Krasnyi · RU

Bol'sherechenskiy Zoopark

Deep in the Siberian countryside, about 200 kilometres north of Omsk along the Irtysh, sits an improbable attraction: Russia's only rural zoo, and the northernmost in the country. The Bolsherechensky Zoo grew out of a humble school animal corner and today sprawls across nine leafy hectares in the floodplain of the Bolshaya river, holding more than 200 species and some 2,000 animals. For a village settlement, it draws a striking crowd — well over 100,000 visitors a year come to walk its paths among tigers, hippos, primates and birds from five continents. What makes the Bolsherechensky Zoo special is the contrast between its setting and its collection. This is not a city menagerie squeezed behind walls; it occupies a scenic bend of a small river on a wooded hillside, where lush planting and flower beds frame the enclosures. Inside that bucolic landscape live animals you would expect to find only in major metropolitan institutions — Amur tigers, rare leopards, a Nile crocodile, and a celebrated hippopotamus whose runaway escapade has become local folklore. Whether you are travelling the Irtysh by river boat one summer, making a day trip out of Omsk, or simply want an unusual stop in the Siberian provinces, the zoo offers a generous half-day of animals, greenery, a cafe and a children's playground. It is a place that has earned its reputation as a real regional treasure and a genuine labour of love.