Reviews - Zoos in Europe

The Zoo has got two entrances, of which the one on the west side at the Ehitajate tee (as this road is called in Estonian) was most easiest reachable by public transport in my opinion. That had to do with ongoing road works on Paldiski mnt where the north entrance is situated. The west entrance is a very modern building comprising the Environmental Education Centre, the café Mõmmu, the children's zoo and a gift shop, while the north entrance is awaiting its refurbishment.

When entering via the west entrance this 89 ha Zoo is really opening up after you step out of the entrance building. I see large ponds in front of me and large fenced off meadows to the right with Dhall's sheep, Chinese bharal or blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis). A broad tarmac footpath leads towards these new enclosures, at least they seem rather new. As a matter of fact, it turns out that the whole western side of the grounds, from the new polar bear exhibit Polaarium to the Alpinarium with sheep and goat, is more modern than the rest of the Zoo. The Zoo's setup can be typified as spacious, due to the large compounds for hoofed animals of which there are many, but also because they used a relaxed attitude designing this zoological garden, and let much space without buildings or enclosures. Yes, the size allows for such a design, of course, but let's not forget that of the 89 ha quite a few hectare on the eastern side is just original forested area. It is accessible for a leisurely stroll, but without any animal exhibit. To add to this feeling of spaciousness there are, scattered over the place, a number of picnic areas varying in size, sometimes with a bench and table, sometimes it is just a meadow.

In the section that besides holding sheep and goat originating from a mountainous habitat, the Alpinarium, a mammalian predator is housed as well, the snow leopard. Tallinn Zoo has kept snow leopards since 1964, first offspring born in 1975. This felid has a rather small fenced off enclosure, when taken into account the size of the zoo grounds. Nevertheless there are enough spots for the leopard to hide from the public due to the undulating sloping hillside they created, the boulders and lying tree trunks. That could be the reason that I don't see it.

More or less opposite the snow leopard enclosure there's a large paddock for Transcaspian urial (Ovis orientalis arkal or Ovis vignei arkal), which prefer gentle mountain slopes and plateaus in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and northeast Iran. Adjusted to such a territory they move around gracefully, unless they are as cripple as these two specimens in the Zoo:

The conservation status of wild sheep or urial is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The steep decline of the numbers of wild sheep (sub)species, including the Transcaspian urial, is caused by poaching and competition with domestic livestock. So, in my opinion, it deserves a protected breeding facilities in zoos, definitely.

At this side of the Zoo grounds it's an almost endless presentation of herds of sheep and goats, or more general cloven-hoofed species. Not all of them endangered, but Tallinn Zoo's collection of these species is the largest in Europe, which they started to build already in the former location, Kadriorg Park (see history). The collection comprises besides the previously mentioned Dhall's sheep and Chinese bharal also Afgan urial, Agrim or Cretan wild goat (a predecessor of domestic goat), Siberian ibex, East Caucasian tur (the latter for which Tallinn Zoo coordinates the ESB). The enclosures do not mimic the original habitat of these mountain species. In fact, all these enclosures remind me of a farm with large goat paddocks.

After I made my round along the exhibits in the Alpinarium I head for the pachyderms. There is a huge lookout tower, closed for the winter period, with an enormous viewing terrace overseeing the outdoor elephant paddock. The indoor African elephant enclosure is part of a mixed-species building. Fortunately, my visit is on a Saturday, because oddly enough indoor enclosures/exhibitions are closed on Mondays here at Tallinn Zoo. The elephant exhibit is old-fashioned, small with a concrete floor and separation boxes. The three elephants, 1 bull and 2 cows, are by estimation born in 1982 or 1983 in Kruger National Park in South Africa, where they were captured for a Dutch company. The Elephant House dates back to 1989 and turns out to have a larger compound surrounding it than I first thought. On the other side of the Elephant House there is an elevated boardwalk providing a different view and better appreciation of the two outdoor elephant paddocks.

