The Ueno Zoo is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opening on March 20, 1882. It is a five-minute walk from the Park Exit of Ueno Station, with convenient access from Tokyo's public-transportation network. The Ueno Zoo Monorail, the first monorail in the country, connects the eastern and western parts of the grounds. The zoo is in Ueno Park, a large urban park that is from home to museums, a small amusement park, and other attractions. The zoo is closed on Mondays.
The zoo started life as a menagerie attached to the National Museum of Natural History. In 1881, responsibility for this menagerie was handed to naturalist and civil servant Tanaka Yoshio, who oversaw its transition into a public zoo. The ground was originally estate of the imperial family, but was :wikt:bestowal to the municipal government in 1924 — along with Ueno Park — on the occasion of crown prince Hirohito's wedding.
World War II
In August 1943, the administrator of Tokyo, Shigeo Ōdachi, ordered that all "wild and dangerous animals" at the zoo be killed, claiming that bombs could hit the zoo and escaped animals would wreak havoc in the streets of Tokyo. Requests by the staff at the zoo for a reprieve, or to evacuate the animals elsewhere, were refused. The animals were executed primarily by poisoning, strangulation or by simply placing the animals on starvation diets. A memorial service was held for the animals in September 1943 and a permanent memorial can be found in the Ueno Zoo. Shortly after the March 1945 bombings of Tokyo, the Japanese placed U.S. Army Air Force navigator and bombardier Ray "Hap" Halloran on display naked in a Ueno Zoo tiger cage so civilians could walk in front of the cage and view the B-29 prisoner.
Recent renovations
The zoo provides animals an environment similar to the natural habitat. In recent years, the old-fashioned cages of the past have been replaced with modern habitats, such as the "Gorilla Woods," built after two well-publicized mishaps in 1999.
Animal population
The zoo is home to more than 3,000 individuals representing over 400 species. The Sumatran tiger, and western lowland gorilla head the list of the zoo's population. Ueno has more species on exhibition than any other zoo in Japan. At some point, redistribution of the animals among Tokyo's other zoos left Ueno without a lion. However, in response to public demand, Ueno borrowed a female from the Yokohama Municipal Zoo.
Principal animals
After the death of Giant panda Ling Ling in 2008, Ueno Zoo was without a member of this species for the first time since 1972. Two new giant pandas arrived from the Chinese Wolong Nature Reserve in February 2011. The male panda, Billy was renamed in Ueno to Līlī to emphasize his playful vitality. The female's name Siennyu was changed to Shinshin, referring to purity and innocence. The new names were based on a public poll. The final choices picked by the zoo were, however, not among top choices. Reduplication is very common in panda names.
