RECORDS OF EKATERINBURG ZOO

Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) zoo was established in 1930. It was the first zoo both in the Urals and in Asian part of Russia. Ekaterinburg's is one of small zoos (2 ha) located in the centre of megalopolis. Every year over 500 000 visitors come to the zoo.

According to a visitors/square ratio our zoo is the leader not only among Russian but also throughout the world's zoos.

As for today, the zoo collection consists of 260 species of animals. There are some unique ones which you can never meet in other Russian zoos. Among them there are Amazonian river scates, a Madagascar predator fossa, several species of lizards (sailing lizard, false chameleon, tegu), musk turtles, sacred ibises. Ekaterinburg zoo is the only in Russia where colourful tropic birds violet turacos, Brazz monkeys, mona monkeys, white-throated capuchins and an enigmatic "honey bear" kinkajou gave offsprings. 

The most legendary resident of Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) zoo was a Nile crocodile Kolya. His origin is unknown as he got in the zoo in 1936 already being an adult one.

Every year Kolya moved from a winter pavilion to his tiny summertime "crocodile dwelling" which was a memorable event for the entire zoo's staff and a kind of a ritual for several decades. The croc was tied, laid on stretcher and in a grand manner moved into his summer residence. Sometimes, when early frosts came people had to literally break the crocodile out of ice. A group of enthusiastic local lore scientists tried to list him into the Guinness Book of Records, however, they failed to prove him to be the oldest crocodile in Russia and Europe — the old-timer never had documents verifying the date of his birth.  

The crocodile had been living in the zoo for 60 years and died in the beginning of 1995. After dissection it was decided to pass his skeleton to palaeontologic section of the Institute of plants and animals' environment and to make a stuff for the local history museum from his skin. The dissection identified the crocodile was approximately 100—115 years of age.  

Olga Maslennikova