Brave Kharkiv Zoo stays open despite Russian missiles and drones

KHARKIV- With air raid sirens blaring, the city’s free zoo provided a peaceful escape on a sweltering August day. Sonia, who was calmly selling fridge magnets at the gift shop, was unphased by the alarms.

 Sonia said, “Nobody takes any notice of the air raid alerts.” Ukraine’s second-largest city is located just 20 kilometers from the front line and is attacked frequently. Drone alerts are constant and missiles take less than one minute to strike.

 Last June, a drone struck the elephant house, which frightened the animals, but the elephants survived. The same attack killed 15 rabbits and injured some guinea pigs.

 Finding a friendly maintenance worker who was overly excited to hear English, used a translator app on his phone for a few minutes to let us know he doesn’t speak English. Departing with a friendly handshake, he soon returned with Serhii Bilokon.

 Serhii is an English-speaking guide who has been working at the zoo full-time for the past two years and every summer for years before that. He mentioned that the animals spend the nights in large thick-walled cement buildings that serve as bomb shelters.

 According to Serhii, supplies for the animals were difficult to get during the start of the war. Citizens stepped up and delivered food in baskets until the immediate crisis was averted. After a few months, the zoo was able to access its own agricultural center for food.

 Some animals are affected by the bombing more than others. “The camels are very docile and apathetic; they ignore all the sounds and just need food and water.” On the other hand, “bears are afraid of loud explosions, and they hide in their dens.”

 In the newly renovated zoo, the bears have more space and have been digging dens in their natural landscape. Today, the 22-acre zoo resembles a large park that you can walk through and view the animals in their natural habitat. They have just under 2,000 animals and around 200 species.

 The zoo is not new to conflict. The oldest zoo in Ukraine, having opened in 1895, it has already survived both World Wars and the October Revolution. During World War II, the German Army occupied the city but did not interfere with the zoo.

 However, during the August battles of 1943, a large number of animals died, and when the city was liberated, only four bears, five monkeys and a wolf survived. In 2008, a monument was erected to commemorate the animals that died during the war.

 In 2016, the zoo underwent a major renovation, transforming it into a modern safari park “where the animals do what they want and we just study them.” According to Serhii, this place “is not just a circus - we do science here.”

 During the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022, a female chimpanzee named Chichi escaped from the zoo but returned riding a bicycle alongside the zookeeper.

 Following its reopening in 2021, visitors averaged about 15,000 per day before the war. Currently, attendance averages 3,000 to 4,000 on weekdays and 7,000 to 8,000 on weekends. They are open six days a week, closing Mondays for cleaning and maintenance.

 The highlights include the Humboldt penguins, the hippopotamuses, the Sumatran orangutan, the Asian elephants, and the big cats, along with Siberian tigers.

 With this northeastern Ukrainian fortress city under constant threat, the zoo provides a quiet refuge at no cost to the residents. While the people casually ignore frequent air alerts, due to their sheer volume, the drone alert app persistently warns: “Head to the nearest shelter; overconfidence is a weakness.”

 Returning to the gift shop with Sonia, when asked if ignoring the alerts was a high-risk attitude she responded “Of course it’s dangerous.” She shrugged, adding “But nobody cares.” Despite the risk, a leisurely walk through the park continues to provide an illusion of peace to a city living on the edge of the front line.

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