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Zoo Sofia is the oldest and largest of the Balkan Peninsula. It was founded in 1888 by King Ferdinand. The zoo quickly won popularity and became a place for relaxation and entertainment.

Initially the zoo was located in the Royal Palace. The first animal in the exhibition was a black card. The collection was growing rapidly due to the interest of Prince Ferdinand of wild animals. He was particularly interested in many of the birds. Therefore, shortly after the emergence of the Zoo, a special pavilion was built, where were released pheasants. The next addition to the zoo was a deer, then to it were brought a pair of brown bears. Territory in its possession proved insufficient, so the king ordered the zoo to take part of the old botanical garden in the center of the city.

In 1982 the zoo was moved from the city center to the territory of present-day municipality "Lozenets". The new zoo spread over an area of over 360 acres. The zoo is connected by good transport connections to different parts of Sofia.

The history of the zoo from its outset is inextricably linked with the elephants. The emblem of the zoo in Sofia is a crowned elephant. Some names should be mentioned: the steward, sculptor and taxidermist Ernst Hublain, Dr. Paul Leverkühn, Bernhard Curtius, who remained as Director for 40 years, and especially Adolf Schuman, who has greatly contributed to the promotion of the garden in specialized foreign magazines. He has recorded the longevity of some animals: bearded vulture, that lived 32 years, two silver gulls, that lived 34 years, leopard snake, that lived 23 years and many others.

The first Bulgarian curator of the zoo, and later its director was the renowned ornithologist Pavel Patev. Due to his exceptional care and effort is largely the survival of the wildlife in the garden during the bombing of Sofia in World War II. After his retirement his place was taken by Professor Krastyo Tuleschkov, a distinguished scholar of international renown.

Today the trend in the zoo is, along with native species, to be cultivated and exotic animals. Pride of the garden are the endangered monkeys dril, all day and night birds of prey, big cats such as tigers and leopards, the Persian leopard, the antelopes Adaks, the Arabic-horned oryx, the water goat, and many others.

Should be noted the activities of the zoo, which actively participates in national and international breeding programs of rare and endangered species. In 1995 at the initiative of Dr. Ivan Ivanov, director of the zoo, the original program created for "adoption" of animals started, with the participation of many famous Bulgarians.

Sofia zoo recently celebrated its 120th anniversary. Its pets are more than 1130 of 264 species - mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. From 155 protected animal species listed in Red Data Book of Bulgaria, 30 successfully grow and reproduce in captivity.

The zoo is a favorite places to visit for generations of Bulgarians as well as many tourists and guests of Sofia.