Mykolaiv Zoo has been running its 121-year history since 1901, when the private Aquarium of Mykola Leontovych, the then mayor of Mykolaiv, was opened for viewing by all.

Mykola Leontovych, a lawyer by profession, worked for many years in the city administration, he worked as the city mayor from 1909 to 1917. In addition to his main activity, he also had an interesting hobby – his own collection, the Aquarium, which was famous in Europe at that time. The aquarium was equipped with the latest technology of that time: it had electric compressors and heaters. The fish were placed in 75 aquariums. The volume of some of them reached 3000 liters. The collection included about 50 species of fish and amphibians, more than 1,000 specimens.

Mykola Leontovych constantly published articles on aquarium science, was an active member of the Mykolaiv Society of Nature Lovers. There were only seven such collections in the whole Europe.

Aquarium-zoological garden

In 1918, Leontovych’s collection was nationalized, and he himself was appointed the first director of the State Aquarium. In 1925, a zoological department was opened at the Aquarium, and it became known as the Aquarium-Zoological garden. Bison, camels, yaks, deer, mouflons and ostriches were brought from Askania-Nova. Bears, wolves, foxes, and monkeys were purchased especially for the zoological garden. Enclosures for ungulates, cages for carnivores were built, and a park was laid out. The collection of the Mykolaiv State Aquarium-Zoological garden was housed in the former private house of Mykola Leontovych and in the large yard of this house.

The fate of Mykola Leontovych turned out tragically. In 1934, unjustified repressions of M. Leontovych and his family began. On July 28, he was arrested on wild accusations of connections with the counter-revolutionary intelligentsia in 1937. The date and place of Mykola Leontovych’s death are not known for certain.

Years have passed, and the city has successfully forgotten the name of Mykola Leontovych – the mayor and founder of the zoo. It took more than 20 years for Volodymyr Topchy to return this name to the descendants. Now a monument to the founder stands on the square in front of the zoo, and the square itself bears the name of Mykola Leontovych.

30 – 40 years of XX century

In 1935, Fedir Nichykov joined the Aquarium-Zoological garden as a scientific worker, who would later become the director of the Zoological garden. With the arrival of Fedir Nichykov, Zoological garden’s work was put on a scientific basis: lectures, excursions, consultations began to be held. In 1937, he founded a circle of young biologists, one of the first circles of the movement of young naturalists in the country. It was thanks to Fedir Nichykov that Mykolaiv Zoo was saved during the war.

Zoological garden during the years of occupation

On August 16, 1941, German fascist troops entered the city. The zoo was not evacuated. And the director, his wife Lyudmyla, three workers and 4 young naturalists did not leave the animals. In the first days of the occupation, the animals were fed with supplies from the warehouse, but they soon ran out. The water supply did not work, there was no electricity. Water was brought to the zoo in a barrel from Ingul. Many aquarium fish died without aeration. The most difficult thing was to feed the carnivores. L. Nichykova and worker V. Bevzyuk searched for the corpses of horses killed during the bombing in the city, cut the meat and fed it to the animals.

Not even a month of occupation had passed when Fedir Nichykov was summoned to the German commandant’s office. In zoological garden it was decided that he would not return from there. However, a few hours later, Nichykov returned and urgently began to prepare documents about the zoological garden’s need for animal feed and for salaries for employees. All years of occupation, the zoological garden was open to visitors. The zoo museum keeps the original entrance tickets of that time.

During the retreat, the fascists shot bears and lions. Employees managed to hide some animals in the basement.

«Crocodiles, goldfish, peacocks and a number of other animals have been preserved», – wrote in the feedback book on the second day after the liberation of the city on March 29, 1944, the liberating fighters.

Despite the difficult material situation of Mykolaiv after the war, Zoological garden gradually recovered. The cages of carnivorous animals were repaired, a room for small carnivores and a pool for waterfowl were built. In 1948, the Aquarium-Zoological garden was renamed Mykolaiv Zoo.

