🦁 Baghdad Zoo

The Baghdad Zoo is a 200-acre (81 ha) zoo originally opened in 1971 and located in Baghdad, Iraq, in the Al-Zawraa Park area along with the Al Zawra’a Dream Park and Zawra'a Tower. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the zoo housed 650 animals. After being nearly destroyed during the 2003 Iraqi war, when only about 35 animals survived, the zoo was reopened in 2003 and now houses about 1,070 animals.