Scandal-hit Klaipėda zoo closes: grim scenes on its final day

On the last day before its gates closed, Klaipėda Zoo still drew families with children. An unusually full car park and a steady stream of visitors suggested that many wanted one final look at animals they would not normally encounter in the wild.

But the unsettling part of the visit was not the animals themselves. It was the condition of their enclosures: pools of standing water, mud, weeds, dirty glass and scratches that made some animals difficult to see. Delfi documented more than 100 photographs of the zoo’s daily environment, including tigers, lions, jaguars, panthers, kangaroos and other animals.

The zoo looks unremarkable from the outside. Green-painted brick blocks and a weathered sign reading “MINI ZOO” greet visitors. Admission costs 12 euros for adults and 8 euros for pupils and students. Children under three enter free. Visitors receive no ticket or keepsake, only the instruction to go inside.

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MINI ZOO

The first enclosure holds a single tiger. It walks around, looks out and soon retreats into a shelter. The enclosure contains a tire, wooden structures and grass, while the door to the indoor area remains open. At first, the scene might seem explainable by tiredness or heat. Further inside, however, attention shifts from the animals to the places where they live.

There is no map near the entrance, making the grounds difficult to navigate. Signs warn that most animals receive water indoors and caution visitors that monkeys bite and scratch. The zoo’s closure follows weeks of scrutiny. The Environment Protection Department reported critically ill animals, took some into custody and found dead animals during the seizure.

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Be careful!!!! Monkeys bite and scratch. Do not tease them and do not put your fingers in