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 The very idea of creating the Odessa zoo
appeared the day before celebrating the city’s 100th anniversary, in
18889, when the draft and the plan of “The Zoo on the Politseyskaya str.
Near the ravine” was made up, but they failed to embody this plan.
The next step to create the zoo was made in 1914. The project
of building it on the Botanic garden territory was made up and agreed by
the city Duma, but the World War I and the Civil War hindered these
plans’ embodiment.
And only in 1922 the zoo building on Primoskiy boulevard in
the Vorontsovskiy palace’s lower garden begun. The main merit of Odessa
first zoo organizing belongs to one of the energetic “Southclimate”
society’s heads Heinrich Vladimirovich Beizert.
Despite a great amount of work carried out (construction of
the grottos for lions, bears and tigers, pools for birds, small mountain
for the mountain goats), the zoo garden had a lot of problems. These
were both the lack of finances and the zoo territory’s being absolutely
unsuitable for the animals’ placing. The city administration decided to
close the zoo.
In December, 1927, the All-Union contest to make up an Odessa
zoo project was announced. Three projects were accepted as a zoo
building basis. Zoo building along the Arcadia road was begun in 1929.
The basic works were being carried out on this territory: the landscape
works were fulfilled, the dams along the main alley were constructed,
the “Caucasian mountains” were begun to be built. The city
administration was planning to put a part of the zoo in the act during
1930. The “Southclimate” society has already gathered a collection of
animals for the zoo. But this project wasn’t fulfilled as well. Only the
name of the street – the Zoo street – reminds of this. Despite all the
difficulties, H.V.Beizert did continue to act tirelessly. In 1933, he’s
appointed to the post of 4th State Zoo on the Privoz administrator. The
institution itself belonged to the State Circus, which had located its
zoo in the City Garden for several years, and then has moved to Privoz.
This time, the 1st Christian cemetery was liquidated in
Odessa according to the City administration decree. In the end of the
30-ies, the Illyich park and a zoo appeared on the ex-cemetery
territory. But the only archive document to prove the zoo opening in
Novoshchepniy row str., 25, was the zoo manager H.Beisert’s paper on the
Regional Workers’ council executive committee session on March, 16,
1945, in which he announced that “Odessa zoo was organized on the
Illyichevskiy park territory in 1937” without budget assigning and “was
working on economical payment”. The zoo was opened for the visitors in
1938. The zoo is still located on this very place, near the famous
Privoz.
In 1992, according to Ukraine’s law, the zoo received the
status of all-state importance nature reserve and replenished the
composition of Ukraine’s natural reserve fund. Odessa zoo’s collection
features 243 types of animals and has 1590 exemplars featuring 93 types
of fish, 7 types of amphibians, 37 types of reptiles, 73 types of birds,
33 types of mammals.
Odessa zoo has rare animals accepted into the International
Nature Protection Union Red Book, European Red list and Ukraine’s Red
book – over 60 types. Many of them are reproducing successfully. These
are the famous Indian elephants, Far-East leopards, Przewalskiy horses,
brown bears, eagle-owls, etc.
Zoo’s scientific specialization: «Ukrainian South’s rare and
disappearing animals». We have the Ukraine’s only nursery of keeping and
breeding the birds of prey and owls. In several years, the falcons-balobans
reared in the nursery were brought back to nature – placed in the wild
birds’ nests.
Owning wild animals defines the zoo’s being unique. The zoos
are the rescue places for the rare and disappearing animals – because in
our hi-end times the wildlife and animals have got little place left.
Odessa zoo is the only one in Ukraine where the Indian
elephants, who became the parents of already three cubs, are reproducing
successfully. In 1992, the happy couple got their first cub. It received
the name of Sim Elephant aka Fantick and become the actor of the
European circus. It was artificially reared by its stepmother – the
predatory and trunk animals section manager Ppova L.N. In 1998, a female
elephant, which weighed over 90 kilos, was born. It received the name of
Tendy, and lives in Kharkov zoo now. On October, 2004, Taroon and Wendy
got their third cub, which received the name of Duke.
For two years running, Amur leopards (ounces) have their
descendants born in Odessa zoo. Such animals live in Far East. Amur
leopard is one of the most beautiful and rare cats of the world fauna.
Only 40 such ounces live in the wild life and they are under protection
of the International Wild Life Protection Society.
The black ounce kittens Jana and Java were born by their
Mommy Linda on June, 2006, 21. The kittens’ peculiarity is their being
black while their parents have dots. Such an effect is explained by the
increased level of melanin pigment.
Odessa zoo is not only the wild animals rescue centre. Great
attention is also drawn to the problems of youth education. The zoo
workers organize traditional ecological holidays for the schoolchildren,
and the kinds really adore these measures.
Source: official site of
Odesa city (2009)
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