Zone (Fully opened in 2016) Africa zone consists of two pavilions, "Giraffe pavilion" and "Hippo and lion pavilion" .
Giraffe pavilion	Reticulated giraffe Common ostrich Naked mole rat Meerkat Serval
Hippo and lion pavilion	Great white pelican Hippopotamus Grant's Zebra African lion
Wakuwaku Asia Zone (Opened in 2012) Asia zone consists of three pavilions, "Frigid Zone pavilion", "Highlands pavilion", and "Tropical Rainforest pavilion".
Frigid Zone pavilion	Amur tiger Snow leopard
Highlands pavilion	Red panda Asian black bear
Tropical Rainforest pavilion	Lion-tailed macaque Celebes crested macaque Asian small-clawed otter Gibbon Lar Gibbon
Reptile House (Opened in 2011)	Aldabra giant tortoise False gharial Chinese alligator Rhinoceros iguana Burmese python Green anaconda Asian water monitor Gila monster Yellow-banded poison dart frog Cobalt Tree monitor Ezo Brown Frog Ezo Salamander Japanese rat snake Japanese forest rat snake Mamushi
Yezo sika deer and wolf house	Yezo sika deer Timberwolf
Yezo brown bear pavilion	Yezo brown bear
Chimpanzee pavilion	Chimpanzee
Snow monkey mountain	Japanese macaque
Tropical bird pavilion	American flamingo Chilean flamingo Red-capped cardinal Mandarin duck Toco toucan Indian peafowl Southern coati
Water bird house	Red-crowned crane Humboldt penguin White stork
Birds of prey house	Steller's sea eagle Japanese golden eagle White-tailed eagle Eurasian eagle-owl Blakiston's fish owl
Forest of owls and hawks	Hokkaido Ural owl Snowy owl Black kite Japanese buzzard Great horned owl
Monkey House	Ruffed lemur Ring-tailed lemur Tufted capuchin Diana monkey Olive baboon Mandrill De Brazza's monkey
Kangaroo pavilion	Eastern grey kangaroo Sunda slow loris Galah Bali Myna Black-tailed prairie dog Yezo tanuk
Children's Zoo	Common squirrel monkey North American beaver Raccoon Siberian flying squirrel Hokkaido Squirrel Mountain hare Guinea pig Chinese goose Sheep Pony Call duck Domestic rabbit Onagadori
Orangutan and Bornean Forest (Opened in spring 2024)	Bornean orangutan

See also

• Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA)
• Maruyama Park