By Sona Simonyan

For the past two years, two lions have been kept in the small cage you see here at the Central Zoo in Gyumri.

Their three cubs no share the confined cage with their parents.

The adult female and male seem more like caged asylum patients than wild animals. They look out from behind their bars with a glazed look in their eyes as visitors walk past their cage.   

Their “keepers” and old man and a woman didn’t want to speak with us.  All they said is that they take care of the animals.

We then found out that the animals are the property of the Oasis restaurant that belongs to the family of former Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghoukasyan. To be more exact, they belong to Gevorg Ghoukasyan, Vardan’s brother.

Manvel Karapetyan, who works at the restaurant, tried to convince us that the lions were doing alright and that the animals have enough space to roam around in. He said they use straw to heat the cage.

He assured us that the lions would be soon transferred to a new zoo that is in the planning stages.

Perhaps other animals now being kept in similar conditions at the Sakharov Square zoo will also be transferred to the new zoo if it ever is built.

That zoo also belongs to Stepan Vardanyan who has operated it for twenty years. His son Haroutyun told us that they need financing from the Gyumri Municipality to turn the zoo into a permanent fixture. He said they haven’t yet applied for assistance.

If resources aren’t forthcoming, Haroutyun said they would take the zoo on the road, travelling throughout Armenia as a way to make money.

As we were about to leave, the old keeper Gagik got angry.

“Why shouldn’t Gyumri, Armenia’s second city, have a zoo of its own? Why should we have to go to Yerevan?”

The zoo charges 500 AMD to visitors; and there aren’t too many of them either.

The animals have been brought from the Yerevan Zoo. The Gyumri Zoo plans to introduce other species as well. That is if they can get a permanent space and attract sponsors with money to invest.