Grand elephant is still alone
These days one can find few visitors in Yerevan's zoological garden. The employees say visitors will increase with the start of the season, from May 1.
The director says the zoo had no losses in the winter. Just on the contrary, the number of the "residents" rose during the winter months as some of them had baby animals.
"As the winter was comparatively milder we were able to secure minimum conditions in cages. The zoo has about 2300 animals of 210 species," says the zoo director Sahak Abovyan.
A few days ago 13 species of birds and reptiles were brought to the zoo from Moscow and Nikolayev. Besides, the zoo will soon have a striped hyena and a karakul.
The administration is negotiating with other zoos over the transportation of other species as well.
The administration doesn't know how long the male elephant "Grand" will have to wait for his new "companion".
Remind that in 2007 the zoo marked the wedding of two elephants - Grand and Candy. The bride had come all the way from Moscow. She was a star of Moscow's Animal Theatre. New living quarters were built at the zoo especially for the newlyweds. Last year Candy died leaving Grand alone.
Sahak Abovyan says they are negotiating with many zoos over the acquisition of a female elephant but so far they have achieved no tangible results.
"I wouldn't say the zoo is on an excellent level. But taking into consideration the conditions, I must say that the Armenian zoological garden ranks among the best in the CIS countries," noted Sahak Abovyan.
