Sóstó Zoo is situated in a distance of 5 kms from the city of Nyíregyháza, in the holiday resort of Sóstó, where the beach, the open air museum and the forest offer various recreational activites for the visitors. The Zoo is placed deep in an oak forest, in a natural, almost untouched environment. In the area of 35 hectares visitors are welcomed by so-called „continents”, which enable them to „walk round the Earth” and to observe how animals live in the different parts of the world. Visitors can take a rest in Hotel Jungle, which is the Zoo’s own hotel.
Sóstó Zoo was established in 1998, in an area previously occupied by a leisure park. The purpose was the creation of such an animal exhibit that preserves the opportunities provided by the natural environment, and at the same time corresponds to the mission of modern Western European zoos. This is the reason why the rule of the year by year constructions was to build the enclosures and broaden the animal collection in a way that provides habitats complying with the European standards and the animal keeping principles of those days.
The profession of zoology, of course, develops during the years, therefore the Zoo undergoes a continuous transformation, and the obsolete keeping places are tried to be modernized or abolished. Consequently, visitors returning year by year can follow an ongoing renewal of Sóstó Zoo. Not only the enrichment of our animal collection is important for us, but also the creation of the best circumstances possible for our extant animals.
Sóstó Zoo is home to 500 species and more than 5000 specimens of the world’s diverse fauna, among which visitors have the opportunity to meet such amazing creatures as the white tiger, the African elephant, the Komodo dragon, the Indian rhinoceros, the polar bear, the sand tiger shark and the Western lowland gorilla. As a member of more than 50 species conservation programmes, Sóstó Zoo successfully breeds giraffes, cotton-top tamarins, Bornean orangutans, Bali mynahs and Amur tigers among others.
Our colleagues are continuously present in the international zoological circulation. We maintain important relationships with the Ministry of Forestry of Republic of Indonesia, Malaysian and Indonesian zoos. We participate in the managing collegiates of more professional organizations, and publications of our team members are continiously issued in professional literature.
Nowadays zoos are not only about entertainment and recreation, therefore besides strictly professional work we do place great emphasis on the environmental education of children and on shaping a relationship with nature at early age. Our summer camps and forest school programmes are of great success, just like our animal shows - during which animals also experience an important training, but at the same time serious messages are delivered to humans.