Pardisan Park Species List (1975 masterplan)

J I N X

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Pardisan park, as originally envisaged, was designed to be an urban environmental park modelled on a traditional Persian garden, bringing together zoological and botanical gardens, aquariums, natural history museums and planetariums etc. under the banner of a single institution.

The park would have been divided into 7 geographic zones – Iran, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, with each geographic zone being further divided into multiple climatic zones. In addition to the fauna and flora of each region, the exhibits would have also highlighted the adaptations of humans communities native to each region, and the human-environment relation in both a historical and modern context.

I will, however, only focus on the animal species that were planned to have been exhibited.

Total area: ~300 hectares

IRAN

Zagros and Elburz mountains

Timber wolf
Blanford's fox
Snow leopard
Persian wild goat

Hyrcanian forest
Shrew spp.
Mediterranean mole
Edible dormouse
Indian crested porcupine
Vole spp.
House mouse
Jungle cat
Lynx
Siberian tiger
European badger
(Eurasian?) otter
Weasel (sp. ?)
Pine marten
Red deer
Roe deer
Waterfowl
"Forest birds"
Fish

Lake Rezaiyeh
Bicolored shrew
Lesser (white-toothed?) shrew
European hedgehog
Long-clawed ground squirrel
Common vole
Mole vole (sp. ?)
Great jird
Wood mouse
Waterfowl

Zagrosian oak woodland
European hare
Persian squirrel
(Asiatic?) lion
Leopard
Red fox
Syrian brown bear
Wild boar
Persian fallow deer
Cave fish
"Zagrosian stream" fish spp.

Pistachio-Almond scrub
Manul
Wild cat
Golden jackal
Marbled polecat
Domestic donkey
"Aurochs"
Domestic goat
Sheep spp.
Birds

Juniper scrub
Birds of prey

Plateau desert
Striped hyeana
Asiatic cheetah
Caracal
Sand cat
Persian onager
Gazelle spp.
Jerboa spp.
Jird spp.

Artemesia steppe
Hedgehog spp.
Fox spp.
Marten spp.
Hare spp.
Pika spp.
Squirrel spp.
Hamster spp.
Jird spp.
Bactrian camel

Gulf coastal plain
Hedgehog spp.
Bat spp.
Hare spp.
Northern palm squirrel
Jerboa spp.
Gerbil, Jird spp.
Rat spp.
Mongoose spp.
Fox spp.
Honey badger
Dugong
Dromedary
(Mugger?) crocodile
Waterfowl
Insects

Makran
Sand fox
Asiatic black bear
Waterfowl
 
NORTH AMERICA

Rocky mountains

Pika
"Rocky mountain" marmot (Yellow-bellied?)
Meadow vole
Bobcat
Timber wolf
Dall sheep
Rocky mountain goat
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Pacific coniferous forest
Snowshoe hare
Grey squirrel
Northern flying squirrel
North American porcupine
Beaver
Muskrat
Meadow vole
Northern red-backed vole
(Southern?) bog lemming
Canadian lynx
Grizzly bear
American mink
American marten
Fisher
Wolverine
Mule deer
Elk
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Appalachian forest
Opossum
Bat spp.
Cottontail rabbit (sp. ?)
Woodchuck
North American porcupine
Mouse (sp. ?)
Cougar
Grey fox
Black bear
Raccoon
Skunk (sp. ?)
Birds
Reptiles
Fish
Insects

Great plains
(Black-tailed?) jack rabbit
Prairie dog (sp. ?)
Ground squirrel (sp. ?)
Pocket gopher (sp. ?)
White-footed mouse
Coyote
American badger
Black-footed ferret
Pronghorn
Plains bison
Sage grouse
Reptiles
Insects

Sonoran desert
Desert shrew
Desert cottontail
Kangaroo rat (sp. ?)
Woodrat (sp. ?)
Kit fox
Ringtail
White-nosed coati
Collared peccary
Desert bighorn
Aquatic birds
Reptiles
Insects
 
