Since its opening in 2012, the National Zoological Garden of Rabat has welcomed more than 6 million visitors, with an average of 500,000 visitors per year, ranking at the head of the capital’s most visited attractions and entertainment spaces. popular in the country.
The zoo is celebrating its 13th anniversary this January 2025, marked by the organization, from January 9 to 14, of festive activities and educational workshops aimed at promoting environmental education, as a space of discovery and learning for younger generations, indicates a press release from the National Zoological Garden of Rabat.
This celebration also constitutes an opportunity to review the role of the zoo in the preservation of biodiversity and environmental education and to take stock of its mission as a key player in wildlife conservation. Moroccan and African wildness, notes the same source. Made up of more than 2,000 animals representing 190 species, including the largest collection of Atlas lions in the world, the animal collection available on the site gives it the status of the first wildlife conservation platform on a national scale, with a bias towards Moroccan endemic species and African species, notes the press release. The conservation strategy is based on the constitution of founding nuclei of wild species extinct in the wild or in danger of extinction and the renewal of reproductive groups, either through new births or through new acquisitions from the network of zoos and from partner zoological institutions around the world. For example, more than 220 births were recorded in 2024 among Atlas lions, bald ibises, maggot monkeys, Thompson’s gazelles, addax and cuffed sheep and more than 50 animals were acquired from foreign zoos such as wild dogs, Saharan antelopes, reptiles and birds such as the houbara bustard.
In terms of actions in favor of the preservation of local biodiversity, various studies have been carried out on Moroccan species, their natural habitats and African ecosystems as part of scientific research projects and plans aimed at deepening knowledge and the exchange of expertise between the community of scientists and researchers on animal species, particularly the most vulnerable.
With a view to 2025 and with the objective of modernizing the visitor experience, the National Zoological Garden has planned the use of the digitalization of its platforms through connected solutions adapted to the contemporary needs of the public. At the same time, and in line with its conservation and scientific research strategy, a plan is deployed to diversify the zoo’s offering in terms of enriching its animal collection and improving animal welfare, while playing the role of hub open to different stakeholders in the field of wildlife studies on a regional scale.
Morocco
