Imagine: you miraculously found yourself in Moscow of the 1575 model and are standing under the walls of the Kremlin. What do you see? An impregnable fortress surrounded by a wide moat. True, there is no water in it, but there are lions! Just a couple - a gift from Queen Mary Tudor of England to our Ivan the Terrible. They walk next to the current Voskresensky gate - for "protection and intimidation." And in the neighborhood, also in a ditch, sits a gift from the Persian Shah Tahmasp I - an elephant: "fat-bodied, great-headed, black-faced, gagged, treading bear-like" … Did you order leopards?
Since then, all Moscow princes and tsars kept guard lions under the walls of the Kremlin. Even under the first Romanovs, "anyone, anyone, could watch them." In fact, this was the first Moscow zoo. Free, open to everyone. The common people did not go to other menageries: only the cream of society could admire the outlandish animals.
And the Chinese emperor started this "lordly habit" in the XII century BC. By his order, the so-called "Garden of Knowledge" was laid out between Beijing and Nanking, where numerous animals and birds were housed on an area of 400 hectares. But only the emperor himself, his family and those close to him had access to this "corner" of wild nature.
Assyrian zoological gardens, which appeared in the 9th century BC, could also be visited only by members of the ruling family. The "assortment" of animals represented in them entirely depended on the personal tastes of the king or queen. So for Shammuramat (better known as Semiramis), leopards were caught throughout the country, for her son - lions, and when in the 7th century. BC. Ashurbanipal entered the throne, and they began to drive camels to the zoo.
As for Europe, Alexander the Great was probably one of the first to catch wild animals. From every conquered country, he sent animals to his teacher Aristotle. And he studied their habits and anatomy. Perhaps only Aristotle experienced research interest in the representatives of the fauna at that time. Although no, there was still Hippocrates: the father of medicine tested medicines on animals …
WILD GLADIATORS
Then there was Ancient Rome - a big lover of entertainment and spectacles: in addition to gladiators, lions, rhinos, crocodiles, leopards, bears and elephants fought in the arena of the Colosseum. Trappers all over the world hunted predatory animals: and those whom nature determined to be the masters of the jungle, the lords of shrouds and deserts, the kings of swamps and rivers, in Rome, died in tens of thousands - for the amusement of the public. All these bloody lists, this barbaric extermination of wild animals led to the fact that a kind of zoo was built in Rome. Numerous cages with walks were built to keep the predatory "gladiators", their diet was closely monitored, as well as the state of health: after all, the audience was not interested in "half-dead" lions, leopards and other "fighters" …
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With the light hand of Emperor Augustus - at the very end of the 1st century BC. - the fashion for menageries appeared among the Roman nobility. The emperor himself spent a lot, equipping a dwelling for 3,500 animals. On the other hand, 420 tigers, 260 lions, mixed with bears, crocodiles and elephants roamed freely in his possessions. Augustus was outdone by Emperor Trajan, who ruled at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries. AD: There were 11,000 animals in his personal collection. The subjects tried not to fall face down in the mud. And very soon there were so many private menageries in Rome that a special tax on lions and leopards had to be introduced. And there was also a law, according to which for the damage caused to wild animals, it is supposed to pay more than for the same damage caused to pets. Oddly enough, no one has canceled it so far …
OFFICE APARTMENTS FOR OBSERVERS
But all these were menageries - for royalty, for noble townspeople, in a word, for those who had money. No one conducted observations of animals, did not study habits and habits, and therefore animals died - even in golden cages - without counting. The owners were not particularly worried: there is a lot of good in the forests - we will catch new ones!
Therefore, it is all the more strange that the last emperor of the Aztecs, known for their bloody sacrifices, approached the zoo closest of all - in the form in which we now know it. This is, of course, about Montezuma. Even Cortez, who came to fight the savages, was impressed: “Most of the territory near the palace of the Emperor Montezuma, with ponds, forests and houses, was reserved for wild and semi-wild animals. Many passages with columns of jasper led to the garden, the center of which were 10-12 large lakes, intended for keeping waterfowl, crocodiles and fish. For seabirds there were ponds with salt water, for river birds - with fresh water. Everything was clean and in good condition."
The imperial animals were followed by 300 people who lived there, in the zoo - in the "service apartments". It is easy to guess that the zoo shared the sad fate of the Aztecs themselves, their cities and palaces: it turned into ruins …
LIVE GIFTS
In the Middle Ages, it became a good form between sovereigns to exchange wild animals - as a sign of respect and friendly disposition. We began our story with Maria Tudor, who presented lions to Ivan the Terrible.
Alexey Mikhailovich willingly accepted "live" gifts. Moreover, by his order in 1663, the largest Russian menagerie was built in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow. Moose, wild boars, wolves, brown bears, foxes, porcupines, various deer, as well as lions and tigers, leopards and lynxes settled there. It existed until 1765, and then lost the status of a royal estate. But the animals remained there for quite a long time: the last inhabitants of the menagerie were already destroyed by the French - in 1812.
Russian emperors gravitated towards "large" forms and "collected" elephants. For the maintenance of the latter, an “Elephant Yard” was built on the Fontanka - quite spacious and comfortable. But the animals needed a promenade. Therefore, they were regularly taken out for a walk - right on the streets of the city.
OSTRICH FOR 24 COPIES
Tales and fables about elephant promenades rattled the soul of the common people. But there were also other outlandish doors hidden in the menageries of the nobility! History has not preserved the name of the first person who thought of offering "the pleasure of the rich" to ordinary people. But wandering menageries appeared in all corners of Europe at the end of the 18th century. In Russia, starting from the 19th century, not a single fair, folk festival and festivities were complete without such an "attraction" as showing animals for money. In Moscow, for example, an African ostrich was demonstrated. For the right to look at the overseas bird, they took 24 kopecks from merchants. The cost of visiting for less well-off visitors was estimated by eye …
But all this was only entertainment, started for reasons of prestige or income. Animals and birds could be teased, stones thrown at them, or poked with sticks. Anyone could ask the caretaker to drive the animal out of the shelter or wake it up in order to properly examine it. It is clear that the animals did not stay in the menageries for a long time and perished. As a result, the educated public began to rebel against such institutions. The voice of Karl Hagenbeck, an animal dealer and trainer from Germany, was the loudest. In 1875, he decided to "show animals in conditions of maximum freedom on a site similar to natural conditions, and without a fence." From his menagerie in Hamburg, a full-fledged zoo has gradually grown, which today is called the Hagenbeck Zoo. It was opened on May 7, 1907 and became the world's first zoo,in which the natural conditions of their habitat - trees, rocks and water bodies were recreated for animals. It was a real revolution that permanently swept across Europe.
Today, there are about 850 zoos, where animals are cared for and nurtured, are engaged in their study, and rare species are saved from extinction. Anyone who wishes can contribute to the cause of saving the environment simply by "registering" custody of some animal - and this will be prestigious. Animals in zoos often become "stars", their life is closely watched by newsmen, and such an event as the birth of cubs in tigers or pandas immediately hits the front pages. Everything has changed. But it took almost 5000 years …
Natalia KUVSHINOVA