Osijek Zoological Garden and Aquarium

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Osijek Zoological Garden and Aquarium
Full name Zoological Garden of the city of Osijek
surface 17 hectares
opening January 24, 1955
Animal species 100 species
Individuals 650 animals
organization
www.zoo-osijek.hr
Osijek Zoo and Aquarium (Croatia)
Osijek Zoological Garden and Aquarium

fCoordinates: 45 ° 34 ′ 6 ″  N , 18 ° 40 ′ 5 ″  E

The zoological garden and aquarium in Osijek is the largest zoo in Croatia in terms of area and is home to 650 animals in over 100 animal species (65 mammal species, 13 reptile species, 23 fish species). It covers an area of ​​17 hectares and is managed by the municipal company Unikom .

The zoo has been located in Osijek on the left bank of the Drava since 1952 . Due to the proximity to the shore, floods sometimes occur. During the war in Croatia , the zoo was largely destroyed and many animals were relocated to the Zagreb zoo .

Brief history and some facts

Fifty years ago, the inhabitants of Osijek, led by Rudolf Kern, demanded the establishment of a zoological garden. In December 1952, the city decided on the site on the left bank of the Drava, where work on the garden began in a short time. The zoo is one of the main attractions of the city of Osijek. It is owned by the City of Osijek and managed by the municipal company Unikom. Although funds are limited (the city pays one million kuna annually, while the cost is around four million a year), workers go to great lengths to keep the garden looking good. The garden should become as natural a living environment as possible for the animals living there.

Wartime and reconstruction

Over the past five years, the zoo has been slowly renovated and the animal population increased again. In addition to a new farm yard, the new cash desk area with parking lot, a hotel-restaurant on the banks of the Drau and new roads were built. When the zoo was reconstructed for the last time, the area increased, the 1.2 km long path, the lake, the indoor and outdoor enclosures and the cold room for the animal feed were renovated and new fences were erected. The aquarium and terrarium were disinfected and some animals were relocated to other places. Compared to the pre-war period, the zoo was only missing an elephant and a giraffe. Keeping groups of these two demanding animal species in modern enclosures is currently neither sensible nor feasible due to the financial situation.

Problems

The zoo in Osijek has little financial means to cover the running costs. With a minimum of 3.5 million kuna per year, the zoo tries to maintain high standards of animal husbandry. Investments in recent years have been almost exclusively in infrastructure and non-tier areas. Another problem is that there are no biologists and pathologists for the wild animals. The veterinary universities, which do not have such training programs, are to blame for this. The zoo cooperates with a pathologist from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine in Vinkovci, just as the zoo in Zagreb does with the University of Veterinary Medicine. When a new animal comes to the zoo that no one can handle, the employees go to another garden for training where such an animal is available. The extension area in the former Drau floodplains is still partially mined and cannot be used. The constant risk of flooding also limits the possibility of development. An obstacle to the straightforward development of the zoo in recent years has been the constant, politically induced changes of director, which have also promoted completely new zoological experts to this post. So only individual construction measures, but no comprehensive overall concept, were created and implemented. In addition, the zoo has not yet been able to become a member of international zoo associations such as WAZA and EAZA, which massively hinders the exchange of animals and knowledge transfer.

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