Zoo · Krasnyi

Bol'sherechenskiy Zoopark

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

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.↗

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Zoo · Krasnyi

Bol'sherechenskiy Zoopark

Krasnyi, RU 4.6 (1,383 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

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.↗↗

From a schoolyard corner to a state zoo

The story begins in 1982, not with a grand civic project, but with a school 'living corner' in Bolsherechye Secondary School No. 2, where children cared for hedgehogs, turtles and hamsters. Local hunters and residents soon brought in a wounded roe deer, a netted duck, a fox cub; nearby collective farms donated donkeys, ponies and even camel calves, and a small pond filled with swans raised from eggs at a poultry farm. The collection outgrew the schoolyard, then the Pioneer house, until Valery Solomatin, then head of the district administration, championed the idea of a proper zoo.↗↗↗

In 1986 the animals moved to their current nine-hectare site in the Bolshaya river floodplain, with the whole settlement pitching in — factories built the cages and enclosures, farms supplied the feed, and a farmstead, greenhouse and apiary were added to sustain the zoo. State status followed in 1987. In January 2012 the zoo was formally named in honour of Solomatin, the man who made a village menagerie a reality. Today it is a member of the Euro-Asian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA) and takes part in international breeding programmes for endangered species.↗↗

Meet the collection

Across its 200-plus species, the zoo keeps a surprisingly global roster. Big cats headline the visit: Amur (Siberian) tiger, lion, puma, Siberian lynx, and several rare leopards including the Persian, the Far Eastern and the melanistic black leopard. The primate house and open monkey enclosures are a crowd favourite, home to animals like the mantled hamadryas baboon, whose antics delight children and adults alike.↗↗

Hoofed residents range from deer and camels to musk oxen, the European bison (wisent), Przewalski's horse and the Far Eastern (sika) deer — several of them rare species the zoo maintains as a conservation reserve. Birds stretch from the towering Australian emu down to a tiny budgerigar. Reptile and fish houses add a Nile crocodile, caimans, iguanas, snakes and tortoises to a collection in which around 50 to 60 species are listed in the IUCN and Russian Red Books.↗↗↗

A hippo, an escape and a punchline

If there is one star of the Bolsherechensky Zoo, it is the hippopotamus. For more than three decades a single hippo has anchored the collection, and his name has passed into village legend. In 1989 a hippo slipped away, took to the little Bolshaya river, and was spotted at dawn, mouth agape, by sleepy fishermen waiting for a bite. The animal — with a companion along — was coaxed home with cabbages, carrots and a gentle guiding hand.↗↗

The story travelled far beyond the settlement: the famous Russian satirist Mikhail Zadornov spun it into a national stand-up routine, and it remains a tale grandmothers tell their grandchildren. The zoo keeps its share of modern headlines too — in 2016 a Mexican outlet reported on Bolsherechye after a dog here nursed a litter of premature Amur tiger cubs that could not be raised any other way.↗↗

A day among the enclosures

The park's layout invites a slow stroll rather than a hurried circuit. Enclosed and open-air pavilions follow the wooded bend of the river, with pens for waterfowl along the banks. Signposted spots on the site map include a cafe, a children's playground, small attractions and rides, shaded rest areas with benches and carved wooden gazebos, and flower beds that visitors repeatedly single out for their beauty.↗↗↗

For families the zoo runs themed holidays through the calendar, from 'Tiger Day' to 'Hippo Day', alongside lesson-concerts, talks and guided nature-conservation excursions designed to teach children to look after the natural world. Those same walks make it easy to spend several unhurried hours here — locals and visiting city-dwellers alike describe it as a place to breathe, relax and feel close to nature.↗↗

Getting there and good to know

From Omsk, the zoo sits about 200 km north in the district settlement of Bolsherechye (the locality marked Krasnyi on maps, at Sovetov Street 67). The easiest land route is any bus or minibus leaving the Omsk bus station on a service that passes through Bolsherechye; in the summer season, reaching it the old Siberian way — by river boat along the Irtysh — is an appealing option in itself.↗↗

The zoo is open every day. The ticket office works 10:00–18:00, and the grounds themselves stay open later in the summer (the zoo has noted a summer mode running into the evening, and weekend closing times can be a little later than weekdays), so a warm afternoon visit lets you combine the animals with a longer wander in the gardens. Plan for a few hours, bring cash or card, and wear comfortable shoes for the paths and riverbank slopes.↗↗

A practical note on seasons: Bolsherechye endures genuinely hard Siberian winters. Animals that cannot take the cold — lions, pumas, waterfowl, peacocks and pheasants — are moved into heated indoor enclosures from autumn to spring, while hardier residents stay outdoors. You can still visit year-round, but the full open-air, riverside experience is very much a summer thing.↗

The site is good for children and has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and parking. The zoo also runs occasional free-entry benefits — for example, in some months the first Wednesday has been reserved for large families at no charge — so it is worth checking the official website or phoning ahead for the latest arrangements and any themed events during your visit.↗↗↗

What makes it special

01

Russia's only rural zoo — and the most northerly — drawing over 100,000 visitors a year to a village on the Irtysh.↗↗

02

A 9-hectare riverside park with Amur tigers, rare leopards, primates, a Nile crocodile and around 50-60 Red Book species.↗↗

03

The legendary resident hippo who once escaped down the river to surprise fishermen — a tale retold across Russia by satirist Mikhail Zadornov.↗↗

04

Family-friendly attractions including a cafe, children's playground, rides and themed holidays like 'Tiger Day' and 'Hippo Day'.↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

Time your visit between late spring and early autumn to see the full open-air, riverside collection; in winter many animals retreat to heated indoor enclosures.↗
Combine the zoo with the journey itself — a summer boat along the Irtysh from the Omsk region is one of the most memorable ways to reach Bolsherechye.↗
Allow at least half a day: the nine-hectare grounds, gardens, cafe and playground reward a relaxed stroll rather than a rushed circuit.↗↗
Check the official website or call ahead for opening times, any themed events and occasional free-entry days for large families.↗↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Find your way

ул. Советов, 67, Omsk Oblast, Russia, 646670

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Opening hours +

As reported by Google Maps. Confirm holiday hours before you go.

Friday: 10AM-6PM
Monday: 10AM-6PM
Sunday: 10AM-7PM
Tuesday: 10AM-6PM
Saturday: 10AM-7PM
Thursday: 10AM-6PM
Wednesday: 10AM-6PM

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