VietNamNet Bridge – HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan has rejected rumors that the Saigon Zoological and Botanical Gardens, mostly known as Saigon Zoo, in District 1 would be relocated out of the city center, saying it is here to stay.

A white Bengal tiger cub at Saigon Zoo. This is one of the three Bengal tiger cubs born at Saigon Zoo – Photo: Thanh Hoa

The zoo is the green lung of the city, he told an event held on August 13 to hail Saigon Zoological and Botanical Gardens Co. Ltd. for its success in crossbreeding and especially breeding three healthy white Bengal tiger cubs whose parents were imported from Canada in 2010.

Quan confirmed the city government has no plan to move the zoo.

Along with other parks in the city, Saigon Zoo has contributed to creating a green lung for the city and is also a place for people to come to entertain and learn about nature, he said.

With the fast urbanization pace in the city, Saigon Zoo and other parks should be kept untouched to help the young generation learn about nature.

Phan Viet Lam, director of Saigon Zoological and Botanical Gardens Co. Ltd., said the 17-hectare zoo is home to 1,000 plants of 100 species and 123 species of animals, with over 20 species of plants and 100 species of animals in Vietnam’s Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Staff at the zoo have assisted the births of many rare and endangered species such as crested argus, saltwater crocodile, Indochinese tiger and most recently, white Bengal tiger, a tiger species which is on top of the endangered animals list with only 3,000 such tigers existing worldwide, he said.

Last year, Saigon Zoo, one of the ten oldest zoos in the world, attracted 2.4 million visitors and collected VND66 billion (US$2.9 million) in revenue, the largest figures in the past 20 years.