The species kept in the Elephant House are an extraordinary mixture of taxonomic groups that is confusing to me: vivaria with snakes, lizards, mice and naked mole rat - so, reptiles and rodents from different continents (Asia, Africa, South America); enclosures for meerkat, African elephant, pygmy hippo and black rhino (Kibetu, the male rhino calf is about five months old - born 3 June 2017); and a small enclosure with no vegetation at all, only bare tree branches, for common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) together with hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus). The vivaria are old-fashioned and just a display of boxes with species and without much enrichment. The indoor pool for the pygmy hippo is awfully small, the outdoor pool is larger though. This building is one of the oldest in the Zoo - perhaps only surpassed by the military storehouses. A renovation of the Elephant House is scheduled for next year, 2018. I hope this will include a refurbishment as well of the caracal (Caracal caracal) enclosure that currently is built adjacently to the rear wall of the Elephant House and close to the black rhino outdoor exhibit. It does offer lots of trunks and different resting areas but not much shelter from inquisitive visitors. The enclosure is not too bad, but with so much space available on the premises I wish any animal a larger exhibit in the (near) future.

Very disappointing is the old and not fit-for-purpose adapted military storehouse, that still holds enclosures for Amur tiger, raccoon, raccoon dog and jungle cat. And although there is a brand new polar bear exhibit, the Polaarium - opened just a month ago, they keep a polar bear that is recovering and being treated for a paw injury. This gives a good impression of how the polar bears previously were kept - in conditions that do not meet the modern standards for keeping the largest land predator. Not surprisingly the injured polar bear shows repetitive behaviour. The Amur tiger enclosure is nothing more than a large cage with a floor that is partly made of concrete and partly sandy substrate. Wire mesh fences all around including the roof, no shelter, and a height of just 3 metres, in other words: a cage. With two high level platforms, a scratching pole and balls, there is some enrichment available, but the tiger I see is not using any of them, it is pacing restlessly. Also the enclosure for European mink, for which the Zoo is renowned because of the successful conservation efforts, is a disappointment. Tallinn Zoo management is, of course, aware of the low quality of the exhibits in the storehouse complex, and they hope that all animals can soon follow the example they have set for the polar bears with the translocation to the Polaarium. But it all depends on budget availability, either via the City or State Government and/or via donations by sponsors.

Opposite the derelict carnivore building a more modern carnivore enclosure is situated, for the Amur leopard. It contains much natural vegetation, but due to the season it is not very green and provides not a lot of shelter while the leaves are gone. There's a small creek and several other enrichment features. Although the centre pole that supports the wire mesh netting is at least 10 metres high the climbing opportunities are limited. Due to two large viewing windows and the lack of vegetation to cover the fences the inhabitants are quite exposed, but fortunately they have some caves in the rear wall where they could hide if they want to.

Leaving the leopards I walk in a northerly direction via a boardwalk with on my left a fenced forested area with guanaco roaming around and on my right a small place with a row of old-fashioned aviaries with blue-eared pheasant, reeve's pheasant and common raven. These aviaries are followed by two small ponds behind which several large open top enclosures are visible for white-naped crane (Antigone vipio, previously known as Grus vipio) and Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus, previously Grus leucogeranus), the latter assessed as Critically Endangered according the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

A stone's throw away the Tropical House comprises a surprisingly strange mix of species from different continents and not necessarily originating from tropical regions. It's warm inside the building, but not as hot and humid as you normally experience in tropical houses in other zoos. The Tropical House consists of two parts. The main entrance give access to a hall with a woodchips footpath that leads along fish tanks, crocodile exhibits, an awful, small enclosure with a concrete floor for three chimpanzees. While next to the chimps, pygmy marmosets are kept in a more suitable environment with lots of vegetation and soil substrate. In summary, a snapshot of aquatic species together with two odd primate species. Both these primate species have outdoor access. The outdoor enclosure for the chimps being the first moated bar-less exhibit I see here in Tallinn. The moat is water-filled, and the enrichment features are of a common type (trees and trunks, wooden platform, ropes and hammock). The sheltered viewing area is closed, but should provide a good and quiet place to observe what is going on within the small troop of chimps. The other part of the Tropical House has got a row of vivaria and the odd aquarium containing cichlids on one side, while on the other side the following species are on display: common marmoset, cotton-top tamarin, common hill myna (Gracula religiosa), crested partridge, blue-and-yellow macaw, anaconda, emperor tamarin, meerkat and sand cat.

