Baku Zoo

Baku Zoo opened in 1928[2] within an existing park named after Anatoly Lunacharsky (which has now been re-named after Nizami Ganjavi). In 1942, a new zoo was founded in the same location as the evacuated Rostov Zoo. The opening ceremony was held following the Great Patriotic War. Until 1958, the zoo was located near a railway station in a small square.

White storks at the zoo

In 1958, the zoo was relocated a town called Bayil on the outskirts of Baku, and remained there until the mid-1970s when a landslide killed a lion and a bear. As a result, the zoo was temporarily relocated to Bakikhanov (formerly Razin), where it remained until 1985.[3] During this period a group of experts, including zoologists, biologists, and other specialists, decided that Narimanov Raion in Baku was the appropriate location for the zoo. Construction of the new zoo began near a railway station for children, and according to the plan, the zoo would cover 4.5 hectares (11 acres). This was later reduced to 2.25 hectares (5.6 acres) to accelerate construction, then expanded by constructing a circular railway for visiting children.

In 1979, the government of Baku allocated the necessary funds for constructing the new zoo, which only lasted 5 years because of funding deficiencies. On September 1st, 1985, the new Baku Zoo was reopened for visitors.[4] Following another order from the government, 2 hectares (4.9 acres) were added to the zoo in 2001, expanding its total area to 4.25 hectares (10.5 acres). In 2008, six species of exotic animals were flown to the zoo from Minsk: pairs of Nile crocodiles, nasuas, chinchillas, roe deer, Egyptian dogs, and lynxes. This group of animals was exchanged for a young lion, which was sent from Baku to Minsk at the end of 2007.[5]

Further construction was carried out in 2010. A new railway station for children was constructed, but issues related to the zoo's relocation were again raised.[6][7]

The symbol of the Baku Zoo is the pink flamingo, adopted in the 1990s.[8] The citizens of Baku would bring wounded flamingos to the zoo where its staff, lead by veterinarian Chingiz Sultanov, tended to them. There are currently 28 flamingos in the zoo.[9]

Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, ordered the construction of a new zoo with exotic flora and fauna in Ceyranbatan Village, Absheron Rayon, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from Baku. Approximately 2.85 million Azerbaijani manats were allocated for the project. Rare mammal and bird species from different continents, especially Australia, are planned to be added to the new zoo, which will cover 230 hectares (570 acres). A working group which includes specialists from different research institutes and NPOs was created within the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to manage the new species.[10]

As of 2018, there were 160 species of animals in the zoo and about 1200 animals total:[11]

• 
  Jaguar
• 
  Brown bear
• 
  African lion
• 
  Muntjac
• 
  Zebu
• 
  Red deer
• 
  Llama
• 
  Bactrian camel
• 
  Ostrich
• 
  Shetland pony
• 
  Rhesus macaque
• 
  Greater flamingo
• 
  Turtle

• Media related to Baku Zoo at Wikimedia Commons