Elephas Maximus
Well-Known Member
Urgent translation of the info about current situation in zoo, acquired from staff.
This is likely NOT to be highlighted in mass media.
In 2013, just a year before the upcoming 150 th anniversary of Moscow Zoo, its director Vladimir Spitsin who worked here more than for 30 years, was moved to the post of ‘Zoo President’ (who actually has very few possibilities to govern the zoo).
Instead of him, a new executive director was assigned by the Moscow city council.
That was Natalya Kolobova, 53, who has studied in a Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) at Applied Mathematics department. Before her new assignment, she worked as a chief booker in Petrokommerz bank. Along with her, several other people came to the zoo management, with the same lack of biological education. The only exception is Sergei Popov, a zoologist, who became a zoo’s general director of science but, strangely, has a very few possibilities to govern the zoo.
It’s important to say that, unlike most of the world zoos, Moscow zoo is being under control of the city’s Culture Dept, not that of Ecology and Natural Resources. This is an absurd, as often happens in Russia. This allows to use Moscow zoo for business, just as an amusement parks.
Nobody dares to establish a business in such famous museums as Moscow Paleontology museum or in a Tretyakov gallery, but the zoo seems to be a nice cash source for the greedy officials.
The actions of N. Kolobova (who is just executive director, as stated again) have disastrous consequiences for the Moscow Zoo.
More fast food restaurants and stands appeared, as well as various amusement rides and gambling machines, cramping the zoo’s walkways. That means more noise is stressing the animals, and more food is being fed to them by ignorant visitors.
At May holidays, a 3-hour commercial rock concert took place at the zoo, despite the active protests of zoology authorities such as Sergei Popov (Zoo’s general director of Science, PhD Biology), Vladimir Spitsin (Former director, Zoo president, Academician), Nikolai Drozdov (PhD Biology) and Igor Muzychenko (Director of zoo’s Breeding station, PhD Biology). The profit from this concert cannot’ however, justify what happened with the animals. The stage was situated in close proximity to the aviaries and young animal enclosures.
As the result of stress from the loud rock music, ALL of the birds abandoned their nests and destroyed the eggs, while some pregnant female mammals had abortions. The 2013 breeding year was failed for most species, including endangered ones.
After the protests of biologists appeared at the zoo’s forum, it was closed to avoid negative publicity, and the moderator was fired.
Another ‘great’ business action was an establishement of a platform at the Reticulated giraffe exhibit. The visitors payed to feed the animal from the platform, with the limit of 3 persons in same time. Ultimately, when left unsupervised by the zoo staff, the platform became overloaded with 11 people (that had to remove the covering canvas first) and collapsed. 7 were injured, including 3 children. One of them, a 8 year old boy, had spine compression fracture & shoulder fracture, now recovering.
A Moscow zoo’s breeding station was founded by President Vladimir Putin 21 years ago. It’s situated in Volokolamsky District, 100 kilometers from Moscow, and consists of 290 hectare reserve along with 32 hectare auxiliary farm producing natural food for zoo animals.
The meaning of the breeding facility, as stated by President’s enactment and the Zoo’s charter, is a research, husbandry, breeding and conservation of rare and endangered animal species. Just an example: the Siberian crane reintroduction project, that Putin himself has taken part in, is based on the birds bred here.
The station and its director Igor Muzychenko are widely known among the scientific and zoo associations. This is the only facility where extensive breeding programs are established for such species as Peale’s falcon, golden eagle, snow leopard, Persian leopard, Marco Polo sheep, etc.
Many of the world zoos are waiting for the offspring of rare species produced here – Golden takins, cheetahs, wolverines, great bustards, dholes, and more. This facility is the treasure of Russian biology.
Nevertheless, ‘an effective management’ intruded there too. N. Kolobova described the station as ‘economically ineffective, expensive asset, a ballast’. The first action taken by her was firing of 13 keepers without hiring new ones, lowing the salary twice and demoting its director.
Then she ordered a program of opening the breeding station for visitors, with all necessary amenities as rides, kiosks and hot dog stands. This means the end of 20-year efforts of research and breeding programs. Mr. Muzychenko made a protest, but was just told to resign (moreover, he was attacked and injured).
Next victim of effective management was the unique acipenserid collection kept at the breeding station.
After 10 years of history, it includes now ALL species of the Russian sturgeons, including ones considered to be extinct in the wild (such as Sakhalin sturgeon and Black Kaluga sturgeon). This collection is kept under the regulations of EAZA. But N. Kolobova has the other opinion. She thinks that the sturgeons are too expensive to keep, and the ichtyologists are smuggling black caviar. The best found solution was selling the sturgeons to fisheries for food.
She insisted that fishes shouldn’t be kept neither at the zoo nor at breeding station, because those are places for animals and fish are not animals.
The auxiliary farm was also ‘managed’. Following the verbal order made by Kolobova, the taxes for keeping live food animals weren’t accepted by zoo accounts. The reason is that those ‘ordinary’ animals – poultry, rabbits and livestock - can’t be exhibited, and their existence is useless. Despite the fact that presence of live and ecologically clean food is crucial to many carnivore species’ welfare and successful breeding.
Finally, Kolobova shown a certain interest in land prices at the breeding station’s territory.