Moving further north a building with outdoor exhibits for Japanese macaque, fishing cat and Asian lion appears. There is no access to the indoor enclosures of the building nor any other option of viewing the animals when inside. So, like in many modern zoos nowadays it depends on the braveness of the animals if you see them outside during cold weather spells. I am not really impressed by the enclosures for these species, especially the one for the fishing cat is not fit for purpose. There's almost no vegetation and the pool in front of the viewing window is empty, so much for the 'fishing'. The Japanese macaque are famous for their resistance against the cold and their preference for hot springs. They do have a pool available in the enclosure with concrete walls and floor, but I am not sure if the pool is heated. The exhibit for Asian lions consists of two parts that can be connected. It has sandy substrate, several tree trunk lying around, a jute bag hanging on a chain from the ceiling, high level platforms, but no vegetation at all. A completely bare enclosure without any hiding places.

On the other side of this building with nightly quarters there are two kind of outdoor enclosures to be seen. Old-fashioned ones that are not fit for keeping any animal in captivity and some that are just a little bit better. Until now all exhibits with animals on display had a decent information panel, but at the very old cages there are only two plates that I can identify, both mentioning the Pallas' cat as the inhabitant. I sure hope all the other old cages are out of use. The enclosures on this side of the building that are a bit more modern hold primates - grivet monkey, white-collared mangabey and stump-tailed macaque. These still don't look nice with their concrete floors, brick walls and only a few chains and ropes for enrichment. There is only one enclosure in this row of exhibits that appears to meet the requirements of the species it houses, the one for black-and-white ruffed lemur. It includes vegetation, soil substrate and grass, and definitely more enrichment features. The grey seal basin on the short side of this building is just ridiculous.

Yet another row of enclosures that shows there was a lack of creativity when designing them is just around the corner. These enclosures for cloven-hoofed animals, such as Barbary sheep, takin, warthog, red river hog, axis deer and mouflon, are rather uniform of design with concrete floors. I would suggest that they are not suitable for especially the takin and the deer. It is therefore a delight that my next stop is the brand new polar bear exhibit, the Polaarium. It was opened just a month ago and is a great improvement compared to the bears' old enclosure. It could be the difference in their characters, but it is obvious (see video) that one bear is relaxed and has a wait-and-see attitude, while the other is more excited. It could just be a snapshot of the current situation, but it could as well be the expression of how they deal with their new captive environment and adapt to it. The Polaarium is a grand circular shaped area surrounded by a wall that comprises two more or less similar large exhibits. There's a corridor that guides you to the centre of the exhibit along several viewing windows and information on polar bears and climate change. When in the centre of the exhibit you automatically arrive at an elevated viewing deck for some quality bar-less observation. When continuing on the footpath it guides you to the main broad tarmac near the paddock of the Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), which is considered Extinct in the Wild according the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Due to successful captive breeding the population in zoos worldwide has increased since early 20^th century, and there even have been several successful reintroductions in the wild.

Then it is time to go up Hawk Mountain to see the Zoo's renowned birds of prey collection. After a short walk, slightly uphill, a series of unattractive aviaries for vultures and eagles appear. I classify them as unattractive for two reasons. Firstly, the aviaries provide hardly any space for the birds to express their normal behaviour - flying, my complaint in general when it concerns birds in captivity. Secondly, the aviaries are nothing more than bare cages following the design principle 'less is more'. A sturdy tube frame with wire mesh and each aviary with one tree trunk and a high level platform. It is very functional, but when these birds are not allowed to perform in a bird show every day I reckon their welfare is impaired. The footpath continues to the outdoor enclosure for the Eurasian lynx, the species with which everything started for Tallinn Zoo. Although three adjacent enclosures with a wire mesh roof and viewing windows have been changed into one single exhibit it is still small. It has the basic enrichment features for a felid available, i.e. trunks, scratching poles and high level posts, but it could do with some vegetation. Close to the mini train amusement for children, another series of aviaries for birds of prey is next. This time it is owls that can be admired. It is already too dark to take any pictures, and although I am close to the north gate to exit the Zoo, I head for the west gate, because this gives me the chance to honestly say I covered everything. So, this brings me along the single Australian species they keep, the kangaroo, but also species that represent Central Asia, such as the Bactrian red deer and Przewalski horse in their large grassy paddock. However, much more interesting are the two modern open top enclosure, each with a striped hyena. Through the viewing windows of the enclosures that are situated in a section developed in 2002 I see lots of vegetation in an environment that could suit these smallest of the true hyena species. Smallest hyena, but nevertheless a bite force that can splinter a camel's thigh bone.

