Moscow Zoo

The Moscow Zoo on Krasnaya Presnya is the oldest zoological garden in Russia, housing around 8,000 animals from 1,150 species on 21 hectares. Founded in 1864 by the Imperial Russian Acclimatization Society as a scientific collection, it opened as the first public zoo in the tsarist empire. In the 1990s the grounds were thoroughly renovated and connected by a pedestrian bridge over Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street linking the old and new sections. Highlights include the Pallas cat as the zoo emblem, the polar bear Polarium, and the tropical pavilion with crocodiles. Today around 3.5 million guests visit annually. In winter the penguins and seals are particularly active.