Established in 1872, the Lahore Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the world. It started as a small aviary that was donated by Lal Mahundra Ram. Gradually it developed and its animal collection also increased, today the Zoo houses about 1381 animals of 136 species including 996 birds of 82 species, 49 reptiles of 08 and 336 mammals of 45 species. It remained under the management of Lahore Municipal Corporation from 1872 to 1923. Thereafter, its control was given to Deputy Commissioner, Lahore until 1962. Then its management was placed under the Livestock and Dairy Development Department. Finally the management of Lahore Zoo was entrusted to the Wildlife & Parks Department in 1982. During the period 1872 to 1982, it remained a small entity with very little development taking place. Since its transfer to Wildlife Department 1982 there have occurred a number of changes in housing the exhibits, layout of buildings, landscape pattern, administration etc with these initiative/development it become self-financing organization and now it is self-reliant. It is located in the heart of the city and is easily accessible to the people belonging to all walks of life.

Lahore Zoo can boast of a collage of old and young trees; 1280 trees of 71 species make the environment worth living and visiting; a complete ecosystem with at least 30 wild birds species at one time and about 100 species during the year besides the small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and the invertebrates; unique in Lahore.

"To carry out ex-situ conservation of species and to actively contribute to Pakistan 's International commitment in terms of the Convention on Biological Diversity in addition to provide excellent educational and recreational facilities".

Annually 2.8 million visitors visit this recreational and educational place, which is un-matchable with any other park and zoos in Pakistan . There is one day record of 73100 visitors on 14 th August, 2001 . 3410 schools/colleges comprising 1,60,844 students visit in a year including 19 schools of special children comprising 593 students. It also provides research facilities to college/universities students in Pakistan and Foreign Organizations.

The Zoo has its own constitution and managed by the Punjab Wildlife & Parks Department through a Zoo Maintenance Committee with an advisory role. Zoo generates its own funds through the gate income and leasing out of its premises, therefore it is an autonomous institution that is not dependent on any other government body for funds.

Lahore Zoo focuses on conservation of endangered animals through its captive breeding programmes and public education. Zoo has been very successful in achieving both of these Targets, alongwith the breeding of many endangered exotic animals, the Zoo has bred rare and endangered local species like Chinkara, Punjab urail, Hog deer, Nilgai and Asiatic wolf and also transferred many Wildlife species to other Zoos/ Wildlife facilities throughout Pakistan .

The Zoo has always been innovative in enhancing public education and involving its visitors in animal related activities, Lahore Zoo Education Programme and Animal Adoption Programme and Lahore Zoo Outreach Programme are the examples of such endeavours. The Education Programme was started in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Pakistan . Through this programme guided tours are arranged for the school groups and education material is also provided free of cost, bilingual animal information boards have been placed. Recently a touch table has been set up to allow children to touch animals' parts like skins, horns, feathers and eggs that they cannot feel or see otherwise.

The Animal Adoption Programme provides general public an opportunity to make contribution towards ex-situ conservation by bearing a part of the food expenditure of the rare animals. This is an important way to spread awareness about Wildlife and keeping the people involved in its conservation in addition to financial support to self-financing institution.

Zoo Outreach Programme of Lahore Zoo is one of its kind for any Pakistani zoo. This programme is funded by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) under Global Environment Facility/ Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGF). This helps in conserving the highly endangered Indus River dolphins, which is only found in Pakistan . This project conserves the dolphins in their natural habitat by rescuing the stranded dolphins from the canals and releasing them into the mainstream. This project is a joint effort of the Lahore Zoo, Sindh Wildlife Department and WWF-Pakistan and since it start in 2000 has rescued 28 dolphins. Due to success of the project, it has been extended for another two years till November, 2005. Not only rescue has been made but awareness has been created in the local community to save endemic species of Pakistan , through distribution of literature.

To fulfil National and International commitment, Lahore Zoo has close liaison with such organizations i.e. IUCN, WWF and SAZARC etc. Under the auspices of
South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation an organization by the name of SAZARC was established in the year 1999 and since its inception its meeting are being held regularly by rotation in member countries and the host country is given the honour to chair it. The 4 th SAZARC meeting was held in Colombo-Sri Lanka during November-December, 2003 and it was unanimously decided that the next meeting of SAZARC would be held in Lahore-Pakistan and Lahore Zoo will be the host. Being an active member of SAZARC this honour was bestowed upon this organization. The meeting is likely to be held for five days in the end of November/December, 2004. By becoming a member of SAZARC, Lahore Zoo has joined the International Community of Zoos, which has opened new avenues of cooperation like Training and Practical Management of Zoo personals.