Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar, one of the architects of modern Mysore, established The Zoological Garden being a lover of nature. The Zoo Garden was created in a portion of the Summer Palace in the eastern part of Mysore City. It is about 3 kms from the City Bus Stand. This zoo was set-up under the royal patronage and houses some rare and exotic birds and animals.

The Zoo was named as 'Khasa Bangle' or private bungalow and it housed different species of birds in about 10 acres. Later, the Zoo proposed to be established at Lal Bagh in Bangalore, was shifted to Mysore to the premises of Mysore Zoo by the then British Officer, Karumbeigal, since the Mysore weather was ideal and the proposed site was on the outskirts of city. The entire area had a serene atmosphere to house various species of animals and birds. The Zoo has a good health care management and a well-equipped hospital with darting equipment to chemically restrain wild animals and to provide medical aid. It has experienced doctors from the animal husbandry, to take regular care of the health of the animals. The Maharaja himself being a lover of animals took care to see that spacious and aesthetic enclosures are provided to the wild animals, which continue to be useful even today. On realising the popularity of the Zoo after 10 years of it's beginning, the Maharaja felt it would be appropriate to open the institution to the public considering its importance as a recreational and educational value. It was carved out from the adjoining Summer Palace and became a separate part. Situated amidst lush green surroundings, the zoo attracts many children. It is also an educational tour for the young ones. Some of the animals and birds they would have just seen in books are in front of their eyes, which is why the zoological garden in Mysore attracts more and more tourists everyday. Besides an excellent collection of animals, the Mysore Zoo could boast of a beautiful bandstand having in the backdrop the Chamundi Hills and also artificial lakes. After its expansion, the Mysore Zoo was renamed as Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, after its illustrious founder, in 1909.

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens was established in 1892. Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar, one of the architects of modern Mysore, established the Zoological Garden. He was a lover of nature and was responsible for creating many parks and gardens. The Zoo Garden was created in a portion of the Summer Palace or Pleasure Palace in the eastern part of Mysore City. Initially, the Zoo covered an area of 10 acres of the Summer Palace. The Maharaja engaged the services of Mr. G.H. Krumbeigal, German landscaper and horticulturist, who had created the beautiful and the famous Brindavan Gardens in Krishnarajasagar and the Cubbon Park in Bangalore. It is considered as one of the best in India and ranks high in zoological circles as a major archive in conservation of wild life. It is situated at the foot of Chamundi Hill. It has beautiful landscape and good vegetation cover resembling that of natural environment. It has to its credit the breeding of rare animals and largest mammals in captivity. Hence, it is grouped under `A' class category zoos in India.

This zoo has about 35 species of ornamental plants and 85 species of trees from India and abroad beautifying the landscape of the zoo, thus providing the most natural environment to the captive animals. It is home to some 2,000 animals belonging to different species, fascinating among them being the royal Bengal tigers, giraffe, Indian and African elephants, white tiger, lions, rhinos, Nilgiri langur, Himalayan brown bears, hippopotamus, peacock, parakeet and others. The Zoo Authority of Karnataka manages the zoo.

Location : It is situated about 3 kms. from the city bus stand.
Timings : 8:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M. Tuesday Holiday.