Chester Zoo
Coordinates:
53°13′36″N 2°53′3″W / 53.22667°N
2.88417°W / 53.22667; -2.88417
Chester Zoo
Chester Zoological Gardens
Date
opened
1931
Location
Chester, Cheshire, England
Land area
111 acres (0.449 km²)
Coordinates
53°13′36″N 2°53′3″W / 53.22667°N
2.88417°W / 53.22667; -2.88417
Number of
animals
9019+ (2007)
Number of
species
422 (2007)
Major
exhibits
Elephants of the Asian Forest,
Realm of the Red Ape
Tsavo Black Rhino Experience
Spirit of the Jaguar
Official website
Chester Zoo is a zoological garden located in Cheshire in
north west England. It was opened in 1931 by George
Mottershead and his family, who used as a basis some
animals reported to have come from an earlier zoo in
Shavington.[1] It is the one of the UK’s largest zoos at
111 acres (0.45 km2).[2] The zoo has a total land holding
of approximately 400 acres (1.6 km2).
Chester Zoo is currently operated by the North of
England Zoological Society, a registered charity founded
in 1934. The Zoo receives no government funding. It is
the most-visited wildlife attraction in Britain with more
than 1.3 million visitors in 2007.[3] In the same year
Forbes described it as one of the best fifteen zoos in the
world.[4]
History
Early history
The Mottershead family’s market garden business was
based in Shavington near Crewe. George Mottershead
collected animals such as lizards and insects that arrived
with exotic plants imported by the business. A visit to
Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester as a boy in 1903 fuelled his
developing interest in creating a zoo of his own.
Mottershead was wounded in World War I and spent
several years in a wheelchair. Despite this, his collection
of animals grew and he began to search for a suitable
home for his zoo. He chose Oakfield House in Upton, a
suburb of Chester, which he purchased for £3,500 in
1930.[5] The house had 9 acres (36,000 m2) of gardens
and provided easy access to the railways and to
Manchester and Liverpool. There were local objections,
but Mottershead prevailed, and Chester Zoo opened to
the public on 10 June 1931