Kyiv Zoo saves animals from freezing temperatures – people are working around the clock
Nearly 3,000 animals live at the Kyiv Zoo. This year’s freezing temperatures and power shortages caused by Russian shelling have forced caretakers to work day and night to keep their charges warm. Frontliner went behind the scenes to see how the animal park manages to keep so many animals warm during the winter.
A towering elephant enjoys an apple given to him by Kyiv Zoo director Kyrylo Trantin. Twenty-year-old Horace is the only elephant at the Kyiv Zoo, so he spends the winter in a separate building. Staff keep his enclosure at a comfortable 17°C (63°F).
Nearly 3,000 animals live at the Kyiv Zoo. In the cold season, staff work around the clock – not only caring for the animals but also keeping their enclosures at the right temperature.
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Zoo staff add firewood to a wood stove at the Kyiv Zoo, Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 4, 2026. (Danylo Dubchak/Frontliner)
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Firewood is added to the wood stove five times a day, with staff from each department taking turns. Zoos from several European countries have sent supplies of dry feed, making the animals’ meals at the Kyiv Zoo less dependent on electricity, which is usually needed to prepare food on electric stoves.
“If people have taken on the responsibility of keeping animals in their care, they must ensure their comfort in every season and under any circumstances – even during war,” says Kyiv Zoo director Kyrylo Trantin.
“You can’t tell the animals, ‘Sorry, folks, it’s just cold.’ It is incredibly hard, and people have been working around the clock for a month and a half – some even for up to two months,” he says.
Kyrylo Trantin has been running the Kyiv Zoo for more than 11 years. He says he practically lives there day and night. Kyrylo doesn’t limit himself to administrative duties — he also enjoys personally feeding the animals, offering an apple to the elephant or a piece of beef to the tigress.
Hercules the lion and his sisters, Vilia, Daryna, and Khrystyna, aren’t afraid of the cold and eagerly venture out into the open part of their enclosure. Still, they can return at any time to warm up in the heated indoor area.
In the enclosure, lemurs snuggle together to stay warm. Two lemurs, Adama and Julia, live separately from the others. They were rescued from a shopping mall in Kherson that was hit by a Russian missile. Animals with burns and concussions were found among the rubble and brought to the Kyiv Zoo.
The tropical bird enclosure is filled with noise, including cheerful greetings of “Hello!” – the parrots speak with almost human-like voices. They share the space with many displaced birds brought from private zoos that closed due to the war.
Text: Tetiana Zabashtanska
Photos: Danylo Dubchak
Adapted: Irena Zaburanna
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