Staff are using stoves and generators to keep lions, camels and Ukraine’s lone gorilla safe from winter and war
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Kyiv zoo’s most famous resident lays on his back watching television. On screen: a nature documentary.
For a quarter of a century, Toni has been the zoo’s star attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors. He is Ukraine’s only gorilla. At 52 – old by western gorilla standards – he needs warm conditions similar to the lowlands of central Africa.
In recent weeks, heating Toni’s spacious enclosure has become a logistical headache. The zoo receives only three or four hours of regular electricity a day. Russian strikes have battered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving more than half a million people without power. In January, ballistic missiles destroyed a thermal plant on the left bank of the Dnipro River.
