History

September, 27, 1987

When celebrating the first “City’s Day” a unique institution, an exotarium, was founded in Tula, which is the only zoo of reptiles in Russia. At that time it was called “Mini-Zoo” and was a self-financing department of the Komsomolsky Amusement Park. Its opening was preceded by an epic with organization of the exhibition at the Center of Nature in the Lenina prospekt. To get to that exhibition people were queuing during 6-7 hours. Then it became clear that the Tula citizens need a zoo.

Sergei Ryabov’s and Vladimir Dmitriev’s personal animals as well as species granted under the contracts from the Moscow Zoo and the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR formed the basis of the exotarium’s first collection. At that time the exposition consisted of two large rooms, the exotarium had one laboratory and employed 10 people. The ticket prices were 50 kopeck for adults and 30 kopecks for children.

Year 1988

Nobody believed…, but this mini-zoo turned out to be viable working under the principles of self-supporting and self-financing. According to Decision of the Municipal Executive Committee No. 14-567 dated 21.07.1988 Tula Exotarium became an independent enterprise from August, 1.

In the same year it became a base enterprise of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR on exercising advanced methods of management and a base laboratory of herpetologic studies of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

The first international contacts were made (with the help of scientists from the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR) and to expand the animals collections the first expeditions to the Central Asia and to the island of Kunashir (together with the Moscow zoo). The exotarium could receive an approval of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the USSR, the Main Veterinary Administration of the USSR to export and import reptiles and amphibians and to send the first package with raised frogs and snakes to and from Austria, respectively.

That very fall the first field exhibition of reptiles started its work in Moscow (the Garden Ring, Chaikovskiy street) and during the whole working period (more than a month) it was a great success. At the end of the year the exhibition was taken to Minsk.

In September N.N. Drozdov visited the exotarium and devoted it his first program “In the World of Animals”.

Year 1989

Purposefully and insistently the international contacts were reached. Scientists-herpetologists from the University of Berkeley (California, the US), Theodor Papenfuss and Robert Macey, the leading scientist from China, Professor Zhao Ermi, Director of the Center for Raising Reptiles and Ecology Knowledge Publicity, Ronald Tremper from Fresno (the US), the consul of Australia in the USSR, Bruce Scott, visited Tula. Within the program of scientific exchange we received the first dispatches from Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany and we sent the dispatches to Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the US. And in September three workers of the exotarium took part in the 1-st Wold Herpetologic Congress in Canterbury (Great Britain).

And the scientific expeditions were not forgotten: we got the permissions for catching reptiles in various republics of the USSR and organized trips to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the Far East and the island of Kunashir.

The field exhibition continued its trip around the cities: Minsk, Moscow, Vilnius and Leningrad. And at the same time in Tula the exotarium had the fence around it repaired, received a statue of Dinosaur in front of it (scuptor D. Uvartsev) which later became a sight of the city. Despite little space we even managed to open a new exposition consisting of 7 rooms. The exposition is formed according to the zoogeographic continental principle and also with the night room. Here the museum of course presented reptile, amphibians, various species of fish and some invertebrates.

Year 1990

The exotarium started getting the world acknowledgement: for the first time in the wold history off-springs of the African ground python and the trust of foreign colleagues: the exotarium got the accreditation of the Government of Australia which allows to exchange animals with the Australian zoos. Thanks to the international cooperation with the Ron Tremper’s Center (the US) the exotarium’s collection of inoxious snakes was considerably replenished. First of all with king snakes (Lampropeltis) and racers (Elaphe). The exotarium was again visited by the a scientific delegation from Heyfei (4 persons).

Expeditions were organized to Turkmenistan, Tajikistan (together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Berkeley) and to the island of Kunashir.

Year 1991

The exotarium looked for the ways of saving space and lowering the costs but at the same time observing the optimum conditions of animals comfort. This work resulted in inventing and implementing an original system of deposited keeping of snakes.

The snakes collection continued to form by means of scientific exchanges with the foreign colleagues and catching new species during the expeditions to Checheno-Ingooshetia (together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the University of Berkeley), Turkmenistan, the city of Elizovo (Kamchatka) and other regions.

The exotarium received dispatches with snakes from the Royal Zoo of Melbourne (Australia), Jersey Conservation Trust of Gerald Darrel (Great Britain), Institute of Snakes (Tokyo, Japan) and Scientific and Research Center for Studying Tropical Biosphere of the Ryukyu University (Okinawa, Japan). And the exotarium workers went to Germany for the first time (to the exotarium of the Frankfurt Zoo) and to China (the University of Hefei and the ophidiarium).

