Each significant city in the world has at least one or two major attractions, which both tourists and local would spend a lot of time in there; some have museums, some have parks and gardens, some have loads of historical places, and some of the cities have all sorts of attractions. Though not all the cities in the world have a zoo, if they have it, it would be one of the most popular places in that city. Zoos are one of the major attractions in any towns. Both children and adults would love to spend time in them and learn about different animals, especially if the zoo has a large and diverse collection of animals. St. Petersburg doesn't have the largest zoo in Russia because Moscow's zoo is quite more massive, but Leningrad Zoo in St. Petersburg is the first-ever zoo in Russia. The Leningrad Zoo was established in 1865 by two of the most loveliest people, Sofia and Julius Gerhardt. Since those two loved animals a lot and spent their time learning about them, they've decided to establish St. Petersburg's very own zoo. The Leningrad Zoo has become one of the major attractions of St. Petersburg on the Russia tour, and most tourists would love to visit it when they travel to Russia.
Sofia and Julius Gerhardt opened the first Russia zoo inside the Alexander Park. That zoo quickly became an integral part of the city and played a significant role in the history of St. Petersburg. They have started the zoo with a collection of bears, tigers, lions, small predators, and various birds and parrots. While the zoo received an overwhelming response from the public from the beginning, the golden age of the zoo was during the management of the next owner, the second husband of Sofia Gebhardt, Ernest Rost. From 1872 to 1897, Rost made various positive changes in the zoo's restaurant, circus, and theater, which increased the incoming fund and made him able to maintain the animals better and even expand the animal collection of the zoo. During Rost's management, the collection of the zoo had increased to around 1160 animal species. The zoo had also hosted the ethnographic exhibitions since 1879. However, after Ernest Rost's retirement in 1898, the future of the zoo was in question since the Zoological gardens fell into decline, and it was finally closed for a visit in 1909. During this time, the idea of creating a zoo for scientific purposes in St. Petersburg and also moving the zoo to Udelny Park was passing around. After a decade of inadequate supervision, S. Novinkov had bought the zoo and started to rebuild it again. During his administration, the old enclosures went under reconstruction, and even several new ones were built. He also bought several new animals for the zoo. From day one of the establishment of the zoo until the October Revolution, the zoo had seen various owners, but it always remained private. However, after the October Revolution, the zoo nationalized like most of the private properties at that time.
After the revolution, the scientific aspect of the zoo began to shine more. Several clubs, study groups, laboratories, and scientific library had built in the zoo. Some of the clubs, such as Young Zoologists Club still exist and operational today. On the 75th anniversary of the zoo, 1.7 sq.km of Udelny Park was gifted to the zoo. However, the second world war suspended every construction work, and eventually the plans to move the zoo got canceled. During the second world war and the horrifying days of siege of Leningrad, the zoo kept on working, and only closed for a year before the war had ended. The zoo had powerful connection with the people of St. Petersburg, one example of that connection would be the elephant of the zoo, Betty, which was fed well, even during the shortage of food in the city. However, during one of the bombing raids, Betty was killed, and when the news made public, the whole town grieved, especially the children. One of the highlights of the zoo during that sad time were the workers who had fought hard to keep animals safe. To honor those workers, the name of the zoo' Leningrad Zoo' was retained even after the city was renamed back to St. Petersburg. After the war was over, the zoo immediately went under reconstruction, but since building in the new site wasn't possible, the reconstruction work carried in the old site. During the soviet union era, the zoo became one of the main attractions in the Russia tour as well as a scientific place for studying animals and their behavior. The zoo also had the most extensive collection of animals in the soviet union, but the facilities were in unsatisfactory condition. Thus, the renovation had started, but since the work took so long, some of the animals were moved to other zoos. In 2005, the government had decided to rebuild the zoo in its historical site, which is the current location, and the zoo once again opened to the public in 2007.
Currently, the Leningrad Zoo is one of the must-visit places in the tour to Russia, and it has one of the most amazing collections of animals in Russia. There are 15 special exhibitions inside the Leningrad Zoo, including Predator's House, Primate's House, Exotarium, Deer Circle, Kangaroo and Emu Enclosure, Educational Animals House, Children's Zoo, Camel Enclosure, and Ranger Path. Each one of these exhibitions has something to offer to children and adults both in terms of education and entertainment.
The symbol of the zoo is its polar bears. It was at the Leningrad Zoo that for the first time in the world, polar bears could be able to breed regularly, and this is the main reason for choosing this animal as a symbol of the zoo. The Leningrad Zoo was also one of the first zoos that had polar bears.
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