The history of Novosibirsk Zoo began with a little zoological garden headed by Maksim Zverev, which was a part of
West Siberian Krai Children's Technical and Agricultural Station founded in 1933. His most significant contribution to the Novosibirsk Zoo development was the relocation to new area in
Zayeltsovsky District. This process, began in 1979, took a long time and faced many organizational and financial problems, especially in late 1980s and early 1990s. New zoo opened its doors to its visitors in 1993, but the final relocation was completed in 2005. The new zoo at once became a lovely vacation place for Novosibirsk residents and visitors. Simultaneously with the relocation, the zoo was conducting the extensive scientific research work for a
cultivation and preservation of rare animal species. The Novosibirsk Zoo was able to send two lion cubs to
Spence's zoo in South Africa for breeding. Simon's cubs were named after zoo's director
Rostislav Shilo and his wife, Olga. On 1 July 2016, the Novosibirsk Zoo was named after Rostislav Shilo, who died 26 April 2016. Since 2016, the Center of
oceanography and
marine biology "
Dolphinia" has been part of the zoo. == Gallery ==