The last animals from Feldman Ecopark in Kharkiv in Ukraine are being transported to Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi as the city’s mayor said bombing in the area had increased significantly.
Feldman Ecopark said the animals had to be evacuated because they were located very close to the war zone.
“Our lions and some other animals rescued yesterday from the shelling from the Ecopark territory are already on their way to their new temporary home in Odessa,” the zoo saod on Facebook.
“Many thanks to the management and staff of the Odessa Zoo, who, like many other of our colleagues in Ukraine and abroad, expressed their willingness to accept and take care of our animals,” it added.
Nikolaev Zoo
The city of Nikolaev has recently come under rocket attacks. “Well, you won’t leave animals behind, and we can’t leave either,” Oksana Oliininl, an employee of Nikolaev Zoo, told news agency Reuters. “If we all leave, who will look after them and take care of them.”
“We grew up with them. I am myself a rural girl. I will not betray them [animals]. Whatever will happen to us, will happen. Perhaps, the war will go away,” Oksana said.
The 120-year-old zoo in Ukraine has tigers, polar bears, elephants and many other animals. “I came to the zoo in 1965, I was 12 years old, and since that time, I have been in the zoo. Only the Mississippi alligator, Vasya the crocodile, is older than me. I have been working at the zoo for 44 years, as a director for 20 years,” said zoo director Vladimir Topchy.
The European Association of Zoo and Aquaria (EZEA) said in a statement that they’re helping the following zoos in Ukraine: Askania Nova, Berdyansk, Feldman Ecopark, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lutsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa Biopark and Rivne Zoos.
The Animal Reader is a small independent animal news platform based in the Netherlands. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
