Târgu Mureș Zoo

Târgu Mureș Zoo is on the Cornești Plateau, at 57 Strada Verii, in the east of the city, at 488 m above sea level and 197 m above the city centre. It lies within a forest of about 500 hectares, recorded in documents as early as the fifteenth century, of which 45 hectares are taken up by the zoo and the Cornești Plateau park. The idea of a zoo first arose in 1948, and in 1964 the city authorities entrusted the agricultural engineer László Rend with setting it up. The zoo opened on 23 August 1964 on about 600-700 m², with ten animals: three wolves, two bears, two wild boars, two pheasants and a roe deer. In 1965 its area was enlarged to 20 hectares, and in 1967 the lion pavilion, its first large building, was completed. Under director Boldizsár Bereczki the tropical house (1978), the bear and tiger enclosure (1986) and the monkey house (1989) were built. Between 2008 and 2011 the zoo was renovated and extended to 42 hectares, with new habitats for bears, wolves, big cats and waterfowl. Today it is home to about 800 animals of more than 150 local and exotic species. There is a semi-reserve for bears and wolves, another for European herbivores, an African pavilion for giraffes, elephants and other African herbivores, a farmyard with native breeds and a panoramic tower. It is the only zoo in Romania that keeps elephants, giraffes and gibbons. Public feedings and educational programmes take place every day. The 2.5-hectare Cornești Plateau is also managed by the zoo and has a playground, a fitness park, running and cycling tracks and an amphitheatre. In the warm season (May-September) the plateau can also be reached by bus, and cars stay in the car park at the entrance.