Korkeasaari Zoo

Korkeasaari Zoo, also known as Helsinki Zoo, is a zoological garden on Korkeasaari island in Helsinki, Finland. Opened in 1889, it is the country’s largest zoo and one of Helsinki’s best-known visitor attractions. The zoo combines public education, animal care, wildlife conservation, research cooperation and recreation, with its island setting forming a central part of its identity. The institution originated in a late-nineteenth-century plan to develop Korkeasaari as a managed public park. Before the zoo was established, the island was already used by Helsinki residents for leisure and contained a restaurant. The Helsinki Liquor Company, Helsingfors Utskänkningsaktiebolag, leased the island and sought to regulate public entertainment there. As part of that effort, it supported the creation of a zoo. An earlier proposal to place a zoo in Alppila was narrowly rejected by Helsinki’s city council, while the Korkeasaari plan proceeded and opened in 1889. For much of its history, Korkeasaari Zoo was administered by the City of Helsinki. The city assumed ownership of the property in 1920 after the liquor company’s finances deteriorated during the First World War and collapsed following Finland’s Prohibition. The zoo remained under municipal administration until the end of 2017. From 2018 onward, its operations, grounds, properties and service development have been managed by the Korkeasaari Zoo Foundation, a public-benefit nonprofit organization. Korkeasaari’s collection emphasizes animals capable of living in Finland’s northern climate, especially species associated with Europe and Asia. Examples include Amur tigers, snow leopards, Przewalski’s horses, Barbary macaques, snowy owls, bearded vultures and European otters. Its collection also includes tropical species in the Amazonia and Africasia buildings, where visitors can see smaller mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and insects. The zoo has adjusted its collection over time to reflect climate suitability and conservation priorities; for example, Barbary macaques replaced hamadryas baboons after the latter were phased out in 2013. Conservation is a defining part of the institution’s positioning. Korkeasaari is a full member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and also participates in the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It contributes to coordinated ex-situ conservation programs, breeding cooperation and reintroduction projects. The zoo holds European studbooks for markhors, European forest reindeer and snowy owls and acts as a conservation coordinator for those species. It also operates a Wildlife Hospital for injured and orphaned wild animals and runs a nature school for children. The zoo is accessible from Helsinki through Mustikkamaa and, following the development of the Crown Bridges network, through bridge connections from Nihti and Laajasalo. Its public-facing offer therefore extends beyond animal exhibits to include island recreation, environmental learning, family activities and conservation communication. Korkeasaari’s principal audience is domestic and regional, especially residents and visitors to Helsinki, while its conservation partnerships connect it to the broader European and international zoo community.

