Unfortunately, the Feldman Ecopark zoo was completely destroyed by Russian troops during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now it is in ruins and the founders of the park are raising money to rebuild it.
Located near Kharkov, “Feldman Ecopark” is one of the best zoos and landscape parks in Ukraine. Here, on a large and well-groomed territory of 140 hectares, you can see rare animals, as well as just have a pleasant time surrounded by green nature and forests. And most importantly, entry here is absolutely free for everyone!
How to get to the eco-park?
The Feldman Zoo is located next to the Kharkov ring road. Its exact address: Kharkov region, Dergachevsky district, Lesnoye village, Kyiv highway 12. You can get here by free bus, which runs from the Gosprom and Heroes of Labor metro stations, or by paid minibus No. 1656, which runs from the metro station “Heroes of Labor” to the “Dalnoboi” stop. You can also get to the eco-park by personal car. If you go here by car, you must first go along the Belgorod highway, then, before reaching the village of Lesnoye, turn left. It takes about 20 minutes by car, and about 30-40 minutes by bus. Please note that there are long queues for free buses on weekends; here you can lose an hour and a half in the crowd. And if you arrive by car on a weekend, you will have problems with parking; the park is simply not designed for a large influx of visitors. It is best to come here on weekdays.
What to see?
Feldman Ecopark consists of a former forestry, a landscape park and a private zoo. It was created in 2013, but even in such a short time of its existence, it managed to become very popular among local residents and guests of Kharkov. The park is open all year round every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Phone for inquiries: +38(050)401-09-12.
Here, in the green and wooded area, you can see about 300 species of different animals, and in total there are more than 2000 individuals. The zoo is especially proud of its collection of primates (about 200 monkeys), which is one of the largest in Europe. In addition, there are shady alleys, benches, a lake, various sculptures, flower beds, gazebos, and good infrastructure (toilets, mother and child rooms).
What animals can be seen at the Feldman Ecopark Zoo? First of all, here you can see monkeys (more than 200 inhabitants). There are also zebras, lions, tigers, deer, camels, wolves, warthogs, ostriches, bison, penguins… 18 species of zoo animals are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Among the minuses of the park, it should be noted that the enclosures of some animals are quite small and their living conditions differ for the worse in comparison with zoos in Europe . But this problem is typical for almost all zoos in Ukraine.
For children, the Feldman Ecopark has a petting zoo where you can pet and even feed animals. There are many playgrounds, a rope park, a city of professions, attractions, a train, trampolines, and an equestrian center (where they teach you how to ride horses). Almost all services in the ecopark are provided free of charge. Overall, we can say that this zoo is more aimed at children than adults. Therefore, there are quite a lot of visitors with children here.
For adults, the park has recreation areas, gazebos and barbecue areas around a beautiful lake. There are also several coffee shops and cafes.
The king of animals, the lion, is also in the Feldman Zoo. Predators, as always, popular with visitors and children.
In general, the eco-park made a pleasant impression on MashaPasha, although on weekends it can be very crowded and quite dirty. The park, of course, is well looked after and cleaned, but the influx of visitors can be very large. If Feldman’s eco-park is compared with the private 12 months zoo near Kiev, then the latter has better conditions for keeping animals, but is clearly a poorer and bare territory , where apart from the enclosures there is nothing else to see.
The park area of the Feldman Ecopark is very green and well-groomed. It’s nice to walk here.
