You can now watch the giraffes and zebras at Moscow Zoo online
In the run up to World Giraffe Day, which is celebrated annually on June 21, mos.ru has launched online broadcasts at from the enclosure of the South African giraffes and endangered Grévy’s zebras. You can watch them and many other animals in the Moscow Zoo every day during the institution’s opening hours — from 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Three female zebras, Deborah, Mia, and Leila, together with a female Kenyan giraffe named Lipa get along very well in the mixed exhibition Animals of Africa, in the new territory of the zoo. During the warm season, they walk on the summer lawn and will often frolic, racing against each other. When the cold weather arrives, the animals move to a warm pavilion, where the giraffe stays until spring. The zebras regularly go outside all year round, and they can often be seen walking in the snow.
“We are pleased to announce that the Grévy’s zebras and South African giraffes can now be viewed online. These exotic inhabitants of the savannah get along very well with each other. In nature, every species feeds on a specific level of vegetation without competing with others. Zebras’ favorite food is the flowering part of cereal plants. And giraffes graze at a height of two to six meters, eating parts of plants that are inaccessible to other animals. In the zoo, a variety of vegetation is planted for them every year, and vertical and horizontal feeders are hung separately for the giraffes,” says Svetlana Akulova, general director of the Moscow Zoo.
Four cameras are so placed as to allow anyone to watch how the zebras and giraffes spend their time on the livestream page. To give a good view of the spacious meadow, specialists from the capital’s Department of Information Technology have installed new equipment.
“On mos.ru, the animals have their own pages where visitors can learn interesting facts about them and see their stripes and spots in photos. Thanks to the modern high-resolution panoramic view cameras, every resident of the country has the opportunity to study the behavior of zebras and giraffes in conditions as close as possible to their natural environment, and observe touching moments of their daily life,” says the press service of the Moscow Department of Information Technology.
The female giraffe Lipa is now 22 years old, which is quite a respectable age. She weighs about 800 kilograms. At the Moscow Zoo the giraffes are fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Their menu includes juicy willow branches, alfalfa hay and mixed feed, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits. In the summer, Lipa also enjoys young grass.
The South African giraffe lives in sub-Saharan African in the savannas and dry forests of the African continent. These animals have a unique mouth structure: their lips are equipped with long hairs that send information to the brain about the presence of thorns and the degree of maturity of the leaves. The giraffe’s purple tongue, which is flexible, strong, and extremely mobile, skillfully avoids the thorns, selecting the most delicious shoots and pulling them up to the level of the upper lip. The special papillae covering the lips help the animal hold the desired plant in its mouth, and the giraffe cuts it off with its lower incisors.
Lipa’s neighbors are three female Grévy’s zebras. This is the largest of all existing zebra species. They inhabit the desert steppes and arid shrub savannas of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. In the wild, Grévy’s zebras are threatened with extinction, as, despite strict prohibitions, poaching continues.
The stripes on each zebra’s coat are unique, like human fingerprints. These animals have incredibly strong legs. This allows them not only to cover long distances, but also to defend themselves from predators such as lions. These animals also have excellent vision, hearing, sense of smell, and visual memory. They are able to recognize their relatives from a distance by their distinctive pattern.
Deborah the zebra, a long-time resident of Moscow Zoo, is 20 years old. Curious Leila and cautious Mia are younger, at seven years old. They arrived from abroad four years ago. The staff immediately realized that the animals responded to their names, so they did not need to find new ones. During the hot season, Grévy’s zebras prefer to walk in the morning or after sunset.
The first online livestreams from the enclosures of the Moscow Zoo were launched in the fall of 2024. Since then, the list of animals that can be admired has grown significantly. Anyone who want to can watch members of the cat family, different species of bears and pandas, as well as other predators, herbivores, and primates.