ZOOCULTURE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ZOO OF THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE "ASKANIA NOVA" AND ITS IMPACT ON THE INSTITUTIONʹS FUNCTIONING

Abstract

Founded in the second half of the 19th century by Fridrich Falz-Fein, the zoo was the first center of zooculture in the Northern Black Sea region. Between 1918 and 2022, 5339 individuals of ungulates from Askania Nova have been introduced into zoos, zoocenters, hunting farms, and private collections across Eurasia, of which 2533 were introduced since Ukraine gains independence. On his basis, the collection of wild animals and their wild forms was developed, long-term experiments on domestication, acclimatization, and hybridization were conducted, as well as the breeding of rare and endangered mammal and bird species of national and World fauna. The zoo played an important role in establishment of the first industrial breeding farms for ratites birds (Paleognathae) in Ukraine. For a long time in Askania Nova, work was carried out on milking the common eland Taurotragus orix (Pallas, 1766), the milk of which was used in the local hospital for the treatment of stomach and duodenal ulcers. Long-term experiments with hybrid animals of various ages and combinations of crosses revealed physiological and anatomical features of their development, reproductive capacity and patterns of gametogenesis among the Cervidae, Caprinae, and Bovidae families. Several projects have been implemented to preserve rare species, in particular, the return of Przhevalskyʹs horse to the wild in Mongolia (1992, 1993), the creation of semi-wild habitats for the saiga Saiga tatarica (Linnaeus 1766) and the Turkmenian kulan Equus hemionus kulan (Groves & Mazák, 1967) in the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Odesa regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; the breeding and expansion of the ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea (Pallas, 1764) in Ukraine, the autumn-winter population of which in Askania Nova reached 10.9 thousand individuals. The sale of zoo animals and their derivatives, along with environmental educational activities, became a significant addition (12 million hryvnias in 2021) to the institutionʹs budget. Military operations launched by the Russian Federation in 2014 prevented the implementation of the zooʹs project on the expansion, study and preservation of ungulate mammals and birds, as well as undermined international cooperation.