With Madras Corporation taking charge by 1866, the Madras Zoo as it was called, became the country’s first public zoo to be formed.

A century and 61 years ago, Edward Balfour, the director of the two-year-old Government Museum at Egmore was struggling to come up with ways to attract more visitors to its premises. It was then that he conceived the idea of showcasing a collection of living animals as an adjunct to the museum. The first few animals to be exhibited — a leopard, a tiger and an orangutan — proved to be a tremendous draw, leaving visitors fascinated. A couple of years later, with the generous donations of the Nawab of Carnatic, a menagerie was established in 1855. Six years later, the facility was compelled to relocate People’s Park (Georgetown) in August 1861. Edward Thurston, the then superintendant, is said to have been plagued by complaints from neighbours who were thoroughly mortified by the roars of the wild beasts housed in the Museum campus.

With Madras Corporation taking charge by 1866, the Madras Zoo as it was called, became the country’s first public zoo to be formed. Boasting of an exotic range of animals and birds, the zoo was considered to be in the league of the best including the London Zoo.

However, with the imminent threat of the Japanese bombing the city in the Second World War, the zoo faced a turbulent time. Apart from managing the exodus of panic-stricken people, authorities had to contend with the animals in the zoo, should the city be under siege.

Mayor V. Chakkarai Chetti and Commissioner C. Pulla Reddi ordered for arrangements to transport the wild animals to safer regions. The Railways were roped in to cart the animals in sealed cages on a priority basis. Mysore zoo and Erode were some of the few shelters which were willing to temporarily care for the animals. However, despite the best efforts of authorities, many dangerous species and poisonous reptiles had to be put down.

After the war, the zoo invested heavily in expansion and fresh improvements to overcome its losses. And it did. By 1975, due to the lack of space and increasing pollution, the zoo moved outside the city limits and was named Arignar Anna Zoological Park, or Vandalur zoo as we now know it.