Year 1992

And again, first of all the international contacts: the exotarium won the hearts of Switzerland, Cuba, the USA, Vietnam!

Director of Oriopharm, a large European Center, Michel Guillod, came to Tula for the first time in his life, later we organized the exchange of dispatches with this Center. Due to this a collection of pythons and boas expanded greatly.

For the first time the exotarium workers together with the Kaluga University visited the Cuba.

They also went to the USA having visited Ron Tremper’s Center and the Dallas Zoo where they brought grass and purple brown pythons from. In Vietnam they advised the local colleagues on construction of the center for raising snakes.

We also continued our work in the expeditions. The exotarium workers went to Checheno-Ingooshetia, Azerbaijan, the Kunashir island and the island of Sakhalin.

And again we are searching for the ways to save money: we equipment 10 laboratories according to a new scheme and created a vivarium for raising rats to cut costs on feeding stuff and to ensure out nurslings with living rodents.

Year 1993

It became extremely difficult to survive in the conditions of self-financing in connection with sharp rises in prices on energy, petrol, feeding stuff and many other things, with the people’s lack of confidence in their future. But we didn’t work worse due to these facts. We received many off-springs from 70-80 snakes species, created a vivarium called “Mice”, expanded a vivarium “Rats” – this allowed to cut three times the expenses on feed rodents.

The exotarium was visited by a famous German scientist-herpetologist and terrariumist, Klaus-Dieter Schulz, from Wurzelen to get familiar with the Tula collection of chicken snakes within the work on his monograph. The exotarium workers went to Switzerland (Geneva), they went twice to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh locality). The exotarium continued developing cooperation with Oriopharm on exchange of animals.

We organized an expedition to Chechnya and a trip to Elizovo (Kamchatka) again. We bought the first vehicle, i.e. Kuban bus.

Year 1994

That year was one of the hardest years in the exotarium history. Financial condition of the organization kept on declining, we had to stop some scientific programs. But despite this fact we managed to organize one trip to Vietnam. Cooperation with the terrarium of the Tallinn Zoo and the Swiss Oriopharm Center continued. November especially stuck in memory of the exotarium workers. Because of the untimely preparation of the boiler-house by its proprietor the heating system of the exotarium got frozen during the early frosts. Prompt assistance of the Tula mayor, N.E. Tyaglivy, helped us to overcome a hazardous situation and find the way out without any losses.

Visitors started enjoying some periodic temporary exhibitions: “On the Tula Region Nature”, “Snakes’ Babies Born in Tula”.

Year 1995

The exotarium was on the verge of survival, if that situation had continued for some time more the exotarium would have collapsed. We were forced to cut the collection and the staff. We had to have arrears on obligatory payments. However the appeal of the exotarium management was backed by the Department of Culture of the Administration of the Tula region and the exotarium was included into the regional budget starting from the following year.

The exotarium got the first rhychophyses Boulanger and immediately was a success in their raising. Later this vulnerable species was included into the zooculture in Tula and became the main species for exchanging with the European and American zoos.

Year 1996

We came into the second stage of the exotarium development with the start of the budget financing.

An exotarium worker took part in the International Russian American Expedition to the Northern Vietnam where he received unique species of reptiles and amphibians.

A return visit to Germany, to the herpetologist Klaus-Dieter Schulz was arranged.

The animals collection again started growing rapidly. Some rare species of reptiles and amphibians delivered the off-springs at the exotarium for the first time in the world practice.

A famous Swiss scientist, Notker Helfenrberger, and the Chicago Zoo workers, Ray Powley and Steve Swanson, visited Tula for the first time.

We started work on studying the taxonomy and reproductive biology of the Pallas’ colubers (Elaphe dione) from different populations and selection of color variations of these snakes.

Year 1997

The exotarium together with the Moscow Zoo participated in a long-time international expedition to the Northern Vietnam arranged by the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, University of Berkeley (the US) and magazine “National Geographic”.

In November the Director of the exotarium made a repot “On Herpetologic Reasearches in Bietnam and Raising Rare Species of Snakes in Tula” at the international conference in Noice (Germany). The report was highly appraised by the foreign colleagues.

Thanks to the international scientific exchanges and considerable success in raising animals the collection of the exotarium reptiles kept on expanding.

Year 1998

Another mutual expedition of the exotarium with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia and Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada) to Vietnam was held. The exotarium’s collection of animals reached 225 species 177 of which are reptiles.

Director of the exotarium made a report on raising rare species of the Asian fauna at the scientific congress in Orlando (the US). The report was acknowledged as one of the best report made during the congress.

