Zoological Garden (chidyakhana) public or private park where living animals are kept for exhibition, recreation and study. The menageries and aviaries of China, Egypt, and Rome were famous in ancient times. From the late medieval period many rulers had private menageries, some of which later formed the nucleus of public exhibits. Nearly all-large cities now have zoological reserves. Modern trends include breeding threatened animals in captivity, exhibiting animals in enclosures simulating their natural habitat rather than in cages (open-range zones or safari parks), and educating the public about principles of ecology.
In Bengal in the early 19th century, starting from 1801 there were four well-documented institutions in Calcutta, which could be called menageries or even zoos and a host of hearsay private collections.