The Zoo is also a part of the larger complex housing the Museums and the art gallery. It is located on the Museum-Vellayambalam Road, in the Palayam area of the city. The Zoo is one of the oldest as well as the best in the country. It actually forms part of the Botanical Gardens. The brain behind the Zoo was that of the visionary Maharaja Swati Thirunal, the former Maharaja of Travancore. It was in 1857 that the zoo was established as an annex to the Napier Museum.