The Skopje Zoo ( Macedonian: Зоолошка градина Скопје; ) is a zoo near City Park in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. It is home to 500 animals representing 85 species.

History

The zoo was founded in 1926 by a three-member commission led by Stanko Karaman. When it opened, the zoo covered only , and exhibited only a few animals which it had received as gifts. With a decision by the Skopje city council in 1965, and the new town zoning in 1966, the zoo was expanded to its current size. Over the years the zoo received much criticism for the living conditions of its animals. The only elephant ever held by the zoo died at age 23 less than a year after being transferred from the

Belgrade Zoo Beo zoo vrt ( sr-Cyrl, Бео зоо врт), also known as Vrt dobre nade ( Serbian Cyrilic: Врт добре наде, ''The Garden of good hope''), is a publicly owned zoo located in Kalemegdan Park, downtown of Belgrade, Serbia. Established ...

, and the chronically depressed lone Chimpanzee Koko was transferred to the AAP Primate Sanctuary in 2009. However, in 2008 the City allocated 42 million

denar The denar (; paucal: denari / ; Currency symbol, abbreviation: den / ; ISO 4217, ISO code: MKD) is the currency of North Macedonia. Though subdivided into one hundred deni (), coins with a denomination of less than one denar have not been in ...

in funds to improve the zoo, and the zoo started working with the

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...

(EAZA) to improve conditions and bring the zoo up to modern standards. By 2010, 18 new enclosures had been built, 85% of the older exhibits at the zoo had been renovated, and the zoo became an EAZA membership candidate. On 19 October 2024, a case of bird flu of the

H5N1 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza (often referred to as "bird flu"). It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, and also panzoo ...

variant was detected in a deceased goose at a pond in the zoo, prompting the complex's closure for three weeks and the culling of several birds that also lived in the pond.

The future

The zoo plans to build new enclosures for

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s and

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s (financed by the city), as well as build a new chimpanzee enclosure so that Koko can return home.

Gallery

File:Skopje Zoo 2.jpg,

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

File:Skopje Zoo 3.jpg, Snow owl File:Skopje Zoo 4.jpg,

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

File:Skopje Zoo 5.jpg,

Donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

File:Skopje Zoo 6.jpg,

Zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Culture in Skopje

Educational organizations established in 1926 Zoos established in the 1920s