Tallinn Zoo
Encyclopedia
Tallinn Zoo is a zoo in Tallinn
, Estonia
that was founded in 1939. It is the only zoo in Estonia, and as of 2008 it housed 7158 animals representing 619 species
.
. They brought back with them a young lynx
, named Illu. Illu became the first exhibit in the zoo, which was formally opened on 25 August 1939. The lynx was later chosen to be the zoo's emblem
animal.
Inititally the zoo was based on the edge of Kadriorg
Park. Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union
in 1940, delaying the planned development of the zoo. It relocated to a 87 hectares (215 acre) site in the Veskimetsa district in 1983.
Tallinn Zoo has the World's largest mountain goat and sheep collection, and a large eagle and owl collection.
The zoo has two tropic houses which include animals crocodile
s and other reptile
s, as well as fish
es, exotic bird
s, marmoset
s, chimpanzee
s, and mongoose
s.
The Elephant house was built in 1989 to celebrate zoo's 50 birthday. The elephant house includes snake
s, African elephants, pygmy hippos
, armadillo
s, and rodents.
The Alpinarium has been part of the zoo since 2004. In the Alpinarium you can find mountain sheep, ibex and snow leopards
.
The Middle-Asia complex was built in 2002, and includes animals like Przewalski's horses
, Bactrian camels
, bison
, yak
, and hyaena
s. Near the Middle-Asia complex you can find pheasants, and water bird lakes that are home to duck
s, pelican
s, swan
s, and other water birds.
Hawk mountain is home to eagle
s, vulture
s and owl
s. Here you can find different vultures, golden eagles, Steller's sea eagle
s, barn owl
s and many other eagles and owls.
Tallinn zoo is working on European mink mission to release these endangered animals to wild.
In July 2004 a man who had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, woke up and roamed the zoo alone. He evidently tried to offer a Polar Bear a cookie, only to have his hand bitten off. His screams alerted security who called an ambulance. He survived following surgery, but his hand was never recovered.
The zoo is currently undergoing a major modernization program, updating the facilities.
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
that was founded in 1939. It is the only zoo in Estonia, and as of 2008 it housed 7158 animals representing 619 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
.
History
In 1937, a team of Estonian marksmen won the World Champion title in HelsinkiHelsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. They brought back with them a young lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
, named Illu. Illu became the first exhibit in the zoo, which was formally opened on 25 August 1939. The lynx was later chosen to be the zoo's emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
animal.
Inititally the zoo was based on the edge of Kadriorg
Kadriorg
Kadriorg is a subdistrict in the district of Kesklinn , Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 3,333 . Kadriorg means "Catherine's Valley" in Estonian, this derives from the Catherinethal, a Baroque palace of Catherine I of Russia.-External links:**...
Park. Estonia was annexed by 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....
in 1940, delaying the planned development of the zoo. It relocated to a 87 hectares (215 acre) site in the Veskimetsa district in 1983.
Animals and exhibits
The zoo has two tropic houses which include animals crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s and other reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s, as well as fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
es, exotic bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, marmoset
Marmoset
Marmosets are the 22 New World monkey species of the genera Callithrix, Cebuella, Callibella, and Mico. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term marmoset is also used in reference to the Goeldi's Monkey, Callimico goeldii, which is closely related.Most marmosets...
s, chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s, and mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
s.
The Elephant house was built in 1989 to celebrate zoo's 50 birthday. The elephant house includes snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, African elephants, pygmy hippos
Pygmy Hippopotamus
The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa . The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal...
, armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
s, and rodents.
The Alpinarium has been part of the zoo since 2004. In the Alpinarium you can find mountain sheep, ibex and snow leopards
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
.
The Middle-Asia complex was built in 2002, and includes animals like Przewalski's horses
Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's Horse or Dzungarian Horse, is a rare and endangered subspecies of wild horse native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically China and Mongolia.At one time extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu...
, Bactrian camels
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...
, bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
, and hyaena
Hyaena
For the Siouxsie and the Banshees album, see Hyæna.For the group of animals commonly known as "hyaena", see Hyena.Hyaena is a genus comprising two of the living species of hyenas: the striped hyena from western Asia and northern Africa and the brown hyena from southern Africa...
s. Near the Middle-Asia complex you can find pheasants, and water bird lakes that are home to duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
s, swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s, and other water birds.
Hawk mountain is home to eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, 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...
s and 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...
s. Here you can find different vultures, golden eagles, Steller's sea eagle
Steller's Sea Eagle
The Steller's Sea Eagle, Haliaeetus pelagicus, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish. It is, on average, the heaviest eagle in the world, at about , but often lags behind the Harpy Eagle and Philippine Eagle in other...
s, barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s and many other eagles and owls.
Conservation and breeding
Tallinn zoo has successfully bred many animals, including Amur leopard, Amur goral, Steller's sea eagle, and snow leopards.Tallinn zoo is working on European mink mission to release these endangered animals to wild.
Incidents
In late 2007, a polar bear escaped from its cage due to human negligence, and died after being tranquilized.http://www.tallinnzoo.ee/index.php?ide=20&shownews=6In July 2004 a man who had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, woke up and roamed the zoo alone. He evidently tried to offer a Polar Bear a cookie, only to have his hand bitten off. His screams alerted security who called an ambulance. He survived following surgery, but his hand was never recovered.
The future
Tallinn zoo is building new exhibits for bears, wolves, tigers and other animals, which live in old military buildings right now.The zoo is currently undergoing a major modernization program, updating the facilities.