A delegation from the Moscow Zoo led by Director V.V. Spitsyn came on a visit to Tula. The exotarium work was highly appraised and it was admitted to membership of the European-Asian Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Contacts with Oriopharm (Switzerland) and Ron Tremper (the US) were restored.

The laboratory of the tree Asian water-snakes like snakes (boigas, first of all) was opened.

The exotarium was the first among the city’s institutions of culture to receive a municipal administration-owned apartment for the workers having come from other cities and countries.

Year 1999

New exchange contacts with C.V. Prestasi, the Indonesia reptile center, and Asada, Japan center, contributed greatly to enlargement of the animals collection.

In November-December we organized an expedition together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia to Indonesia (Sumatra, Yava) during which some rare species of reptiles and amphibians were found. We also got a postage with the rare protected species of snakes from the zoo of Saint Louis (the US).

Much time and attention was paid to the area studies first of all to studies of reptiles, amphibians and insects.

It was the first time the wold history when the Snakes Beauty Contest was held. The snakes represented very different continents. It was broadly highlighted by mass media of Russia and many other foreign countries.

Two more scientific laboratories were opened: those of vipers and Asian pit vipers.

Snakes collection of the Tula exotarium became the largest among the world zoos (265 species).

Year 2000

Collection of reptiles kept on expanding due to exchanging animals with Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland, Great Britain. A return postage was sent to the zoo of Saint Louis (the US). We arranged a trip to Germany to see the specialists Andreas Gumprecht and Klaus-Dieter Schulz.

Professors Claes Andren and Göran Nilson, the scientists from Sweden, came on a visit to Tula.

By means of mutual settlements between the Administration of the Tula region and Chermetimpex JSC the exotarium received a new car – Gazelle, a minibus for 8 persons.

To celebrate the 13-th anniversary a benefit marathon was carried out. Many famous people, musicians, bands took part in this marathon. The honorary presenter of this large-scale event was N.N. Drozdov.

It was the first time when the necessity to expand the exotarium and provide it with a new building was brought to such an acute discussion.

The exotarium participated in the World of Animals program in the First Channel again.

The interaction with visitors and mass media improved too.

Year 2001

Two expeditions to Vietnam were arranged together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, Vsevolzhsky zoo and IEBR (Hanoi, Vietnam). During these expeditions unique species of reptiles and amphibians which no other zoo in the world possessed were found and brought to Tula. Owing to the perspective of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia a postage with groups of reproducers of two very seldom species of keffiyehs – narrow area Japanese endemics – was received from the Tropical Biosphere Center (Okinawa) under the special permits of the Japanese Government.

We had some exchanges with the Helsinki Zoo and Andreas Gumprecht, the German herpetologist.

Andreas Gumprecht, Timo Paasikunnas, the reptiles curator with the Helsinki Zoo, and Jimmy Melin, the Swedish expert, paid their first visit to Tula.

Year 2002

We celebrated the 15-th anniversary of the exotarium! N.N. Drozdov, the Russian colleagues-herpetologists, Heads from the Department of Culture, Municipal Administration and other different institutions and organizations took part in the celebration. A large delegation from the Moscow zoo led by V.A. Ostapenko, came to the exotarium, the foreign guests included Jeff Ettling, the curator with the zoo of Saint Louis, and Andy Snider, the reptiles curator with the zoo of Detroit (the US), Ho Thus Cuc and Duong Quoc Anh, researchers from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (Hanoi, Vietnam), Ronald Maier, the herpetologist from Switzerland, Sergei Prokhorchik, the herpetologist from Belorussia, Yuri Zhuravlev, the herpetologist from Kazakhstan, Saulius Praskavicius, the herpetologist from Lithuania, Vladimir Odinichenko, the worker of the Indonesia Center for Raising Reptiles.

We kept on exchanging animals with the Japanese, Germans, Indonesians, British, Spanish and Finnish.

We continued our big area work on studying animals of the Tula region which resulted in publication of an annual collected volume “Biodiversity of the Tula Region at the Turn of the Century”. A snakes species new for the science - Boiga tanahjampeana- was described in cooperation with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia.

Year 2003

A Fund for the Exotarium, FORA, was founded.

Moscow was the place to hold the first, joint with the Moscow Zoo, International Exhibition of Reptiles “The Best Snakes from the Best Zoos of the World” which was a great success with the visitors.

Together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia thanks to the financial back up of the FORA Fund there were organized three expeditions to Vietnam (March-May, July, September-October), during which the unique and most rare species of snakes and lizards were found and brought to the exotarium collection. These species has some samples new for the science and one of them was believed extinct.

