Novosibirsk - The Novosibirsk Zoo

The Novosibirsk Zoo

The Novosibirsk Zoo is a world-renowned scientific institution as well as a popular tourist attraction. The zoo has over four thousand animals and is an active participant of thirty-two different captive breeding programmes for endangered species. On average, around 700,000 people visit the zoo each year.

In 2000, the zoo held the closest relative to the cape lion of South Africa. John Spence was always fascinated about the stories of these grand lions scaling the walls of General van Riebeeck's castle in the 17th century. Spence's search took thirty years, which led him to the Novosibirsk Zoo, where he found the closest living resemblance to the cape lion; the zoo called the lion Simon. The lion and his family are kept outdoors in large, natural settings. "It is kept all the year around in the climate conditions of the west Siberia at the temperatures from −49 °C (−56 °F) to 36 °C (97 °F). In forty years, more than sixty cubs were born."

The zoo's current curator is Rostislav Shilo. Simon's cubs were named after him and his wife, Olga.