# Downs' Zoological Gardens

- **Country:** Canada
- **Coordinates:** 44.645000, -63.626667
- **Area:** 40 acre
- **Opened:** 1847
- **Location:** Northwest ArmFairmount, Nova Scotia,Canada
- **Zoo Name:** Downs' Zoological Gardens
- **Date Closed:** 1876
- **Date Opened:** 1847

Downs' Zoological Gardens is the oldest North American scientific zoo north of Mexico, and opened to the public the same year as the London Zoo. ==History== ===Opening=== It was opened in Nova Scotia in 1847, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. By the early 1860s, the zoo grounds covered 40 - 100 hectares. It became a popular place for many people of Halifax to visit.

![Photo of Downs' Zoological Gardens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Downs%27_Zoological_Gardens.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs'_Zoological_Gardens (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)