The large ponds, with waterfowl such as the pelicans and swans, close to the west gate, are my final exhibit before I go and catch my bus-ride back to the city centre. They are beautiful and a perfect ending to an interesting visit.

Back in the bus it starts to rain again, as it did when I travelled to the Zoo this morning. Lucky me, because the rest of the day I have seen no drop of rain at all. While thinking about what I have seen at Tallinn Zoo I realise that there was quite a high number of visitors today considering the weather conditions (bad, and against all predictions dry). And for all these people there were only a few kiosks/cafeterias open to buy refreshments and snacks, in the off season period only two of them are open together with the self-service café-restaurant Mõmmu in the west entrance building. For those of you with kids in tow, there's a children's zoo located in the west entrance building and the Zoo adventure park located in the natural forest is open from May to September.

The European mink, Mustela lutreola, is a semi-aquatic small carnivore whose preferred habitats are small relatively fast-flowing rivers and rivulets in forested areas. It spends its entire life in the immediate vicinity of the waterway, and to be found more than 100 metres away from the ban only in extremely rare occasions. The diet of the European mink consists mainly of amphibians and fish. Other important prey species are crayfish and small mammals, occasionally insects and birds.

European mink (Mustela lutreola) in Calviac Zoo, France.
Photography Andrew Ives . Image is in the public domain.

The European mink is one of the most endangered carnivores in Europe, being preserved in less than 5% of its former range, presently surviving as fragmented populations in a few enclaves. The drastic change in its number and distribution has placed the species among the most endangered mammals in Europe and in the world. Most of local and international listings have regarded it as an endangered species in need of action. It is assessed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; the IUCN Action Plan for Small Carnivores regards it as a priority species for Europe and the world; the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats lists it as a species in need of strict protection; the European Union Habitats Directive has listed it in Annex II (Member States are required to designate special areas of conservation) and in Annex IV (Member States are required to establish a system for strict protection). Furthermore, the European mink is also protected by national law of all range states.

In the first half of the 20th century the European mink was a common species in Estonia and in most of Europe. The species has declined due to excessive hunting and the loss and fragmentation of habitats. Yet its final annihilation in vast regions was caused by competition with American mink, an escapee from fur farms. The last European mink was last observed in the wild in Estonia in 1996. A captive breeding centre was established at Tallinn Zoo in the 1990s for the purpose of supporting the survival of the species and restoring the wild population. This centre represents one of the world's most important support structures for the restoration and conservation of the species. Tallinn Zoo is also coordinating the European mink EEP. In the year 2000, the establishment of a wild population of European mink was initiated on the island of Hiiumaa - its original members coming form a captive population. Hiiumaa may soon become the only place in the world where the species persists in the wild.

Probably the first footage in the world of a European mink from a camera trap at the European mink breeding den in Hiiumaa Island. First images of wild born litter in Hiiumaa Island. The female was released and radio-collared in 2013. Footage from 2014:

Considering the European mink's highly critical status its conservation can only be accomplished by combining the ex-situ actions with in-situ work in the field (habitat restoration, translocation, American mink control, community conservation approaches, etc)

In addition to the captive breeding centre it was deemed necessary to establish a conservation research laboratory in Tallinn Zoo. A lab, called 'Lutreola', where dedicated scientific research could be performed for the purpose of the management of European mink captive population as well as to establish a viable population of the species on Hiiumaa island. The Zoo dedicates much resources to European mink conservation and so the lab moved into a new building in 2011, while a new building for the captive population was constructed in 2016-17.

