Almaty Zoo, Zoo in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Almaty Zoo occupies 21 hectares beside Gorky Central Park, with its main entrance on Esenberlin Street. Its animals are grouped into seven sections: predatory mammals, ungulates, primates, birds of prey, exotic birds, an exotarium and an aquarium. The entrance gateway carries an arched pale-blue panel reading "ХАЙУАНАТТАР БАҒЫ" above the word "ЗООПАРК".

In January 1935 the Council of People's Commissars of the Kazakh SSR ordered a zoo for Alma-Ata; hunter Murzakhan Tolebayev chose a 46-hectare orchard site on the right bank of the Kazachka River beside Gorky Park. Tolebayev caught saigas, ibex and gazelles himself, then bought animals from Moscow, Leningrad and Askania-Nova. The zoo opened on 7 November 1937; Tolebayev was arrested on 5 December 1937 and shot in 1938.

The zoo is a member of the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA). Its entrance sign carries the Kazakh name "Хайуанаттар бағы" above the Almaty logo and the word "ЗООПАРК", with painted trees and an elephant along the base. The polar bear Alkor, brought from Kaliningrad in 1990, was treated as the zoo's unofficial symbol until his death on 8 December 2020, a day after turning 31.

The main entrance is on Esenberlin Street, beside Gorky Central Park of Culture and Rest. The 21-hectare grounds are divided into seven sections: predatory mammals, ungulates, primates, birds of prey, exotic birds, an exotarium and an aquarium, so plan your route by section.

The zoo's unofficial symbol was the polar bear Alkor, brought from Kaliningrad in 1990; he died on 8 December 2020, a day after turning 31. The zoo joined the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA). Its exotarium keeps 11 turtle species, among them the Caspian, red-eared, steppe and Seychelles turtles.