Haifa Educational Zoo

The Haifa Educational Zoo, named after the late Louis Ariel Goldschmidt, was founded in 1949 by the late educator and agronomist Pinchas Cohen, the first teacher of environmental studies in Haifa and one of the founders of the Hebrew Reali School and "Messhotetim" Scouts' tribe.

Besides the animals, the zoo' grounds contain a botanical garden, a library, the prehistoric museum and a biology institute, and a school that teaches environmental and nature studies. More than 20,000 students come each year from all parts of the country,

The Zoo is situated at the lower, northern part of the Lotem River (Wadi Lotem) - one the most beautiful nature reserves on the Carmel Mountain, which borders on "Gan HaEm" (Mother's Park) in the Carmel Center. Its overall area is estimated at roughly 30 dunams.

Recently, the zoo underwent extensive renovations due to the generous grants of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Reali, senior residents of Haifa, who previously made contributions for the welfare of the city's residents.

The renovation has turned the zoo into one of the most modern of its kind. The old infrastructure was replaced with new facilities, and modern, updated animal display cages were built. No more fences and concrete walls, rather open display areas allowing direct observation of the animals. Service facilities were also added for visitors.

The zoo contains more than one hundred types of animals, some rare, reptiles, birds and mammals, amounting to a total some 350 creatures. Alongside traditional zoo animals such as tiger, bear, wolf, hyena, apes and grass eaters, viewers can also enjoy the impressive variety of native and international snakes and reptiles seen in an air conditioned reptile aquarium, which consists of display spaces designed to fit the animals' natural living habitat. One of the new attractions is a children's petting zoo, where children can enjoy petting, holding and getting their picture taken with different animals such as a goat, spotted deer,bunny, hamster, different birds and reptiles, snakes included. Another refreshing novelty: the "open" displays, which allow the public to walk through and become familiar with the animals' natural habitat. These display spaces include waterfowl, vultures and lemurs, lovely gibbons that live in the wild and are native only to the island of Madagascar. Moreover, for the first time ever, live alligators can be seen in the zoo in display spaces that mimic the animals' natural living environment.

The zoo signposts are illuminated and include up to date information on each animal, as well as directions to all the attractions and service facilities.

And don't forget to visit the Botanical Garden located at the heart of the zoo, home to dozens of tree and bush species from both the Carmel Mountain and Israel in general. There's also the Prehistoric Museum which covers the evolution of man in the Carmel region.

Haifa Zoo has recently been accepted into the prestigious European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). Membership in this organization allows us, among other things, to exchange rare animals with other zoos around the world and participate in major international projects for the preservation and treatment of endangered species.

Address: 124 Hatishbi Street, Haifa.

Telephone: 04-8372390, 04-8372886.