The lab collaborates with various universities and research institutions. Their partners have been, among others, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Tallinn University and the University of Tartu, the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, the Kuopio University, the Helsinki University and the Stockholm University. Furthermore they closely collaborate with the “Lutreola Foundation” and with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) as well.

Since 2015, Lutreola lab focuses its research on four areas, [a] reintroduction biology, [b] biology and reproduction of ex situ populations, [c] animal welfare, including environmental enrichment and animal training methods, and (d) forensic genetics analyses for both in situ and ex situ conservation issues.

(Source: Tallinn Zoo website; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; Lutreola Foundation website; Information panel in Tallinn Zoo)

At Tallinn Zoological Gardens they use a variety of panels to get information across on the species on display and their conservation issues. The standard panels at the enclosures do vary but mainly because they started to use pictograms - for instance on biological traits such as weight, birth rate, gestation period, and life span - in the more recent versions. They use a lot of these pictograms and they even have provided a panel to explain all the different pictograms they use on a wall of the brand new Polaarium exhibit. Sometimes a graphical depiction of the species' original habitat is missing, but then again the information is most of the time available in the extensive texts. The conservation status of the animals on display is always given with a functional use of the IUCN Red List categories. They even adapted the Red List pictograms to provide the species' conservation status in such a way that an arrow shows whether the status tends for the worse or the better. They should be more consistent and reliable in providing up-to-date information whether or not a Zoo's species takes part in the European breeding programme, but this can be checked on their website (the pages in Estonian are most up-to-date).

Most of the information panels have all info available in three languages, Estonian, English and Russian. So, there is no excuse not to consume the information and educate yourself. And if you don't allow yourself the time to read it all, because you have to cover so many hectares in this huge zoo, you can always turn to the website in a later stage. It is a superb multi-language website with many more additional details, and it has even a fourth language available, Finnish.

As you might expect in a country that acts in the forefront of online communication technology, there are at several enclosures codes available for scanning with a smartphone. This makes it easy to download the information for later use, but it enables a more flexible, and possible cheaper, way of providing up-to-date information. More recently they introduced an innovative approach on how to attract the interest of the public for the educational activities of the zoo, SmartZoos.

Really outstanding is the information panel about the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN). I have seen only one of such an explanatory type of panel on IUCN, near the Asian lion exhibit, but perhaps there are more. Anyway, you don't see this general kind of information on nature conservation and how it is globally organised made available very often. It shows they take their mission to foster public awareness of environmental issues and the significance of biological diversity very serious here in Tallinn. This specific panel explains the goals of IUCN and what the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species represents - basically it is the world's most comprehensive list of animal and plant species, including their distribution, biological data and conservation status.

In addition to any species specific information there are large panels in the Zoo at section entrances that inform the visitor about fauna and sometimes flora related to the species on display in that section. This can focus on geological influences on habitats such as the display about fauna and flora of the Alpine belt at the Alpinarium or on fauna of a whole continent, for instance South America.

Even more interesting and of more educational value I suppose is the Conservation Gallery that consists of large displays with information on species that are considered endangered in Estonia or the near European area. I expect that conservation issues closer to home may have a bigger impact on the general public, and deliver a more serious take home message. These displays are located at the edge of a picnic ground close to the large ponds near the west gate.

In a project funded by the European Union three zoos - Tallinn Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki and Skansen Zoo in Stockholm - in collaboration with two universities developed an innovative approach on how to attract the interest of the public for the educational activities of the zoos involved. Creative adventure learning with mobile devices it is called in the project description. Nowadays, most people below roughly 40 years of age become nervous when they do not have their smartphone in close range - their smartphone can be regarded as an inseparable extension of their hand, as if it is a natural body part. So, it could be a smart idea to challenge the zoo visitors with adventurous and educational tasks on a social interactive internet platform, because they are very much used to such platforms. Moreover, it seems that young people outgrew the simple method by which many old-timers have been educated in zoos - read the information panels!