The situation is quite serious now. If nothing is changed, the Moscow zoo will slowly die in next several years.
This is likely NOT to be highlighted in mass media.
In 2013, just a year before the upcoming 150 th anniversary of Moscow Zoo, its director Vladimir Spitsin who worked here more than for 30 years, was moved to the post of ‘Zoo President’ (who actually has very few possibilities to govern the zoo).
Instead of him, a new executive director was assigned by the Moscow city council.
That was Natalya Kolobova, 53, who has studied in a Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) at Applied Mathematics department. Before her new assignment, she worked as a chief booker in Petrokommerz bank. Along with her, several other people came to the zoo management, with the same lack of biological education. The only exception is Sergei Popov, a zoologist, who became a zoo’s general director of science but, strangely, has a very few possibilities to govern the zoo.
It’s important to say that, unlike most of the world zoos, Moscow zoo is being under control of the city’s Culture Dept, not that of Ecology and Natural Resources. This is an absurd, as often happens in Russia. This allows to use Moscow zoo for business, just as an amusement parks.
Nobody dares to establish a business in such famous museums as Moscow Paleontology museum or in a Tretyakov gallery, but the zoo seems to be a nice cash source for the greedy officials.
The actions of N. Kolobova (who is just executive director, as stated again) have disastrous consequiences for the Moscow Zoo.
More fast food restaurants and stands appeared, as well as various amusement rides and gambling machines, cramping the zoo’s walkways. That means more noise is stressing the animals, and more food is being fed to them by ignorant visitors.
At May holidays, a 3-hour commercial rock concert took place at the zoo, despite the active protests of zoology authorities such as Sergei Popov (Zoo’s general director of Science, PhD Biology), Vladimir Spitsin (Former director, Zoo president, Academician), Nikolai Drozdov (PhD Biology) and Igor Muzychenko (Director of zoo’s Breeding station, PhD Biology). The profit from this concert cannot’ however, justify what happened with the animals. The stage was situated in close proximity to the aviaries and young animal enclosures.
As the result of stress from the loud rock music, ALL of the birds abandoned their nests and destroyed the eggs, while some pregnant female mammals had abortions. The 2013 breeding year was failed for most species, including endangered ones.
After the protests of biologists appeared at the zoo’s forum, it was closed to avoid negative publicity, and the moderator was fired.
Another ‘great’ business action was an establishement of a platform at the Reticulated giraffe exhibit. The visitors payed to feed the animal from the platform, with the limit of 3 persons in same time. Ultimately, when left unsupervised by the zoo staff, the platform became overloaded with 11 people (that had to remove the covering canvas first) and collapsed. 7 were injured, including 3 children. One of them, a 8 year old boy, had spine compression fracture & shoulder fracture, now recovering.
A Moscow zoo’s breeding station was founded by President Vladimir Putin 21 years ago. It’s situated in Volokolamsky District, 100 kilometers from Moscow, and consists of 290 hectare reserve along with 32 hectare auxiliary farm producing natural food for zoo animals.
The meaning of the breeding facility, as stated by President’s enactment and the Zoo’s charter, is a research, husbandry, breeding and conservation of rare and endangered animal species. Just an example: the Siberian crane reintroduction project, that Putin himself has taken part in, is based on the birds bred here.
The station and its director Igor Muzychenko are widely known among the scientific and zoo associations. This is the only facility where extensive breeding programs are established for such species as Peale’s falcon, golden eagle, snow leopard, Persian leopard, Marco Polo sheep, etc.
Many of the world zoos are waiting for the offspring of rare species produced here – Golden takins, cheetahs, wolverines, great bustards, dholes, and more. This facility is the treasure of Russian biology.
Nevertheless, ‘an effective management’ intruded there too. N. Kolobova described the station as ‘economically ineffective, expensive asset, a ballast’. The first action taken by her was firing of 13 keepers without hiring new ones, lowing the salary twice and demoting its director.
Then she ordered a program of opening the breeding station for visitors, with all necessary amenities as rides, kiosks and hot dog stands. This means the end of 20-year efforts of research and breeding programs. Mr. Muzychenko made a protest, but was just told to resign (moreover, he was attacked and injured).
Next victim of effective management was the unique acipenserid collection kept at the breeding station.
After 10 years of history, it includes now ALL species of the Russian sturgeons, including ones considered to be extinct in the wild (such as Sakhalin sturgeon and Black Kaluga sturgeon). This collection is kept under the regulations of EAZA. But N. Kolobova has the other opinion. She thinks that the sturgeons are too expensive to keep, and the ichtyologists are smuggling black caviar. The best found solution was selling the sturgeons to fisheries for food.
She insisted that fishes shouldn’t be kept neither at the zoo nor at breeding station, because those are places for animals and fish are not animals.
The auxiliary farm was also ‘managed’. Following the verbal order made by Kolobova, the taxes for keeping live food animals weren’t accepted by zoo accounts. The reason is that those ‘ordinary’ animals – poultry, rabbits and livestock - can’t be exhibited, and their existence is useless. Despite the fact that presence of live and ecologically clean food is crucial to many carnivore species’ welfare and successful breeding.
Finally, Kolobova shown a certain interest in land prices at the breeding station’s territory.
The situation is quite serious now. If nothing is changed, the Moscow zoo will slowly die in next several years.
