Dushanbe Zoo or Dushanbe Zoological Park was founded in 1960 in Dushanbe

Dushanbe

-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...

, Tajikstan. The Zoo is located in the center of the city on the Luchob river bank (on Ismoili Somoni Avenue), next to the Pamir Stadium

Pamir Stadium

Pamir Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium currently holds 24,000, which is all seated. It is being reconstructed to hold over 30,000. It is currently the home ground of the Tajikistan national football...

, and measures roughly twice the size of the stadium.

History

The Dushanbe Zoo was founded in 1960. By 1974, with 1059 animals related to 254 species of global fauna, Dushanbe Zoo was regarded as one of the best zoos in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. The relatively mild climatic conditions of Dushanbe allowed species of tropical fauna to be kept outdoors. Until the breakdown of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and independence in 1991, the zoo was considered one of the best sightseeing attractions in Dushanbe. The number of animals was great and diverse. The two Indian elephants,Delhi and Radsch, were favorites of visitors.

National independence in 1991, followed by a Civil War lasting until 1997, posed a great threat to the Zoo in terms of the loss of species and economical hardship. Public financing was no longer available to the extent it was before. Staff and volunteers faced a challenge to their own survival. In short, the once-famous zoo was abandoned and left to survive on its own. However, because it is the only public institution to present to the population species of local and foreign fauna, zoo attendance is being restored these days.

Fauna

Today, the number of animals kept is about 600. Dushanbe Zoo is the only institution in the country that supports wildlife in captivity. Animals of both indigenous and foreign species of Asian and African fauna

Fauna

Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

 are kept here. Of the exotic animals, some African and Asian primates are kept here. Of the large cats family there is a male and female lions, a jaguar

Jaguar

The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...

 and snow leopard

Snow Leopard

The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...

. Of local fauna, brown bears

Brown Bears

The Brown Bears is a name shared by all sports teams at Brown University, a university located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 37 National...

, black bears

Asiatic Black Bear

The Asian black bear , also known as the moon bear or white-chested bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, Korea, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan...

, Bactrian camel

Bactrian camel

The Bactrian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest...

, donkey

Donkey

The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...

, wolf, jackal

Jackal

Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...

, fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

, raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

, and some birds like owl

Owl

Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...

, vulture

Vulture

Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...

, golden eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

, falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

 are presented here. Also some reptiles, like snakes, caymans, lizards are displayed indoors. None of the animals enjoy their natural habitat and are kept in cages that are inappropriate for their sizes. The conditions are very harsh for the animals, especially as specialized care is not available.

Connection with Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, Albion, Indiana, USA

In 2006, an accident at Dushanbe Zoo led to a student's arm being mauled by a bear. Student pen-pals at schools in Dushanbe and Albion, Indiana

Albion, Indiana

Albion is a town in Albion and Jefferson townships, Noble County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,349 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Noble County.-School:...

 brainstormed ways to increase safety at the zoo, and to improve the zoo in general. Working with mentors and sponsoring organizations, the work of the two groups of students resulted in the zoo receiving a $75,000 grant in 2007 from the American Association of Museums

American Association of Museums

The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...

, which will allow the zoo to develop a volunteer program, repair fences, add signs, and put in a garden area, picnic area, and playground.