Moscow zoo to switch to spring hours on 1 March

With the advent of spring, raccoons, marmots, jerboas, raccoon dogs, brown bears and Himalayan bears will start waking up from their winter hibernation. Visitors can come to see them from 9 am until 6 pm.

In the spring, the Moscow Zoo will switch to new hours. Starting on 1 March, it will be open for visitors from 9 am until 6 pm, and the ticket office and the entrance will stay open until 5 pm. The hours change because the days become longer and the animals are gradually starting to wake up from their winter hibernation.

“When spring comes, the zoo changes. You can feel that spring is getting close every day now, despite the February snowfalls and sudden cold. And, of course, animals are the first to feel temperature fluctuations. As the days become longer, our visitors can enjoy longer walks around the zoo,” said Svetlana Akulova, general director of the Moscow Zoo.

She also noted that the zoologists predict that hibernating animals, such as brown and Himalayan bears, raccoons, marmots, jerboas and raccoon dogs, would start to wake up at the end of March.

The zoo is open for visitors from 9 am until 5 pm from December until the end of February.

The Moscow Zoo is the fourth largest zoo in Russia and one of the oldest zoos in Europe. The zoo is constantly adding new animals to its collection. For example, last year it welcomed its first aardvark as well as a colony of Gentoo penguinsbrought to the zoo from Germany as part of a European programme to conserve this species in captivity.

Not long ago, a muskox calf (male) was born at the zoo. Visitors can see it in the enclosure with the other muskoxen. In total, almost 600 baby animals were born at the zoo last year.