Yerevan Zoo

The Yerevan Zoo, also known as the Zoological Garden of Yerevan (Armenian: Երևանի կենդաբանական այգի (Yerevani kendabanakan aygi)), is a 35-hectare (86-acre) zoo established in 1940 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Yerevan Zoo
Zoo logo
Yerevan Zoo general view
Date opened1940 [1]
LocationYerevan, Armenia
Coordinates40°11′45.47″N 44°33′1.85″E
Land area35 hectares (86 acres)
No. of animals3000+[2]
No. of species300[2]
Websitewww.zoo.am

Animals

At present the zoo is home to about 3000 individuals representing 300 species. Species representing the South Caucasus and Armenia include Syrian brown bears, Bezoar goats, vipers, Armenian mouflon, Red Deer and black vultures. Other species at the zoo from around the world include African lions (including a white lion), tigers (Bengal and Siberian subspecies), Jaguars, Leopards, Zebras, Alpacas, Llamas, Przewalski’s Horses, Père David’s Deer, Hippos, Kangaroos, Mandrills, spotted hyenas, Alaskan wolves, Moon Bears, Barbary Sheep, Bactrian Camels, Caucasian lynx and an Indian elephant named Grantik.[2][3]

Conservation
The zoo in 2016

Since Armenia is a biodiversity hot spot, the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) has leased and taken over management of about 839 hectares (2,070 acres) near the Khosrov reserve, which until recently had been unprotected and at risk of poaching, illegal logging, and overgrazing. The Yerevan Zoo is cooperating with the FPWC to use this land for wildlife rehabilitation and the reintroducing critically endangered species of the area into the wild.[4]

Education
The entrance to the zoo

In 2012 the zoo, in cooperation with the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), the municipality of Yerevan, and the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, will open a zoo school. The main purpose of this school will be to teach schoolchildren the importance of biodiversity in Armenia and around the world, and it will use the zoo as an interactive classroom.[5]

The future

In April 2011 the Director of the FPWC took over control of the zoo to help change what the zoo itself describes as "unbearable conditions". The zoo will be partnering with the Artis Zoo (among others) to upgrade and renovate the zoo to modern standards.[6] Current plans call for the zoo to be expanded to about 50 hectares (120 acres), with construction of the first phase completed in May 2015.[7][8] The second phase is due to be completed in 2017.

References
  1. http://www.zoo.am/index.php?id=134&L=0 Yerevan Zoo Official Website. "History" subsection.
  2. "Our Animals". zoo.am. Yerevan Zoo. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  3. "Erevan Zoo (Yerevan) in Armenia". elephant.se. Koehl D, Elephant Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  4. "Zoo and Wildlife Conservation". zoo.am. Yerevan Zoo. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. "Zoo School". zoo.am. Yerevan Zoo. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  6. "New Beginnings". zoo.am. Yerevan Zoo. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. "Will Yerevan Zoo be Transformed?". mediamax.am. MediaMax. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  8. "Ruben Khachatrian appointed new director of Yerevan zoo". arka.am. ARKA News Agency. Retrieved 4 June 2011.

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