The National Zoological Garden of South Africa is an 80-hectare zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. The farm Klein Schoemansdal, the property of Z.A.R. president Stephanus Schoeman, was sold to Johannes Francois Celliers who renamed it Rus in Urbe. It was acqui…The National Zoological Garden of South Africa is an 80-hectare zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. The farm Klein Schoemansdal, the property of Z.A.R. president Stephanus Schoeman, was sold to Johannes Francois Celliers who renamed it Rus in Urbe. It was acquired by the state in 1895, and the zoological garden was established at the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. It became the official National Zoological Gardens in 1916. After a period of management under the auspices of the South African National Research Foundation, the Pretoria Zoo today is management under the umbrella of the South African National Biodiversity Institute.