The Caucasus Nature Reserve took abandoned animals from the safari park in Sochi

Moscow, February 6 – The animals abandoned by the owners of the safari park in the village of Akhshtyr, Adler region, were taken away by specialists from the bird complex of the Caucasus Reserve. The press service of the protected area said that the fate of the remaining large mammals at the site will be decided in the near future.

The safari park and zoo in the village of Akhtyr contained more than 50 species of animals, including exotic species of predators.

As the head of the zoo in the village of Akhtyr Sofia Ermolenko said, the problems with the organizers of this business began several years ago. Gradually, expensive exotic animals began to be exported: lions, tigers, kangaroos and other animals were sold to zoos. In the winter of 2022, many camels, yaks, deer, bear, small mammals as well as birds remain on private property in Akhtar village. But no funding has been allocated for its maintenance. In fact, the animals were left to fend for themselves.

The head of the zoo appealed to animal rights activists, asking them to take away the remaining animals. On February 2, representatives of the Sochi Geographical Society, the Sochi Environmental and Biological Center, as well as environmentalists, took out most of the pets. And on February 5, specialists from the Caucasus Reserve took three raccoons and jackals under their care.

To get the animals out of the cages, some structures had to be dismantled.

According to Daria Chebutar, a veterinarian at the Laura Aviary Complex, “Outwardly, the wards appear to be quite healthy, but the health status of one of the raccoons is cause for concern. He is probably very old. We will quickly determine the cause: we will take blood for analysis, take pictures, we will treat, we will get sick.”

“Unfortunately, after only three months, this case was taken seriously, and all thanks to the public. Many thanks to the Sochi Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, which responded to the information received,” said Sergey Shevelev, director of the Caucasus Reserve. According to him, the reserve takes raccoons and jackals. “We would have taken more, but, unfortunately, we cannot keep those species that do not live in the nature of the Caucasus,” Shevelev explained.

He stressed that this situation with the safari park requires not only verification by law enforcement agencies, but also a thorough analysis.

As for the animals that were transferred to the Caucasus Reserve from the zoo, raccoons and jackals were isolated in the temporary enclosures of the Laura complex. If all goes according to plan, within ten days the animals will be transferred to cages.

The issue of transferring a bear named Winnie the Pooh from the zoo is difficult and still unresolved. Once a circus, now Winnie is waiting for her new owners.