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Both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia had a concept of zoos developed in their ancient societies by at least around 2500 BC. In Egypt, including in Saqqara, a zoo has been found, where exotic animals such as antelopes, baboons, hyenas, cheetahs, cranes, storks and falcons were likely kept. In southern Mesopotamia, royal figures seem to have kept wild animals. However, the reasons for keeping these animals may have varied. In Egypt, some of these animals may have been seen as sacred as well as a form of royal pet, while in Mesopotamia taming wild animals was seen as demonstrating the power of kings and the royal line. In fact, a king fighting a lion or tiger, at least shown as a symbolic depiction, indicated the power of royalty. Keeping such animals may have been done to even eventually have a type of royal combat with these animals. By 13th century BC, larger animals, such as elephants and giraffes, and even more exotic species were being kept. In Egypt, giraffes and pet lions were recorded to have been kept by Ramses II. <ref>For more on wild animals kept in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, see: Bostock, S.S.C. (2014) <i>Zoos and animal rights: the ethics of keeping animals</i>. Glasgow Zoological Gardens. Glasgow. </ref>

In the period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, from the 9th to 7th centuries BC, tigers were being kept in enclosures and often were depicted in wall reliefs. What may have differed in some of these enclosures is there seems to have been an attempt to also reconstruct the ecosystem in which tigers. Sennacherib, king of Assyria from 704 – 682 BC, created a marsh-like environment and garden in his royal city of Nineveh that not only contained exotic plants but also was intended to recreate the marsh and wider environment of certain tiger species (Figure 1).<ref>For more on Assyrian royal gardens and animals, see: Dallay, S., (1993) Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens and the Identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Resolved. <i>Garden History</i>, 21, pp. 1 – 13. </ref>

In China, during the Zhou Dynasty between 2000-1000 BC, parks were created that had walled enclosures that also kept a menagerie of animals. In the Han Dynasty, late in the 1st millennium BC (around 200 BC), records indicate private menageries were kept, where animals included birds, bears, tigers, alligators, rhinoceroses, deer, and elephants. This was similar to Neo-Assyrian gardens and animal enclosures that replicated the environment somewhat.<ref>For more on menageries in ancient China, see: Schafer, E.H. (1968) Hunting Parks and Animal Enclosures in Ancient China.<i> Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient</i>, 11, pp. 318 – 343.</ref>

In ancient Greece, private menageries were also known. The most famous was the one owned by Aristotle. Here, he kept a variety of animals for study. In fact, it was this menagerie that led to the first book dedicated to studying animals, called <i>The History of Animals</i>, written in the 4th century BC. While Aristotle used his own collection of animals, he also observed animals in the wild such as in the island of Lesbos.<ref>For more on animal collections in ancient Greece and Aristotle's groundbreaking work, see: Hancocks, D. (2001) <i>A different nature: the paradoxical world of zoos and their uncertain future.</i> Berkeley, Univ. of California Press.</ref>