The Skopje Zoo (

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...

: Зоолошка градина Скопје; sq, Kopshti zoologjik Shkup) is a zoo near

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. 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 Stanko Luka Karaman (8 December 1889 – 17 May 1959) was a Yugoslav biologist of Bosnian Serb ancestry, researcher on amphipod and isopod crustaceans. In 1926 he founded the Museum of South Serbia (later - Macedonian Museum of Natural History) i ...

. 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 (The Garden of good hope), is a publicly owned zoo located in Kalemegdan Park, downtown of Belgrade, Serbia. Established on July 12, 1936, it is considered to be one of th ...

, 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 dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin o ...

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.

The future

The zoo plans to build new enclosures for

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

s and

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

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 ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

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

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

File:Skopje Zoo 5.jpg,

Donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as ...

File:Skopje Zoo 6.jpg,

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

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Culture in Skopje

Zoos established in 1926