On the path of renewal and development

In the 50s, the zoo’s collection was significantly increased. Pumas, snow leopard, polar bears, spotted hyena, and Asian black bear appeared in it. In 1955, Asian elephant Mary was brought. Every year, the zoo received offspring from lions, brown bears, wolves, wild boars, and pheasants. From 1949 to 1957, more than 30 lion cubs and 30 brown bear cubs were born in the zoo.

Zoo technician Lyudmyla Nichykova carried out a great deal of work on the artificial breeding of young animals. Her method of artificial feeding of lion cubs was one of the first in the Soviet Union. In the 60s, the collection of animals included more than 200 species and about 2,000 specimens. The total area of premises for animals was only 1267 square meters. Mykolaiv Zoo needed to increase its territory…

Nichykova with lion cubs, which she nursed

Building a new zoo

In 1970, construction began on the new territory. Money, as always, was not enough, and the construction was carried out extremely sluggishly. Some city leaders thought that it would be easier to close the zoo. At that time, two people came to help the zoo: Volodymyr Vaslyaev, the first secretary of the regional party committee, and Ivan Kanaev, the head of the city executive committee. The city began to build a zoo using the folk construction method. More than 100 organizations of the city and region took part in this. The main driver of the construction works was I. Kanaev. Now the central alley in Mykolaiv Zoo bears the name of this person.

In the 1970s, premises for elephants and hippopotamuses, a house for carnivorous animals “Island of Animals”, premises for primates, for birds, a unique enclosure for mountain ungulates “Goat Hill”, etc. were built. All these premises are still in use.

In 1977, the relocation of animals to new homes began. The last to be transported to the new territory in March 1978 were old-timers of the zoo, Mary the elephant and Vasya the American alligator. The old zoo ceased to exist. And only four huge trees remained from it. They are mute witnesses of the past – still remember Leontovych and Nichykov…

In 1978, the sculpture “Mowgli and Bagheera” (by Inna Makushyna) was installed on the square in front of the zoo, which is now depicted on the logo of Mykolaiv Zoo.

Museum of the History of Mykolaiv Zoo.

Like any large enterprise with more than 100 years of history, Mykolaiv Zoo has many valuable relics, documents, photographs, physical exhibits that tell about significant events. Several generations of employees gave their time, their talent, and their love to their favorite business. Hundreds of interesting species of animals lived in the zoo. Our unique Museum of the History of Mykolaiv Zoo can tell about all this.

The first exposition of the museum was created in 1988 in the premises of the household building. Now the exposition occupies one of the rooms of the administrative building of the zoo. Museum of the History of Mykolaiv Zoo is a branch of the Mykolaiv Regional Museum of Local History.

The central place in the museum is occupied by exhibits dedicated to the life and activities of the founder of Mykolaiv Zoo Mykola Leontovych: his portrait, an album with photos of the zoo, personal belongings, real aquariums on openwork stands that stood in Leontovych’s house.

In the following showcases there are exhibits that tell about the work of Fedir Nichykov, about the activities of the zoo during the war (for example, entrance tickets to the zoo, printed in German and Ukrainian languages). Exhibits that tell about the construction of the new territory, our awards, printing products, etc. are presented in the museum.

The zoological collection, which includes stuffed animals, wet preparations, a considerable craniological collection, and a collection of bird eggs, needs special attention. The vast majority of the exhibits of the zoological part of the museum are animals of Mykolaiv Zoo, which now serve science and education in the form of a museum exhibit.

Excursions for students, teachers, honored guests of the city, zoo employees are held in the museum.

In our time.

The new territory of Mykolaiv Zoo is more than 40 years old. These are the years of our history, years of problems and successes, years of work and achievements. The zoo is constantly changing, being reconstructed, replenished with new exhibits.

According to the project developed by Zelenbud, the foundation of the park was laid. Every year the park is replenished with new plants. Now the zoo park is a beautiful, green, shady and well-kept oasis for relaxation.

In 2001, for the 100th anniversary of Mykolaiv Zoo, summer enclosures for lions and tigers were built. Big cats have been waiting for this event for 20 years. And another 20 years later, the construction of the second part of the summer enclosures for big cats began.

