Everything here feels alive. We step over the threshold of the storage and... open our mouths in amazement. Many animals are presented so closely and tangibly for the first time. Have you ever seen, for example, wolves and foxes, mountain goats, and various small rodents like this, not on television or in photographs? Probably not. These are just taxidermied specimens, but they are excellently made by the best taxidermists in the country. The exhibits here have not lost their lively plasticity and the shine of their fur — probably, no one can make such taxidermy anymore.
The museum, which includes numerous exhibits, is unusual. After all, it is well known that in nature, animals and birds avoid humans, and it is rare for an outsider to see the original inhabitants of the mountains and steppes.
Look, residents of Bishkek, at the inhabitants of our region, admire and study them. Here it is, the famous mountain goose, look — a raccoon dog, further — a male roe deer. And this is an owl, a wise head...
At the entrance to the storage, a snow leopard catches the eye, attacking a poor argali. A bearded vulture (in Kyrgyz, called balta zhutaar or kok joru) soars from the ceiling.
Here before us is the diversity of bird eggs from Kyrgyzstan. The largest egg in the world belonged to the extinct elephant bird. Here it is presented in the form of a drawing. It turns out that the volume of that giant exceeded 7 liters, which means it was almost a thousand times larger than the egg of the smallest bird — the hummingbird, and its shell was 75 times thicker. Just think about it!
The museum also has exotic animals for our region — a green monkey, Baikal seal, Indian peacock, black fox...
The storage exhibition is quite large. You can visit the museum several times and gain new knowledge and impressions each time. And, of course, it is better if a guide helps you with this. The topics here are diverse and are mainly oriented towards schoolchildren of all ages. There are also tours for students, preschoolers, and adults interested in biology.
Sapash Kasievich never tires of repeating that in any civilized country, zoological collections are a source of national pride. And he hopes that the townspeople, and indeed the guests of the capital, will want to come here and see everything for themselves.
· Unforgotten Past
The history of the current storage began back in the late 1920s when the Central Museum of Local Lore appeared in the capital.
To create it, prominent scientists from the former Leningrad were invited, such as Abramzon (who became the first director), Dementyev, and others. For many years, the museum was located in single-story adobe houses in what was then Frunze.
In 1943, the local history museum split into a Historical Museum and a Nature Museum, which in 1946, with the assistance of Academician Konstantin Skryabin, was transformed into a Zoological Museum and transferred to the Kyrgyz branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Then the Zoological Museum changed addresses several times until it finally moved to the building of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004. Here, the storage underwent a complete reconstruction, opening up new opportunities for its development. The exhibition in all halls was updated, and the area of the storage facilities was increased.
· Portrait Gallery
The museum does not forget the scientists who have supported the museum in various ways over time, replenished its collections, and contributed to the glory of science in Kyrgyzstan. This includes the sculpture of Skryabin and portraits of other scientific luminaries: Alexander Yanushevich, Abdulkhay Aldashev, Nikolai Zakharov, Mikhail Lushchikhin, Arstanbek Altymyshev, and others.
· Welcome
The museum doors are open daily (except Sunday and Monday) from 9 AM to 5 PM. Lunch break is from 12:00 to 1:00 PM. The cost of the entrance ticket: for children — 5, for students — 7, and for adults — 10 soms.
Kubanychbek Mukashev