SOUTH AMERICA

Páramo

Chinchilla
Pacarana
Spectacled bear
Alpaca
Llama
Vicuña
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Pampas
Giant anteater
Patagonian mara
"Patagonian cavy" (Southern mountain cavy?)
(Plains?) viscacha
Tuco-tuco (sp. ?)
Cougar
Pampas cat
Culpeo fox
Maned wolf
Patagonian weasel
Guanaco
Pampas deer
Rhea (sp. ?)
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Amazon rainforest
Grey four-eyed opossum
Mouse opossum (sp. ?)
Vampire bat
Howler monkey spp.
Woolly spider monkey
Capuchin spp.
Cotton-top tamarin
Golden lion tamarin
(Southern?) tamandua
Pygmy anteater
Two-toed sloth (sp. ?)
Prehensile-tailed porcupine
Capybara
Orange-rumped agouti
Jaguar
Ocelot
Kinkajou
Brazil tapir
Birds
Caiman (sp. ?)
Amazon river fish
 
Is this an actual species list from 1975 or a made up/fantasy species list. If it is a made up/fantasy zoo then you are supposed to put this into the speculative zoo design and planning forum. Even then you can’t just make a thread which consists of a list of animals (many of which are seldom kept in captivity outside their range). You have to explain the plan and design if the park.
 
Is this an actual species list from 1975 or a made up/fantasy species list. If it is a made up/fantasy zoo then you are supposed to put this into the speculative zoo design and planning forum. Even then you can’t just make a thread which consists of a list of animals (many of which are seldom kept in captivity outside their range). You have to explain the plan and design if the park.
All of these were originally planned to have been kept at the park, as mentioned in the original plans by the architecture firm that was hired to design the place.
 
All of these were originally planned to have been kept at the park, as mentioned in the original plans by the architecture firm that was hired to design the place.
Was any part of it built?
 
All of these were originally planned to have been kept at the park, as mentioned in the original plans by the architecture firm that was hired to design the place.
Okay so I did find the documents which the list comes from. I am sorry for doubting your post in the first place J I N X.

Here’s a link with the master plan for anyone who is curious;

https://annewhistonspirn.com/sharefiles/WMRT-Pardisan-Plan-1975.pdf

The problem with masterplans is that they are never absolute and the final product is never the same as the plan. Which is a shame since this does look like a very ambitious project. If it were to be made into reality this zoo would have been a exemplary zoo in the Middle East and maybe even join the world ranks.
 
EUROPE

Scandinavian and Alaskan tundra

Arctic hare
Arctic ground squirrel
Norway lemming
Arctic fox
Polar bear
Ermine
Musk ox
Birds
Insects

Alps
Alpine shrew
Alpine marmot
Snow vole
Eurasian lynx
Alpine ibex
Chamois
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Scandinavian conifer
Mountain hare
Red squirrel
Siberian flying squirrel
Siberian chipmunk
Wood lemming
Eurasian lynx
Pine marten
Sable
Siberian weasel
Wolverine
Seal spp.
European elk
Wapiti
Birds
Reptiles Insects

West European oak forest
Shrew spp.
European hedgehog
Brown hare
White-footed mouse
Edible dormouse
European wildcat
Red fox
European polecat
Wild boar
Red deer
Roe deer
Wisent
Birds
Reptiles
Fish
Insects
 
Was any part of it built?
not as far as I'm aware

Okay so I did find the documents which the list comes from. I am sorry for doubting your post in the first place J I N X.

Here’s a link with the master plan for anyone who is curious;

https://annewhistonspirn.com/sharefiles/WMRT-Pardisan-Plan-1975.pdf

The problem with masterplans is that they are never absolute and the final product is never the same as the plan. Which is a shame since this does look like a very ambitious project. If it were to be made into reality this zoo would have been a exemplary zoo in the Middle East and maybe even join the world ranks.
Given Iran's economy at the time I wouldn't be surprised if they had actually pulled it off.
 
