The Novosibirsk Zoo is one of the largest zoos in Russia. It is in touch with 150 zoos in 44 countries. The history of the zoo started in the XX century.
In 1937 a town garden “Algambra” was transformed into a zoo garden. The citizens could see there 35 kinds of animals and 50 kinds of birds. The zoo garden was so popular with the people that in 1947 the first zoo park in Siberia was organized. Its buildings were situated in the centre of the city . It had been the only zoo on the territory fron the Urals to the Far East for many years. A lot of people visited the zoo but there were some problems: the cages were small, cold and poorly lit and there was unpleasant smell all over the city centre.
In 1969 a new director Rostislav Shilo began planning to built a new zoo in a pine forest. It had been built for 23 years. Now the visitors can see 770 kinds of different animals in the hall “The Tropical World”, in the terrarium, in the dolphinarium, on the natural lake and in open-air cages. The cat family collection of the zoo is one of the best in the world. That is why a snow leopard (lives only in Siberia) is an emblem of the zoo. Also there are white and briwn bears, tigers and lions, monkeys and apes, deer and elks, camels and hippos, kangaroos, wolves, snakes, capybaras, manuls, lynx, penguins, swans and hunreds of other animals and birds.
Children and adults take part in many activities organized by the zoo: The Water Day, The Bird Day, The Earth Day, The Bear Day and The Crane Day, competitions for the best drawing, for the best bird-feeder, for the best photo “Our favorite zoo” and other events. For example, during the Autumn decade many citizens bring different vegetables fron their dachas to the zoo, they want to help with food supplies for winter use.
Every year more than 1,500,000 people visit our zoo.
