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Riga Zoo is a city-owned zoo in Riga, Latvia. It is located in Mežaparks, on the western bank of Ķīšezers lake. Riga Zoo houses around 4000 animals of nearly 500 species and is visited by 250-300,000 visitors annually. The zoo has a branch "Cīruļi" in Liepāja District, Kalvene parish, established in 1996, it has an area of . ==History== In 1908 a society was established to coordinate the formation of the zoo, and in April 1911, of land was allocated for this purpose. The zoo was opened to the public on 14 October 1912; it housed 267 animals of 88 species at the time. Many animals were donated to the zoo; in 1914, the zoo received 538 animals. During World War I the zoo experienced hardships and closed in August 1917 after German army occupied Riga city; after the war a camp for children of low income families was established at the site. On 29 December 1932 a society was established, which renewed the zoo and it was reopened on 24 September 1933 housing 124 animals of 48 species; by 1938 number of species had increased to 106. During World War II the development of the zoo stalled; however, animals and buildings of zoo were preserved and on 9 November 1944 the zoo was opened to the public again. After the war, the zoo experienced rapid growth and was considered one of the best zoos in Soviet Union. In 1950, an aquarium was created and in 1955 a tour guide service was created. However, construction of new housing for the animals failed to match the growth of the zoo, new housing, such as a flamingo house and a bear house, were built in 1980-1985. In 1987, the zoo housed 2150 animals of 401 species. In 1988 the zoo began work on the reintroduction of the European tree frog; as a result, the species now can be found in the wild in many parts of Courland. After Latvia regained its independence in 1991, the zoo experienced hard times as the number of visitors, which had ranged from 250-300,000 visitors annually, was reduced to some 110,000. To attract visitors, the zoo began several development projects and worked on public relations and now the number of visitors is once again about 250-300,000 annually. In 1992, the zoo joined the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. In 1996 zoo established an affiliate "Cīruļi". Several new animal houses have been built in 1990s and 2000s. In 2002, an additional 0.035 km2 of land was incorporated into the zoo. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Riga Zoo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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