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Kharkiv Zoo is a public zoo in Park Shevchenko, Kharkiv, Ukraine. The zoo is connected to the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. The zoo covers 22 acres and has 1,170 individual animals from 193 species.
When World War II began, and Kharkiv was threatened with capture by Wehrmacht, M. P. Ewald was offered to stay and work in Kharkiv in order to preserve the animal collection as much as possible. He agreed, asking to help the zoo with food. Later that night, several trucks secretly drove into the zoo. A group of Red Army soldiers dug large holes and put sacks of potatoes and grain in them. However, this was not enough for long.On October 24, 1941, German troops occupied Kharkiv, but they did not interfere with the work of the zoo. And when the situation at the front allowed the Germans to hope for victory, they even began to provide assistance for feeding the animals.
As of the end of June 1943, the zoo housed 28 specimens of predators, 32 specimens of ungulates, 11 monkeys, a large number of birds and many exotic fish.В зоопарку // Харків'яни. - 1943. - 28 червня During the August battles of 1943, a large number of animals died. At the same time, the zoo lost valuable scientific materials and documents that had been kept since its founding. The veterinarians' observation logs, information on feeding and keeping animals, even drawings of buildings and communications, as well as accounting documents were lost. At the time of the liberation of Kharkiv, only 4 Bear, 5 Monkey and 1 wolf survived in the zoo. The elephant enclosure, monkey enclosure and aquarium were partially destroyed, all fences were broken. The total damage amounted to 1 million Soviet ruble. Instead of the previous 100 employees, 40 people started working, while only 15 of them had worked at the zoo before.
On the fifth day after the liberation of Kharkiv, a resolution of the Kharkiv City Council was issued, which stated that the zoo was considered open from August 29, 1943. In 1944, the zoo received the first batch of animals. Scientific institutes returned to Kharkiv from evacuation, and in the fall of 1944, the Scientific Council under the leadership of V. G. Averin began to work at the zoo. The period of restoration and development of the zoo began.
On August 22, 2008, a monument to the zoo's inhabitants who managed to escape during the World War II was unveiled in the alley opposite the entrance to the primate house. Among the surviving inhabitants were three Macaque - Hector, Rosa and Desi. They managed to escape from the destroyed monkey house during the bombing. The monkeys survived the occupation in the Derzhprom, compassionate people shared their food with them, and after the liberation of the city, the macaques were caught and returned to the zoo. It was their figurines that decorated the monument. The zoo underwent major renovations between 2016 and 2021. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, animals from private zoos around Ukraine, including Feldman Ecopark, were transferred to the Kharkiv Zoo for safety. In September 2022, a chimpanzee named Chichi escaped from the zoo and returned later riding a bicycle.
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