Description of the attraction
Park "Bonbin Surabaya" is a zoo located in the city of Surabaya, East Java province. Surabaya is the administrative center of the East Java province and one of the main ports in Indonesia. In addition, Surabaya is considered the second largest city in Indonesia.
Park "Bonbin Surabaya" is located near the city center and is considered one of the largest, as well as one of the best zoos in Southeast Asia. The total area of this zoo is 15 hectares.
The zoo was founded on August 31, 1916 by decree of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, and the first inhabitants of the zoo were animals, which were collected by the journalist Commer. The zoo was originally located in Kaliondo, but in September 1917 the zoo moved to another street. The zoo officially received its visitors in April 1918. In 1920, the zoo changed its location again and moved to an area owned by a steam tram company. In 1922, unfortunately, the zoo suffered a financial crisis and there was even a plan to close the zoo. But the municipality of the city of Surabaya did not support this, in 1923 the leadership of the zoo was changed. In 1927, the zoo was financed with the support of the mayor of Surabaya, and new land was purchased for the zoo. Since 1939, the territory of the zoo has gradually expanded and reached 15 hectares.
In 1987, restoration work was carried out at the zoo, cages for animals and aviaries for birds were repaired. In addition, the collection of birds was replenished that year, some of the birds were donated by private American collectors. It is worth noting that among the feathered inhabitants of the zoo there is a Balinese starling, this bird species lives only in the western part of the island of Bali. Visitors to the zoo can see the Komodo dragon, also called the giant Indonesian monitor lizard. In total, the zoo is home to over 3000 animals and birds.