5 workers with the exotarium took part in the International Scientific Conference in Saint-Petersburg help by the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia and the European Herpetologic Society.

The third issue of the annual collected volume “Biodiversity of the Tula Region at the Turn of the Century” was published.

The exotarium was visited by biologists from Albania, Germany, France and Switzerland.

Year 2004

The second, joint with the Moscow Zoo exhibition “Parents and Children of the Reptiles World” was carried out in Moscow.

A scientific expedition to Vietnam was organized together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, Moscow State University, Goteborg University and the Swedish TV.

The exotarium in cooperation with the IPEE of the Academy of Sciences of Russia and Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia accepted an important delegation from the Academy of Sciences of Vietnam led by its Vice-President and Directors of the Institutes.

An exotarium worker took part in the international expedition in Armenia orgenized by the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia and the Saint-Louis Zoo (the US).

The exhibition of reptiles was held in the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University (Moscow).

A unique exposition of insects collections “The Beauties and the Monsters” shown in Tula, Ryasan and Salekhard was created. This exposition consists of very attractive and extraordinary insects, first of all, butterflies, from all over the world, and is structured according to an original principal. This exhibition was a great success in all cities where it was shown.

The 4-th issue of the annual collected volume “Biodiversity of the Tula Region at the Turn of the Century” was published.

A new species of pit-vipers was redescribed together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, IEBR and Phong Nha- Ke Bang National Park (Vietnam).

We lept on exchanging the animals with the zoos of the USA and other partners to enlarge the exotarium collection with rare species of reptiles.

We organized two trips to Germany as a preparation of “Asian Pit-Vipers” book, A. Gumprecht, F. Tillack, N. Orlov, A. Captain, S. Rjabov, for publication. The book was published in Germany in English some time later. In parallel a book in Russian was also published: Atlas of Reptiles of the Northern Eurasia, N.B. Ananieva, N.L. Orlov, R.G. Khalikov, I.S. Darevsky, S.A. Rjabov, A.V. Baranov.

The President of the Baltic Herpetologic Society Kert Lipponen came to the exotarium, it was also visited by the Director of the Mini-Zoo in Parnu (Estonia), Peeter Põlsdam, Director of the Swiss Center Rico Kunz, the Editor and Publisher of the “Rästik” popular science journal Toomas Pranstibel (Tallinn).

Year 2005

The third exhibition in Moscow “Venomous Snakes. Myths and Reality” (together with the Moscow Zoo) was held.

In April-May another expedition to Vietnam was organized together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia. We also arranged a trip to Germany to the exhibition of reptiles in September where we made new contacts with the herpetologists from Germany and the Netherlands.

Our colleagues from Finnland, Estonia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and other countries came to Tula again.

The regular 5-th issue of the area collected volume “Biodiversity of the Tula Region at the Turn of the Century” was published. And we started issuing Eversmania, the international entomologic journal (issues 1,2 and 3-4).

We worked out and implemented development and educational programs “Studying at the Zoo” and “Growing up at the Zoo” for various age groups.

We exchanged animals with France, Gemany and other countries.

Year 2006

Again the 4-th joint with the Moscow zoo exhibition “The Most Beautiful Snakes of the World” was a success in Moscow.

A long-time comprehensive expedition to Vietnam was organized together with the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, Zoological Museum of Moscow State University and IEBR (Hanoi) from April to June. These expeditions resulted in description of new species of a tree frog and flat-bodied grasshopper named by the scientists in honor of the Director of the exotarium S.A. Rjabov.

For further expansion of the exotarium collection we organized exchanges of animals with Finland, Germans, the USA, Indonesia, Japan and Great Britain.

A leading researcher of Latoxan (France) Frank Principaud got a 3-week training at the exotarium, and a senior school-boy from the Netherlands Gidi van de Belt got a 1-month practice here.

The exotarium was visited by the Latoxan Director (France), Yvon Doljansky, Chairman of the Polish Society of Terrariumists, collegues from Finland, Estonia and Switzerland.

The exotarium workers took part in the conference “Scientific and Enlightening Activity in Zoos” in St. Petersburg. The work of the Tula representatives was acknowledged to be one of the best among the zoos of Russia.

We arranged trips: to the zoos of the Czech Republic (3 workers) to get acquainted with the experience in enlightening activities, to France to the Latoxan center, to Germany to the Cologne Zoo and to the International Exhibition of Reptiles, to Estonia to the Mini-Zoo in Parnu.