In the department of primates, the winter enclosures are now being completely reconstructed, and large observation windows have been installed in them. Reconstruction and expansion of summer enclosures was carried out. In 2004, an extremely interesting exhibit of great apes “Chimpanzee Island” was created, the ethnographic courtyard “Grandfather’s Hut” with an exhibit of domestic animals was opened.

In 2005, an enclosure for common ostriches “Ostrich Yard” was opened, new aviaries for parrots, cranes, large birds of prey, and an indoor aviary were built.

Every year, visitors who come to us are sure to find changes – new landscape compositions are created in the park, new enclosures are built, visibility and decorative embellishment are updated.

Mykolaiv Zoo now has a unique complex for large ungulates “Ukrainian Safari”, which includes reconstructed and expanded summer and winter enclosures for elephants and hippos and which was built in 2015-2017.

Now the central alley of the zoo, the central square, on which a stationary stage for mass events was installed in 2015, as well as the square in front of the zoo named after Mykola Leontovych, have received a new look. A monument to the founder of Mykolaiv Zoo was erected on the square, and in 2006, the “Memorial Sign of the Commonwealth of Zoos of the World” was opened on the square, symbolizing the cooperation between zoos of the entire planet. Soil for this flower bed was delivered from 50 zoos in 30 countries of all continents. Flowers grow on the mixture of this land as the personification of the motto of Mykolaiv Zoo: “Only by our joint efforts we can save the world of wild animals”.

Mykolaiv Zoo, the first among the tourist centers of the Mykolaiv region, was included in the European “Tourist Brand” system, which operates in 19 countries of the world. We are pleased to present to our visitors our tourist brand No. 401 “Mykolaiv Zoo”, the ceremonial presentation of which took place on the birthday of the zoo and was timed to the 226th anniversary of the city of Mykolaiv.

From August 29 to September 1, 2016, Mykolaiv Zoo was screened by representatives of EAZA, according to the results of which Mykolaiv Zoo was granted the status of a candidate for EAZA membership in order to give it time for modernization in order to achieve modern EAZA standards.

On November 16, 2017, the annual reporting conference of the Ukrainian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (UAZA) was held in Mykolaiv Zoo. 25 representatives from 12 zoos, aquariums, and terrariums of Ukraine took part in the conference. The main theme of the UAZA-2017 annual conference is “Improving the conditions for keeping animals and creating new modern zoo exhibits”. Also, great attention was paid to the consideration and discussion of draft laws on the conservation of the natural fund of Ukraine. In March 2018, the fourth collection of scientific articles by the employees of Mykolaiv Zoo, as well as our colleagues from the zoos of Ukraine, was published. This collection presents 36 articles from 7 zoos. From November 28 to 29, 2018, a scientific and practical conference of representatives of the Ukrainian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (UAZA) was held on the grounds of Mykolaiv Zoo, dedicated to the issues of feeding wild animals in the zoo, food preparation and safety techniques during feeding. 26 animal feeding specialists who came from zoos of Ukraine took part in the conference.

On April 26, 2021, Mykolaiv Zoo turned 120 years old! This is an extremely important event not only for our zoo, but also for the city of Mykolaiv. 120 years of history have passed: successes, victories, difficulties and tragedies. Five generations of specialists have given and are giving their knowledge, strength and efforts. On this day, in honor of the important anniversary of our zoo, employees who have worked continuously at Mykolaiv Zoo for five or more years were awarded with the commemorative award “120 years of Mykolaiv Zoo”, established by Mykolaiv Zoo for the citizens of Ukraine for significant services to Mykolaiv Zoo and society in the matter of protection, conservation and reproduction of the animal world and the development of the zoo business as a whole.

In July, a new enclosure for southern ground hornbills with a total area of 103 m² was built.

