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History of the Zoo |
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 From
humble beginnings almost 70 years ago, Tel Aviv University's Zoological
Garden has developed into the largest and leading research facility of
its kind in Israel.
In 1931, natural sciences
teacher Yehoshua Margolin founded the Biological- Pedagogical Institute
on Yehuda Halevy Street in Tel Aviv. The aim of the Institute was to
train teachers of nature studies for Israel's schools. Underpinning this
endeavor was the belief that knowledge of nature is the best way to link
people to their land. The Biological-Pedagogical Institute was erected
in a place donated for the purpose by the Tel Aviv Municipality: a
wooden hut that had formerly served as Tel Aviv's first synagogue.
Margolin managed the Institute until his death in 1947.
Joining Margolin in his work
was Prof. Heinrich Mendelssohn, who immigrated to Israel in 1933 and
earned a doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After
Margolin's death, Mendelssohn succeeded him as Director of the
Institute.
Following the War of
Independence in 1948, the Tel Aviv Municipality offered Prof.
Mendelssohn the option of another, larger facility to serve as the
Institute's home. The Institute moved to Abu Kabir, to a structure
originally planned to be used as a hospital.
In 1953 the "University
Institute for the Natural Sciences" was established and, in 1956, the
Zoological Garden became part of the newly-established Tel Aviv
University (TAU). In 1981 the zoo moved to its present location on the
university campus in Ramat Aviv.
In 1995 the zoo was
rededicated as the I. Meier Segals Garden for Zoological Research, in
honor of the late I. Meier Segals of Montreal, a co-founder of the
Association of Canadian Friends of TAU. An instrumental figure in
gaining the support of Mr. Segals' estate was Prof. Lawrence Bessner,
himself a major patron of the facility and the National President of the
Canadian Friends as well as a TAU Honorary Fellow. The Garden's main
building is dedicated to Prof. Lawrence and his late wife Terry.
The Segals Zoological
Garden contains many different species of animals, the majority
indigenous to Israel. This wide variety - of about 40 species of
mammals, 100 species of birds, and 80 species of reptiles and amphibians
- represents the variegated fauna of the country. In addition the zoo
houses numerous kinds of fish and insects.
The Zoological Garden has
three aims:
1. Research
2. Teaching
3. Nature conservation
Source: official site of
Meier Segals Zoo (2014)
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