"The idea to establish a zoo in Kaunas has been in my mind for a long time. It was in those days when I started getting to know the vivid surroundings of the city during my trips to Kaunas. I was fascinated by the Girstupis valley, the edges of the Marvelė stream, the Vytautas oak grove. I remembered that Adam Mickevičius was also fascinated by these beauties of Kaunas, and I began to dream that these places would be useful for our society..." - Tadas Ivanauskas, 1935.

The mission of the Lithuanian Zoo- acquaint the public with the diversity of the world’s and Lithuania’s fauna, endangered species and factors leading to extinction, to promote awareness and responsibility for the preservation of biological diversity, to develop emotional ties with animals, cooperate with educational institutions.