, the capital of Bulgaria
, was founded by royal decree on 1 May 1888, and is Bulgaria's oldest and largest zoological garden
. It covers and, as of March 2006, housed 1,113 animals representing 244 species
Initially, the zoo was located in the park of the former royal palace, with the primary attraction being a Eurasian Black Vulture
caught in Bulgaria and exhibited in a cage in the garden. Later, pheasants
and deer were added to the collection, but since the exhibits and facilities of the time proved inadequate to accommodate a pair of Brown Bears
, Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria
ordered a grant of land to be awarded to Sofia Zoo on the grounds of the former botanical garden
, then in the outskirts of the city.
Sofia Zoo's exhibition of animals constantly increased, with both local and foreign species being added. Most notably a pair of lions
in 1892, which were housed in a former stable and a lion cub was born the same year.
Between 1893 and 1895, new cages and buildings were constructed to accommodate the ever increasing collection of birds and mammals
, including a solid three-room stone building in the back of the terrain designed to be inhabited by bears (1894), a pool where a few Pink-backed Pelicans
lived, a building to accommodate pheasants and another one for eagles
Sofia Zoo moved from its original (and smaller)... Read More