Tbilisi Zoo Hosts New Animals

Severe flooding in Tbilisi on June 13, 2015, killed most of the animals in the Tbilisi Zoo. A huge number of European zoos expressed immediate support and offered to transfer some of their animals to Tbilisi. Director of Tbilisi Zoo, Zurab Gurielidze, promised that the Zoo would begin settling new animals in spring 2016 and, as promised, on March 20, the first new Zoo residents arrived from Riga, Latvia.

Among the new animals are a camel, a yak, two Ara parrots and three alpacas- never before seen in Georgia. Representatives of the Zoo assure that the animals are in great condition despite the long journey and are already acclimatized to Tbilisi and ready to meet guests.

“Currently, the Zoo is in the process of restoring and constructing new enclosures. Therefore, it was decided at the first stage to take only those kinds of animals whose cages did not require significant cost to build. We will be preparing completely new cages for primates and carnivores, which can also be taken on in the near future,” said Gurielidze.

Gurielidze says they are also expecting to receive animals from Great Britain, Holland, France, Israel, Turkey and many other countries in May. Among them are likely to be macaque, hamadryas baboons, a kangaroo, mongooses, penguins, porcupines and a koala. Zoo guests will be able to see not only familiar animals, but also those, such as the alpaca, which have never been kept in Georgia before.

In parallel with the restoration of the old Tbilisi Zoo, a new facility is being built on the territory of Tbilisi Sea, to which the animals will be moved at a later date. Gurielidze noted that, although the construction of a new zoo is expected to take a few years, they are already building cages for animals such as bears and wolves.

Visitors can already enjoy the recent arrivals from Riga at the acting Tbilisi Zoo.

Eka Karsaulidze