Aytos Zoo

Worth a detour

Aytos has run a small municipal zoo since 1969 in the northern part of Slaveeva Reka park: fifteen decares, twenty-one species and about two hundred and twenty animals, including three brown bears, baboons, guenons, llamas, mouflon and a considerable number of peacocks. Adults about €3, children about €2, under-sevens free. It is open every day of the year, which very little else out here is.

Story

Background

The municipality founded it in 1969 and still owns and funds it, which is the reason its prices and hours are published at all — a rarity among Bulgarian small attractions. It marked its fiftieth year in 2019 and claims over a hundred thousand visitors annually.

Some of the animals have histories. The white storks came from the Green Balkans rescue centre and are kept because injuries prevent them from being released. Two male baboons arrived from Sofia zoo in 2007. The oldest of the three female brown bears, Elena, came from Kormisosh near Laki in 2004. Alongside them are golden, silver and royal pheasants, common, black-winged and white peacocks, deer, Cameroon goats, mouflon, ponies and llamas, and about ten guenons with a mona monkey.

It is a small municipal zoo and it should be judged as one: modest enclosures, no conservation programme to speak of, and a family afternoon rather than an education. What recommends it in this guide is honesty of information. Aytos is an hour west of Burgas on the Sofia road and the park around the zoo is pleasant in its own right; the town's Slaveevi Noshti festival fills it in early June. Guided talks for school groups are free if arranged in advance.