The Department of Ecology and Geography of Animals was established in 1972, as part of the Institute of Zoology of the Department of Biological Sciences of the then Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Teaching and scientific work in the field of ecology and zoogeography has been implemented since the 1920s, with the arrival of Dr. Siniša Stanković at the Zoological Institute of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Since 1949, Zoogeography with Animal Ecology, Animal Ecology and Zoogeography have been implemented as separate subjects, and since 1963, the combined subject Ecology and Geography of Animals has become one of the basic segments of biology studies in the next almost half a century. With the establishment of new study groups and programs, numerous new mandatory subjects in the fundamental and applied fields of ecology, biogeography and environmental protection have been introduced. Since 1963, the only full-time teacher in zoogeological subjects has been Dr. Maksim Todorović. Since 1980, Dr. Ivo Savić has been a member of the Department, and since 1991, Dr. Ivica Radović. In previous years, the teachers have also been Dr. Dragan Kataranovski, Dr. Aleksandar Hegediš and Dr. Dejan Radović. Since 2023, the name of the Department has been changed to the Department of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography.

The development of teaching at the Department of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography during the second half of the twentieth century is characterized by a constant expansion of the scope and diversity of scientific fields represented within the framework of fundamental and applied ecology, as well as environmental protection. Starting from the then small basic contents of animal ecology and zoogeography and the gradual introduction of an increasing number of elective subjects and specializations since the mid-1970s, a large number of new or improved courses and modern teaching concepts were introduced after the formation of a special study group Ecology and Environmental Protection (since 1997), as well as the transition to a three-level modular system with master's and doctoral studies in the field of ecology (since 2006/07). The teachers and associates of the Department are currently involved in the implementation of 32 courses: 14 in the basic studies of Biology, 6 in the master studies of Ecology/Biology/Professor of Biology/Ecology, as well as 12 in the doctoral studies of Ecology/Biology. Approximately half of the courses fall within the domain of fundamental ecology and biogeography, and the other half within the domain of applied ecology and biodiversity protection, with significantly improved field teaching content. Since the late 1980s, more and more courses have been conceived and implemented jointly with other departments of the Faculty, as well as in cooperation with numerous higher education and scientific institutions, and partly with sectoral organizations in the field of nature protection. This ensures a strongly multidisciplinary character of most courses.

The Department's scientific issues include the following segments:

• ecology, biogeography, faunistics, systematics, conservation biology and parasitology mammals (rodents, bats, carnivores, ruminants), reptiles (lizards), amphibians (frogs) and fish, as well as selected groups of insects (mainly wasps and bees), including the distribution and dynamism of taxa along ecological and biogeographic gradients, taxonomic analysis (revision or redefinition of taxa), morphological and genetic variability and population differentiation, population dynamics and regulation, analysis of ecological niches, trophic and other interspecies relationships;

• coenological research aquatic communities (diversity and biotic integrity indices, assessment of ecological status) and agricultural and urban systems (landscape-ecological research); 

• ecotoxicological research – problems of accumulation and biomagnification of elements in natural populations of fish and other organisms;

• fundamental-applied aspects of the issue protection and conservation of biodiversity Serbia as part of a series of strategic national, regional or international projects, studies and expertise on endangered or economically important species: inventory, evaluation and assessment of status, reintroduction, monitoring and active protection measures; detection and analysis of status and negative effects invasive species; this segment of the Department's work includes significant contributions to the definition and implementation of national legislation.