The big news this week is the arrival of four young lions to Kyiv Zoo. They are about six months old at the moment and there are three females and one male. We have only seen them on CCTV so far as they are being left alone, apart from cleaning and feeding until they settle in. They have come from Kaliningrad, a big zoo in Russia, and are actually really important for Kyiv Zoo. Until this week we only had an elderly lioness. Historically there has always been a pride of lions at Kyiv Zoo and a lion is the logo of the zoo, without them the zoo seems to have been missing something. So the arrival of these lions is really special. As a responsible zoo, we will not be breeding these lions, they are all from the same litter and there are too many African Lions in zoos. It’s very exciting for everyone to have them here and I’ll get photos once they have settled in properly.
I have had the zoo welders working hard for me over the past few weeks. They have been building a “Protected Contact” (PC) Screen” for me to use when I start training the elephant for his pedicures and health checks. The PC Screen will allow me to get close to the elephant to train him in a safe way for me and the elephant keepers. Eventually, we will be able to open the little doors in the screen for the elephant to put his feet through so we can make sure his toenails are nicely trimmed. I had some great help from zoos in America, Canada, England, France and Ireland to design the screen, and I’m really pleased with the results.
All the zoo staff have been working really hard over the past few weeks in preparation for our inspection next week. They have a lot of pride in their work and their efforts really show. We wanted a lot of the enclosures to have fresh woodchips substrates, so the industrial wood-chipper and the gardening department have been working overtime to make sure enough was prepared. Just as they sent out their final truck-load the machine decided it had had enough and broke down! Our mechanics will get it fixed in a few days, but I’m so relieved that all the chipping was done before the break-down.
Another break-down that is frustrating me at the moment is my watch. It’s so frustrating not having one. I’d buy a new one, but all we can find so far are cheap crummy ones that will fall apart in a few hours, or super-expensive solid gold type watches. I just can’t seem to find a reasonable water-proof watch. Never mind, watch hunting again next weekend. I’ll just pester Steve for time checks every five minutes!
Saturday was Armadillo day at the zoo. There were armadillo related activities for children, actors in armadillo costumes, educational talks, plasticine modelling, face painting and lots of armadillo enrichment. Such great little animals! Our “animal days” are really popular and there are a lot more visitors at these events. One activity that children like here is being given chalk to draw with on the floor. I’ve included a photo of someone’s picture of an armadillo.
Saturday was also Galina and Denis’s wedding. They had the ceremony in the morning at the registry office and then came to the zoo with all their guests for refreshments and photographs. In Kyiv after a wedding ceremony the bride and groom usually have their photograph taken in front of monuments, statues and the historic buildings in Kyiv. Also, throughout the wedding day, the bridesmaids and the best man all wear special ribbon sashes with their names painted on them. As Galina is the zoo’s PR manager she thought she would like her wedding photos in front of the zoo animals. We hope that other brides may consider doing the same in the future. Galina and Denis apparently arrived at the zoo on a big black Harley Davidson bike. We met them by the elephant enclosure for photos, champagne and a wander round the zoo for more photos. Galina looked absolutely beautiful.
I have had the zoo welders working hard for me over the past few weeks. They have been building a “Protected Contact” (PC) Screen” for me to use when I start training the elephant for his pedicures and health checks. The PC Screen will allow me to get close to the elephant to train him in a safe way for me and the elephant keepers. Eventually, we will be able to open the little doors in the screen for the elephant to put his feet through so we can make sure his toenails are nicely trimmed. I had some great help from zoos in America, Canada, England, France and Ireland to design the screen, and I’m really pleased with the results.
All the zoo staff have been working really hard over the past few weeks in preparation for our inspection next week. They have a lot of pride in their work and their efforts really show. We wanted a lot of the enclosures to have fresh woodchips substrates, so the industrial wood-chipper and the gardening department have been working overtime to make sure enough was prepared. Just as they sent out their final truck-load the machine decided it had had enough and broke down! Our mechanics will get it fixed in a few days, but I’m so relieved that all the chipping was done before the break-down.
Another break-down that is frustrating me at the moment is my watch. It’s so frustrating not having one. I’d buy a new one, but all we can find so far are cheap crummy ones that will fall apart in a few hours, or super-expensive solid gold type watches. I just can’t seem to find a reasonable water-proof watch. Never mind, watch hunting again next weekend. I’ll just pester Steve for time checks every five minutes!
Saturday was Armadillo day at the zoo. There were armadillo related activities for children, actors in armadillo costumes, educational talks, plasticine modelling, face painting and lots of armadillo enrichment. Such great little animals! Our “animal days” are really popular and there are a lot more visitors at these events. One activity that children like here is being given chalk to draw with on the floor. I’ve included a photo of someone’s picture of an armadillo.
Saturday was also Galina and Denis’s wedding. They had the ceremony in the morning at the registry office and then came to the zoo with all their guests for refreshments and photographs. In Kyiv after a wedding ceremony the bride and groom usually have their photograph taken in front of monuments, statues and the historic buildings in Kyiv. Also, throughout the wedding day, the bridesmaids and the best man all wear special ribbon sashes with their names painted on them. As Galina is the zoo’s PR manager she thought she would like her wedding photos in front of the zoo animals. We hope that other brides may consider doing the same in the future. Galina and Denis apparently arrived at the zoo on a big black Harley Davidson bike. We met them by the elephant enclosure for photos, champagne and a wander round the zoo for more photos. Galina looked absolutely beautiful.
Boy eating some branches
Foot doors in PC Screen from Keeper Side
Door hooked open on keeper side
PC Screen with open doors from elephant side
Armadillo Drawing
Galina and Denis
Galina and her mother
Galina, Denis and family
Sleepy Camel
Baby Sika Deer
Baby Przewalski Horse
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