The Zoological Garden in Wroclaw was founded in 1865, but it didn’t exist until the end of the 19th century when appropriate areas were built to meet the requirements of exotic animals (e.g., elephants, monkeys, as well as the Nature House). Today, as half a century ago, Wroclaw Zoo is very popular among Poles, foreign tourists and specialists in this domain. It is worth noting that nearly half the visitors are adults. Approximately 500,000 people visit zoo in a year. Attendance was exceptionally low in 1997 when Wroclaw citizens were forced to fight a flood during the summer and only a few dared to wade through the flooded city centre to visit "their zoo". Today the zoo covers the area of 33 hectares with a collection of 6815 animals of 559 species. About 100 species reproduce in the zoo environment, increasing the number of these invaluable natural treasures.