Tbilisi Zoo: Georgia's Oldest Zoological Park

The Tbilisi Zoo is the oldest and largest zoological park in Georgia (the country in the South Caucasus), founded in 1927 and set in the Vere River valley in central Tbilisi, within easy reach of the city center. It's primarily a destination for families with children and for travelers with a genuine interest in animals, rather than a standard stop on a first-time Tbilisi itinerary — and approaching it with that understanding gives the visit the right frame.

What is the Tbilisi Zoo?

The Tbilisi Zoo, founded in 1927, is Georgia's oldest and largest zoo, in the Vere River valley in central Tbilisi. It holds a range of species — Caucasian endemics alongside African and Asian animals, plus a marine aquarium (the first in the Caucasus, opened 2007) — across a green, hilly site. Its recent history is marked by the catastrophic 2015 Vere River flood, which killed three keepers, drowned or scattered much of the collection, and sent animals into the streets of Tbilisi; the zoo lost nearly half its animals and has been rebuilding since. It's an unpretentious, genuinely local place — where Tbilisi families spend weekend mornings — at a very modest cost, best suited to families and animal-lovers rather than as a marquee sight.

A long and uneven history

The zoo's history is long and uneven. At its Soviet-era peak it housed well over a thousand animals and drew hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, one of the more significant zoological institutions in the Caucasus. The post-Soviet economic collapse of the 1990s hit it hard, and the institution spent much of that decade in serious difficulty before a modest recovery in the 2000s brought improvements and new facilities — including the marine aquarium, the first in the Caucasus, in 2007.

A relocation has been discussed for years: in 2012 the city decided to move the zoo from its constrained, flood-prone central site to a larger new complex by the Tbilisi Sea on the city's eastern edge. Funding shortfalls repeatedly delayed it, and the zoo was still at its old location when the flood came. The move remains a long-planned but unresolved question; for now, the zoo is still in the Vere valley.

The 2015 flood

The defining event of the zoo's recent history came on 13–14 June 2015, when the Vere River — normally a small stream — flooded catastrophically after exceptionally heavy rain. The floodwaters tore through the low-lying zoo, killing many animals and destroying enclosures. Several large animals — a hippopotamus, big cats, bears, wolves — escaped into the streets of Tbilisi, in scenes that briefly drew worldwide attention; the hippo was cornered in a city square and tranquilized. Some animals were recaptured; others were shot by security forces during the emergency (a decision the zoo publicly questioned), and on 17 June a white tiger still on the loose killed a man before being shot.

The human cost was grave. Three zookeepers died in the flood — among them a keeper who had stayed to try to protect the animals — and the wider disaster killed around twenty people across the city. The zoo lost more than 300 animals, nearly half its population, and reopened about three months later in much-reduced form. Rebuilding has continued since, but the gap between the zoo's pre-2015 scale and its present operation remains real and visible.

One animal became a symbol of the recovery: Begi, the hippo photographed wandering the flooded streets, survived, was returned, and still lives at the zoo — an image that moved the city and now stands for its rebuilding.

The zoo today

The current collection covers a reasonable range across several departments — predators and primates, birds, ungulates, and an exotarium of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Caucasian endemic species — mountain ungulates and regional birds — sit alongside African and Asian animals, giving the collection both local natural heritage and broader range; the aquarium remains one of its more distinctive features by regional standards.

The setting is one of its genuine strengths: the Vere-valley terrain gives the park a hilly, green character, with mature trees for shade in the warmer months and paths that wind through the landscape more like a natural park than a flat conventional zoo — though the usable site is now fairly compact, hemmed in by the city around it. The atmosphere is unpretentious and local: this is where Tbilisi families spend weekend mornings rather than a polished international attraction, and the absence of big tourist crowds gives it a relaxed quality.

Visit with honest expectations. This is an institution still in recovery and development rather than a showpiece, and the gap from its pre-2015 scale is real. But for travelers with children, or with a genuine interest in the animals — and in the Caucasian species in particular — a morning here is a pleasant, genuinely local experience at very modest cost.

Getting there and visiting

• Location: Kostava Street, in the Vere River valley, central Tbilisi (a short distance from the center; the Delisi or Station Square metro and a short taxi are easiest).
• Hours: Longer in summer (roughly morning to evening) and shorter in winter; open daily. Check current seasonal hours before visiting.
• Admission: Modest (low ticket price; reduced for children).
• Website / email: zoo.ge / [email protected]
• Best for: families with children and animal-lovers; a relaxed half-morning rather than a headline sight.
• Combine with: the nearby Vere/Vake green spaces and Mziuri Park (where there's now a monument to Begi the hippo), or a wider day in the Vake–Saburtalo side of the city.