On September 15, 2021, Mykolaiv Zoo hosted the grand opening of the conference “Zoo in Today’s Realities” dedicated to the 120th anniversary of Mykolaiv Zoo. 27 representatives of 15 zoos of Ukraine came to us. The purpose of the conference is to exchange experience on issues related to the operation of a modern zoo in today’s conditions. Also, one of the main issues of the conference was the creation of a new community that unites zoos and other institutions that keep animals – the Association of Zoos of Ukraine (AZU). The founders of this association were the directors of 9 zoos present at the conference. Organizations that keep animals and meet the approved requirements can join AZU as members. On the opening day of the conference, the honored guests were greeted by the mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkevych. After the official greeting and exchange of gifts, the guests arrived at the zoo, where they held meetings and discussed topical issues.

During the whole year, new construction was carried out according to the project called: “MI Mykolaiv Zoo. The new construction of summer enclosures “Island of Animals” at the address: 1, M. Leontovych Square in city Mykolaiv”, which was developed by “Autograf-N” LLC. As a result, three summer enclosures were built, a working corridor and winter enclosures for keeping big cats were renovated, which will improve the conditions for keeping and servicing animals. The enclosures with a total area of ​​1342 m² are located on the territory adjacent to the “Island of Animals” building, which is in the center of the zoo and attracts a large number of visitors every day. The total estimated construction cost is 25,740,255 UAH. Construction works were paid from the city budget in the amount of 22,942,327 UAH.

Development plan:

• Constantly improve the conditions of keeping animals;
• Develop the vacant zoo territories;
• Purchase gas anesthesia;
• Implement environmental enrichment programs in animal enclosures;
• Conduct work with animals based on the plan of the zoo collection, which takes into account the possibilities for maintenance (availability of conditions, enclosures and territory for animals);
• Renovate buildings that need it, primarily old ones;
• Strive to ensure that animals entering the zoo or existing social animals are kept in groups or transferred to other zoos that contain such species of animals;
• Expand knowledge about modern zoo management and animal husbandry with the involvement of specialists from EAZA for consultation and possible training;
• Cooperate with other zoos in the field of scientific research.

4. Specialization of the zoo: conservation, breeding and exhibition of rare and endangered species, educational activities on environmental protection.

Information about the collection: number of species – 424, number of individuals – 3361.

One one the importans achievements of the zoo breeding of rare species of animals: Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), white-naped crane (Grus vipio), southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri),  Bewick’s swan (Cygnus bewickii), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), polar bear (Ursus maritimus), Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor), markhor (Capra falconeri), South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), lar gibbon (Hylobates lar), siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus), mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), etc.

Awards:

• Award of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine from September 5, 2001 for a significant contribution to the protection and preservation of the natural environment and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Mykolaiv Zoo:
• On November 7, 2002, the International Academic Ranking of Popularity and Quality “Golden Fortune” awarded the zoo with the “Crystal Cornucopia”;
• According to the results of the All-Ukrainian product quality competition “100 best products of Ukraine-2003” in 2004, Mykolaiv Zoo was recognized as the winner in the “Service” nomination with the awarding of the State Mark of Quality:
• On December 18, 2007, Mykolaiv Zoo received the award of the All-Ukrainian Foundation for the Promotion of International Communication “Ukrainian People’s Embassy”. Director Volodymyr Topchy was awarded the “Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” of the 3rd degree, and the team of Mykolaiv Zoo – the gold medal “For high professionalism”:
• On September 11, 2009, by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 730/2009 “On State Awards of Ukraine”, the director of Mykolaiv Zoo Volodymyr Topchy was awarded the honorary title “Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine”;
• The award “For services to the city of Mykolaiv” was awarded to the team of Mykolaiv Zoo:
• On September 8, 2012, the director of Mykolaiv Zoo Volodymyr Topchy was awarded the Prize of the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums named after S. M. Kudryavtsev;
• A certificate from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was awarded to Volodymyr Topchy for services to the Ukrainian people:
• A certificate from the Council of National Communities of Ukraine was awarded to Mykolaiv Zoo for its significant contribution to the preservation of international peace and harmony in Ukraine, the development of the culture of ethnic communities in the Mykolaiv Region: