Sofia Zoo

The Sofia's zoo was found in the beginning of 1888. It makes its first steps not on the current territory but in the park of the former royal palace. First in the zoo's exposition had been a black cartel, caught in our country and put in an enclosure in the palace's garden. King Ferdinant I had been pretty interested in collecting wild animals, and that interest was especially strong in birds. That's why some ringteiled pheasants were put in a special pavilion in the park of the palace. In short time a deer was added to the collection. But when to the animals, raised in the palace, a pair of Bulgarian brown bears was about to be added, the park started to seem unsuitable for that quickly growing collection. Ferdinant ordered an area for a zoo to be destined in the former botany garden, which was situated in the plot between the present streets: Evlogi Georgiev Blvd, Ruski Blvd, Tolbuhin Blvd and Gurko Str. At the time that plot had been at the end of the town. The place, determined for the zoo had been pretty deserted and with lots of weeds, cut across by the dry bed of the Perlovska River. There had been one building only on the territory that served for storing the vegetables from the botany garden, meant for the royal family. That building was given to the zoo. Making the collection bigger had been a constant concern. The animals, caught on the territory of our country, were not enough for the tzar. In 1892 the first pair of lions was bought. The cattle - shed was transformed to a building for predatory animals. That was where the pair of lions was put up. They felt very good there and the same year a male baby lion was born. That was the first lion family in the Sofia zoo.
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