Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Thailand) – Location, Geography, Facts

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is an open-design zoological park in Thailand located within Chonburi Province.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo, Thailand.

Country: Thailand
Coordinates: 13.2165° N, 101.0564° E

Khao Kheow Open Zoo overview

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is an open-design zoological park in Thailand located within Chonburi Province. The facility is formally designated and operated as an open zoo, a managed landscape that arranges animals in large, landscape-style enclosures rather than traditional small cages. The site functions as a regional zoological collection with an institutional role in conservation, maintained grounds, and curated animal groups that reflect both Southeast Asian and selected international species. This designation guides its layout and management practices.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo coordinates

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is commonly mapped at approximately 13.2165° N, 101.0564° E, or 13.2165, 101.0564 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 13.2165° N, 101.0564° E

Decimal: 13.2165, 101.0564

Where Khao Kheow Open Zoo is located

The property sits in Si Racha District of Chonburi Province in eastern Thailand, inland from the Gulf of Thailand and within the coastal plain that transitions to local foothills. The zoo occupies land on the lower slopes of the local Khao Kheow ridge, where undulating terrain defines exhibit placement and viewing corridors. Administratively the site falls under Chonburi provincial jurisdiction and is mapped within the eastern seaboard region that links industrial corridors and agricultural areas to coastal municipalities.

Why Khao Kheow Open Zoo is important

Significance derives from the institution’s use of open-range, mixed-species enclosures adapted to hillside topography and planted forest patches, which contrasts with compact urban zoos. Khao Kheow Open Zoo maintains an organized botanical component that integrates native tree stands with planted avenues, supporting both captive species and local wildlife corridors. The collection structure emphasizes breeding and husbandry programs for regional mammals and birds, and its landscape-first design allows larger social groupings of herbivores and primates, producing observable animal interactions in more naturalized settings than typical city zoos.

History of Khao Kheow Open Zoo

The site developed as a response to mid-century shifts in zoo practice that moved toward larger, landscape-oriented enclosures and conservation-minded collections. Initial phases replaced dense, cage-based displays with open exhibits aligned to the natural slope and forest remnants of the Khao Kheow ridge. Expansion focused on constructing mixed-species plains, a nocturnal exhibit complex, and purpose-built breeding facilities set into the terrain to use natural drainage and sightlines. Institutional growth included adding botanical management and research spaces to support husbandry, reflecting a broader trend to treat zoological parks as managed conservation landscapes.

Natural features of Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Topography is a defining element: rolling hills and north–south ridgelines shape enclosure boundaries and visitor circulation. Vegetation combines preserved native deciduous and evergreen stands with curated plantings that serve as windbreaks, shade, and behavioral enrichment for animals. Architectural materials favor low-profile concrete and timber barriers, earth-formed berms, and planted moats that create long sightlines and concealed service areas. A central freshwater basin and terraced viewing terraces anchor the layout, and purpose-built off-display holding and veterinary structures are embedded into lower slopes to minimize visual impact.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Khao Kheow Open Zoo

Management is organized around a single institutional operator responsible for animal welfare, landscape maintenance, and conservation programs, with oversight under provincial administrative frameworks. Conservation themes include habitat replication, captive breeding, and botanical stewardship that support local biodiversity within enclosure limits. Long-term management uses population monitoring, veterinary biosecurity, and landscape maintenance plans to reduce erosion on slopes and sustain planted forest patches. The operational model treats the site as a managed ecological system where husbandry, research, and vegetation management are integrated.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo facts

The facility occupies lower slopes of the Khao Kheow ridge within Si Racha District of Chonburi Province.
Its development emphasized replacing cage-style exhibits with open-range, landscape-driven enclosures.
A central freshwater basin and terraced viewing terraces function as organizing features for exhibit layout.
The collection strategy prioritizes mixed-species plains and breeding facilities for regional mammals and birds.
The site is formally designated and managed as an open zoo that integrates botanical maintenance with zoological care.

← Thailand