History of the Moscow zoo
The Moscow Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in Europe. It was opened on January 31, 1864 according to the old style and was then called the zoo. The Moscow Zoo was organized by the Russian Imperial Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants. By the opening of the zoo, it contained 134 specimens of domestic animals, 153 specimens of wild animals and birds and 7 specimens of reptiles. The Russian fauna was best represented: bears, wolves, foxes, badgers, ferrets, martens, hares, squirrels, hedgehogs, deer, falcons, hawks, owls, owls, bustards, cranes, herons, ducks. The creators of the garden wanted to show the audience first of all our native nature. There were also exotic animals at the exhibition – 2 lions, a jaguar, 2 tigers, a leopard, a rhinoceros, an alligator.