Riyadh Zoo (Arabic: حديقة الحيوانات بالرياض), formerly Riyadh Zoological Gardens and locally as Malaz Zoo,[1] is a zoo in al-Malaz, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[2] Founded in 1957 as private menagerie for King Saud and the Saudi royal family,[3] the zoo was opened to the public in 1987 and it's today home to more than 1,500 animals of around 196 different species, including endangered ones.[4] The zoo covers an area of 55 acres, making it the largest and one of the oldest zoos in the Kingdom.[5]