ASIA

Tibetan Plateau

Hare spp.
Black-nosed pika (Black-lipped pika?)
Wolf
Tibetan sand fox
Musk deer
Wild yak
Chiru
Argali
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Manchurian forest
"Talloned shrew"
Mole (sp. ?)
"Short-eared hare"
Siberian (flying?) squirrel
Dwarf hamster
Manchurian tiger
Raccoon dog
Chinese ferret-badger
Manchurian roe deer
Sika deer
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Russian prairie
Pika (sp. ?)
Bobak marmot
Jerboa (sp. ?)
Mole rat (sp. ?)
Steppe lemming
Pallas' cat
Przewalski's horse
Saiga antelope
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Gobi desert
Hedgehog sp.
Marmot sp.
Jerboa spp.
Wild ass
Bactrian camel
(Goitered?) gazelle
Reptiles
Insects

Sunda rain forest
Fruit bat (sp. ?)
Tree shrew (sp. ?)
Slow loris
Tarsier (sp. ?)
Gibbons spp.
Siamang
Orangutan
Pangolin (sp. ?)
Flying squirrel (sp. ?)
Binturong
Palm civet
Clouded leopard
Sun bear
Asian elephant
Asiatic water buffalo
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Southeast Asia mangrove
Crab-eating macaque
Painted stork
Chestnut kingfisher
Reptiles
Mudskippers
 
AFRICA

Ruwenzori alpine

Sahara desert

Hedgehog sp.
Jerboa sp.
Rat sp.
Fox sp.
Addax
Scimitar oryx
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Namib desert
Rock hare (sp. ?)
Rock hyrax
Meerkat
Hartmann's mountain zebra
Gemsbok
Klipspringer
Birds
Reptiles
Insects

Grey Rift valley
Patas monkey
Baboon (sp. ?)
Two-striped field mouse
Banded mongoose
(Spotted?) hyaena
Lion
Cheetah
Serval
African hunting dog
Jackal
African elephant
(Plains?) zebra
White rhinoceros
Warthog (sp. ?)
Nile hippopotamus
Giraffe
Cape buffalo
Eland
Greater kudu
Hartebeest
Brindled gnu
Grant's gazelle
Thomson's gazelle
Springbok
Red lechwe
Impala
Ostrich
Goose spp.
Duck spp.
Kori bustard
Crowned crane
Stork spp.
Secretary bird
Ground hornbill
Reptiles
Insects

Congo rain forest
Checkered elephant shrew
Fruit bat (sp. ?)
Bosman's potto
Dwarf galago
Mona monkey
Mandrill
Colobus (sp. ?)
Gorilla (sp. ?)
Civets spp.
Forest genet
Leopard
African golden cat
Bushpig
Okapi
"Dwarf musk deer"
Royal antelope
Duiker spp.
Birds
Crocodile (sp. ?)
Insects
 
All of these were originally planned to have been kept at the park, as mentioned in the original plans by the architecture firm that was hired to design the place.
The fall of the Shah of Iran killed these legendary plans. It also nearly bankrupted the design firm that was not paid for years of work on the project, leading to the ouster of one of it’s founders, the landscape architect giant Ian McHarg. Of note, one of the consultants on the team was a young British architect fresh off of writing a book about zoo design: David Hancocks…
 
OCEANIA

Australian mulga scrub

Tasmanian devil
Native cat (sp. ?)
Common wombat
Great grey kangaroo
Wallaroo
Red necked wallaby
Rock wallaby (sp. ?)
Dingo
Emu
Reptiles
Insects

Great Sandy desert
(Short-beaked?) echidna
Marsupial mouse (sp. ?)
Brushtail possum
Rat kangaroo (sp. ?)
Red kangaroo
Hare wallaby (sp. ?)
"Placental rodent"
Birds
"Freshwater pool" fish spp.
Insects

New Guinea rain forest
Cuscus (phalanger sp.)
Sugar glider
Tree kangaroo (sp. ?)
Fruit bat (sp. ?)
Birds
Reptiles
Insects
 
The fall of the Shah of Iran killed these legendary plans. It also nearly bankrupted the design firm that was not paid for years of work on the project, leading to the ouster of one of it’s founders, the landscape architect giant Ian McHarg. Of note, one of the consultants on the team was a young British architect fresh off of writing a book about zoo design: David Hancocks…

From the ambition of the species list it looks like they were trying to build the San Diego Zoo from scratch.
 
From the ambition of the species list it looks like they were trying to build the San Diego Zoo from scratch.
The way zoos in a lot of the richer middle eastern countries (UAE and Qatar in particular) have managed to procure just about anything they have wanted, I'm pretty sure most of this collection would've been completed.

I love the way they say ‘birds’ as if they’re some kind of wallpaper
Might as well be just that seeing as how most of the exhibits were supposed to have been large open air/moated enclosures.
 
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