Gift of the Emir, Moskvitch and Filimon: the history of the elephants in the Moscow Zoo

On June 20, World Elephant Day was celebrated in zoos. It aims to draw attention to the conservation of the planet's largest terrestrial mammal population, which is included in the Red List.

Emir's gift and national popularity

Specialists of the oldest museum of the Russian capital, the Moscow Zoo, have been dealing with the acclimatization of rare species of animals in Russia and creating conditions for their successful reproduction since its foundation in 1864.

The Zoo received its first-ever elephant shortly after it opened in the 1870s. It was a gift from Alexander II. This animal, in turn, had previously been given to the Russian Emperor by the Emir of Bukhara.

At that time, the zoo's collection was not very numerous and diverse. It consisted mainly of representatives of domestic fauna. Specialists went on expeditions to collect exotic animals, and some large specimens (including elephants, lions, zebras and others) were often donated to the institution by statesmen and rulers of different countries.

The first elephant enclosure appeared in the Moscow Zoo in the early 1890s. And in 1924, a female Indian elephant named Jin-Dau was brought here from the Republic of Bukhara. Presumably, the elephant was about 40 years old when she arrived. The new zoo resident had a calm temper. She aroused great interest of the townspeople — queues lined up to see the majestic animal. The popularity of Jin-Dau is evidenced by numerous archival postcards and photographs of the period.

There are also preserved photographs depicting other famous zoo pets — Asian giant elephant Shango, his girlfriend Molly, and their calfs Moskvitch and Karat.

In 1936, the elephant enclosure was reconstructed with more space for outdoor walks and a spacious swimming pond. Shortly thereafter, in 1939, the African elephant Nonna settled here.

Life during the war years

Before the Great Patriotic War, more than five thousand animals and birds resided in the enclosures of the Moscow Zoo. With the outbreak of hostilities, many were moved to the Urals, but some of the animals could not be evacuated. Elephants Jin-Dau and Shango were among them.

The elephant enclosure on the zoo territory caught fire during one of the first enemy air raids on the Russian capital. Its inhabitants came out of the fire and started pouring water over themselves from the ditches. As witnesses testified, one animal even managed to put out an incendiary bomb that had fallen on the site.

The zoo was open to visitors throughout the war. Despite the difficulties of that time, the institution's specialists continued to take care of their charges: when there were restrictions on the fodder supply, they set up the haying from fields near Moscow.

Everyone's favorite: Pamir, Pipita, Kapri, and Filimon

A pair of Asian elephants, Pamir and Pipita, are long-lived members of the Moscow Zoo. They accidentally arrived in the Russian capital in 1985. It all started when the Vietnamese leadership decided to give nine elephants as a gift to Cuba. The boat with the animals crossed two oceans and was already approaching the island when it turned out that the elephants had not been vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease, a disease that had never occurred in Cuba. The authorities declined the gift fearing infection. By that time, the elephants had already been on the voyage for several months. It was urgent to decide what to do with them, and the Moscow Zoo agreed to accept several animals.

Now Pipita is 41 years old, and Pamir is 42. In 2009, they became parents for the first time: baby Kapri was born, and eight years later, her brother Filimon was born.

The elephant family is the favorites of Zoo guests. The main entertainment of animals in the warm season is playing and walking in the fresh air, as well as bathing. You can watch the elephants in the open area of the new territory. The animals can go out there around the clock. The site is closed only in the evening and at night if it gets cool.

"Elephants go out for a walk depending on their moods and the weather. Young Filimon and Kapri sometimes enjoy running around in the rain, while their parents dislike precipitation and prefer to wait it out in a warm shelter," said the Moscow Zoo press service. "The outdoor enclosure also has a deep pool in which even an adult male can swim freely."

In addition, there are special elephant toys — sturdy balls and barrels on the territory. And the entire outdoor enclosure is covered with sand, which the elephants sprinkle on themselves in the heat. A favorite pastime of the animals is to take apart a large pile of sand, which was poured for them for just such a purpose.

Scientific work

The scientific works of the Moscow Zoo staff regarding the creation of a comfortable breeding environment for Asian and African elephants have been published in many Russian and foreign publications. International zoological organizations are actively adopting the experience of domestic specialists.