The zoo in Karakol is the only one in Kyrgyzstan. It opened in the late 80s and after the collapse of the USSR was left without any funding from the state. Surprisingly, the zoo has not just not closed, but thanks to the caring staff, it is also engaged in the rescue and care of wild animals.
The journalists of Rossiyskaya Gazeta wrote about how the unique zoo in Karakol survives. The director of the unique Karakol Zoo, Saltanat Seitova, is constantly on the move - sometimes rescuing animals, then pounding thresholds and negotiating with potential sponsors about financing Bugu Ene. This is the name of the public foundation that manages the zoo.
Now the zoo contains about two hundred representatives of fauna, there are rare and endangered species of animals. These are Tien Shan bears, lions, wolves, lynxes, llamas, yaks, deer, Przewalski's horses, camels, a variety of birds, including predatory ones, porcupines, foxes, jackals, macaques, goats.
"We have a poultry yard with peacocks, rescued swans and ducks. By the way, an amazing story: ogari - wild ducks began to arrive from Issyk-Kul for the winter. They raise their offspring here at the zoo and then fly away again. They understand that it is safe here, there is food, and no one will touch them," director Saltanat Seitova says about her zoo.
It is Saltanat who is the person on whom everything rests here. A professional veterinarian, with the help of caring people, has created a public fund, which keeps safe the entire zoo. But one of the main tasks is to save wild animals, including from the hands of unscrupulous sellers.
"In December, employees of the State Environmental Inspectorate conducted a raid on a local market and found a wolf cub. Imagine, it was being sold! And he is still just a child - born in 2023. He was seized and brought to us. The cub is very sociable. The guys cured his paw. They called him Gray. He literally jumped into my arms afterwards," Saltanat continues.
For the residents of the Karakol zoo, Saltanat Seitova is a real mother, only without wings and claws. She started caring for animals many years ago in her apartment. Then she purchased a plot that turned into a modern rehabilitation center, writes Evening Bishkek. First, the animals get to the center, then those who can survive on their own are released into their natural habitat, and others who are not adapted to a free life are transported to the zoo in Karakol.
There is also the story of the rescue of a leopard that was kept in captivity, it was found in a tree with a serious traumatic brain injury, concussion and complete disorientation. The Bugu Ene Foundation took the wildcat to itself.
In addition to Jaabars, as the rescued one was called, lynx cubs are kept in the rehabilitation center. When lynx cubs were born in the Karakol Zoo, they had to be transported to a rehabilitation center and Saltanat fed the kittens herself, the mother refused the babies. For Karakol, this was a serious event, because in Central Asia, no zoo has ever received lynx offspring in captivity.
Photos provided by the Karakol Zoo.