Korkeasaari island was a recreational destination for Helsinki residents before it became the site of a zoo. In the late nineteenth century, the island included a restaurant, but alcohol-related disturbances led to efforts to manage the location as a more controlled public park. The Helsinki Liquor Company, Helsingfors Utskänkningsaktiebolag, leased the island and became involved in plans to provide organized and respectable public entertainment. The company supported the idea of establishing a zoo in Helsinki. A proposed location in Alppila was narrowly rejected by the city council, but the alternative plan for Korkeasaari was accepted. The zoo opened in 1889, establishing the institution that later became known as Korkeasaari Zoo or Helsinki Zoo. The zoo’s early institutional structure was connected to the liquor company and the management of the island. During the First World War, a temporary prohibition on alcohol sales weakened the company’s finances. When Finland introduced Prohibition in 1919, the company’s financial position collapsed. In 1920, Korkeasaari Zoo and its property passed to the City of Helsinki, bringing the institution under municipal ownership and administration. The city managed the zoo for most of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Over time, Korkeasaari developed from a local animal display into a modern zoological institution with a collection adapted to Finland’s climate, international breeding cooperation, conservation programs, public education and wildlife rescue. Its tropical buildings, Amazonia and Africasia, expanded the range of species that could be presented despite the country’s cold outdoor conditions. Collection management has reflected both husbandry requirements and conservation priorities. The zoo has traditionally focused on European and Asian species that can live outdoors in Finnish conditions, while tropical species are housed in specialized indoor environments. Hamadryas baboons were kept from the 1960s until 2013, after which Barbary macaques were introduced as a species considered better suited to the local climate. The institution’s conservation role has grown through membership in major zoo and conservation networks. Korkeasaari participates in European ex-situ population programs and reintroduction initiatives, and it holds or coordinates European studbooks for markhors, European forest reindeer and snowy owls. It also operates a Wildlife Hospital for injured and orphaned wild animals and maintains a nature school for children, broadening its role from exhibition to environmental learning and direct wildlife support. A major governance change occurred at the end of 2017, when responsibility moved from Helsinki city administration to the Korkeasaari Zoo Foundation. Since 2018, the foundation has maintained the zoo, managed its land and properties, and developed visitor services. It operates as a public-benefit nonprofit rather than as a profit-seeking commercial company. Korkeasaari remains an important Helsinki attraction, supported by connections through Mustikkamaa and the Crown Bridges network linking the island with Nihti and Laajasalo. Its contemporary identity is built around accessible urban recreation combined with animal welfare, conservation, education and cooperation with international zoological organizations.

• 2018

  Korkeasaari Zoo Foundation assumes management

  [1]Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org

  The Korkeasaari Zoo Foundation begins maintaining the zoo, managing its properties and developing its services as a public-benefit nonprofit.

• 2017

  Municipal administration ends

  [1]Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org

  Korkeasaari Zoo operates under Helsinki city administration for the final time during 2017.

• 2013

  Barbary macaques replace hamadryas baboons

  [1]Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org

  The zoo ends its long-running hamadryas baboon display and introduces Barbary macaques, considered more suitable for Finland’s climate.

• 1920

  Zoo becomes a City of Helsinki property

  [1]Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org

  Following the financial collapse of the Helsinki Liquor Company after wartime restrictions and Prohibition, Korkeasaari Zoo passes to the City of Helsinki.

• 1889

  Zoo opens on Korkeasaari island

  [1]Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org

  The Helsinki zoo opens on Korkeasaari after a proposal to locate the zoo in Alppila was rejected by the city council.

A nonprofit, conservation-oriented urban zoo that combines Finnish nature education, climate-appropriate animal exhibits, family recreation and international species-protection cooperation.

• Zoo attraction · 1889

  Korkeasaari Zoo visit

  The core visitor offering is an island-based zoo experience in Helsinki. It includes animal habitats, seasonal activities, interpretation and access to the zoo’s conservation and education programs. The collection is oriented toward species that can tolerate Finland’s climate, supplemented by indoor tropical environments.

• Tropical house

  Amazonia

  Amazonia is one of Korkeasaari’s tropical buildings. It provides controlled indoor environments for tropical animals that cannot live outdoors in Finland, including smaller mammals, amphibians, snakes, birds, fish and insects, while supporting the zoo’s educational presentation of tropical biodiversity.

• Tropical house

  Africasia

  Africasia is a tropical indoor facility presenting species from African and Asian environments. Alongside animal viewing, it helps the zoo interpret ecosystems and adaptations that cannot be represented in Helsinki’s outdoor climate.

• Wildlife rescue

  Wildlife Hospital

  The Wildlife Hospital treats injured and orphaned wild animals. It extends Korkeasaari’s public-benefit role beyond its managed collection and provides a practical point of contact between the zoo, wildlife welfare and the public.

• Environmental education

  Nature school

  Korkeasaari’s nature school provides environmental learning for children. It supports the zoo’s educational mission by connecting visits and animal interpretation with broader understanding of nature, biodiversity and conservation.

1. 1Korkeasaari Zooen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Korkeasaari Zoo official websitekorkeasaari.fi