SmartZoos is a location-based game service, where the activities will guide players through their environment and teach them a thing or two. In other words, SmartZoos is an online environment where people can complete exciting discovery trails. People who engage with SmartZoos will find out interesting knowledge about animals, will learn to watch and observe animals, get to solve exciting tasks, develop orientation skills and by accomplishing certain tasks within SmartZoos, they will be rewarded with badges. SmartZoos is a modern way to combine education with gamified fun, and is further promoted like this, 'you can create fun and activities to be used by you and other SmartZoos users when you have a Creator account.'

The SmartZoos project is part of the European Union's Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme in the framework of which the aforementioned partners have set up a series of gamified, yet educational discovery trails. More discovery trails will be established, the trails will constantly change and new features will be added.

(Source: Tallinn Zoo website; SmartZoos platform; Interreg Central Baltic website )

Some additional information, such as contact details and involvement in breeding programmes.

directions to Tallinn Zoological Gardens

Tallinn Zoo is about 4.5 km to the west from the city centre. You can enter the Zoo from two different locations, from Ehitajate tee for the West entrance or from Paldiski mnt. for the North entrance. Paldiski mnt. 145 is located across the road from the Rocca al Mare shopping centre and the Audi building, Ehitajate tee 150 is towards the Õismäe area.

Address:
Paldiski mnt. 145 / Ehitajate tee 150
13522
Tallinn
Estonia

public transport

The public transport network operates from 6:00 to 23:00 (some routes until 24:00). If you use the Tallinn Card or Smartcard, you must validate the ticket by touching the card to the orange validator located by the vehicle door every time you enter the vehicle. It's also possible to buy a paper ticket from the driver for the price of 2 € ion cash (exact change only). More information about the cards and tickets in Tallinn here

by bus

To the North Entrance - Paldiski mnt. 145

To reach the North Entrance there are several buses you can take, depending on your place of departure:

• From Tallinn city centre (Kaubamaja) bus no. 42 (Bus stop Zoo) to Väike-Õismäe, or you can wait another 3 stops and get out at Bus stop Karikakra for the West entrance.

• From Tallinn city centre (Art Academy, close to Kaubamaja) bus no. 46 (Bus stop Zoo) to Väike-Õismäe, or you can wait another 3 stops and get out at Bus stop Karikakra for the West entrance. Bus no. 46 doesn't run in the weekend.

• From Freedom square (Vabaduse väljak) buses no. 22 and 42 (Bus stop Zoo) to Väike-Õismäe, and bus no. 41 (Bus stop Zoo) to Landi.

• From Railway station (Balti jaam) buses no. 21 and 41 (Bus stop Zoo) to Landi, and bus no. 43 (Bus stop Zoo) to Väike-Õismäe.

To the West Entrance - Ehitajate tee 150

• From Tallinn city centre (Kaubamaja) bus no. 42 (Bus stop Karikakra or Nurmenuku) to Väike-Õismäe.

• From Tallinn city centre (Art Academy, close to Kaubamaja) bus no. 46 (Bus stop Karikakra or Nurmenuku) to Väike-Õismäe, but not in the weekend.

• From Railway station (Balti jaam) bus no. 43 (Bus stop Karikakra, Nurmenuku or Zoo)

• Buses no. 10, 12, 13, 28, 37, 45, 47 run along the Zoo as well, but from other parts of the city.

Information on timetables is available here.

by bicycle

Tallinn is a small and highly compact city, so the easiest way to get to most places, particularly in the Old Town and city centre, is on foot. And when you want to go a little further a bicycle is a great option. The city is covered with high quality, well planned bicycle routes that connect different areas of the city and suburbs. Click here for a map of the routes.

Sixt rent a bike self-service bicycle rental makes biking in Tallinn easy and stress free. Simply download a Nextbike app for your Android phone or iPhone, unlock your selected bike and you are on your way. Sixt bicycles are available in several locations around the town and the first 30 minutes of the ride are free.

Bicycle racks are available at both entrances of the Zoo.

by car

With so much great public transport options, or healthy bicycle routes, going by car doesn't seem the logic option. But if you still want or need to use your car, the parking is free at the North Entrance (Paldiski mnt. 145).

Download the zoo map here.