# Tbilisi Zoo

- **Area:** 120 ha
- **Logo:** Tbilisi Zoo logo.png
- **Location:** Vere River valley, central Tbilisi
- **Num Species:** 300

The Tbilisi Zoo was established by the decision of the Tbilisi City Council on 10 February 1927. It was designed by a group of Georgian and Russian specialists. The zoo was further expanded in the 1930s. Initially, the zoo consisted of 4 sections: Caucasian or Local; Fauna of the USSR; Exotic animals; Agricultural animals. At its heyday in the 1970s, the Tbilisi Zoo was home to more than 1,000 animals and enjoyed more than 500,000 visitors per year. The zoo fell into disrepair as a result of economic collapse and political unrest that hit post-Soviet Georgia in the 1990s, with a large portion of its funding coming from city budget cuts. A World Society for the Protection of Animals representative, Neil Trent, reported in 1993 that more than half of the animals at the zoo had died of starvation or cold since 1991.

![Photo of Tbilisi Zoo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Tbilisi_zoo_tiger.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi_Zoo (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)