(TR) Turkish zoo seeks help

April 20, 2007

*Boðaziçi zoo and garden await state help* One of the first zoos in

Turkey, the Boðaziçi Zoo and Botanical Park in Darýca, a city in the county

of Gebze near Kocaeli, has reported an annual financial loss of YTL 993,500.

Boðaziçi Zoo and Botanical Park PR Manager Günay Demirbað said that the

area, established in 1991 by the Bird Heaven and Surroundings Development

Foundation, first opened for visitors in 1993. There are 350 birds, 100

mammals, 25 reptiles and 25 fish species and 500 plant varieties hosted by

the zoo, some of which are on the verge of extinction outside captivity. He

also noted that this zoo was a member of the European Association of Zoos

and Aquaria (EAZA).

Demirbað noted that each year the almost 3,000 animals - including bears,

giraffes, donkeys, iguanas, gibbons, kangaroos, penguins, Siberian tigers,

chimpanzees and crocodiles -- consume 7,200 chickens, 144,000 chicks, 22,640

kilograms of meat, 25 tons of fish, 18 tons of apples, nine tons of carrots,

17,100 kilograms of other fruit, four-and-a-half tons of tomatoes, six tons

of vegetables, 72 tons of wheat, 36 tons of barley, 48 tons of dry food,

3,300 kilograms of sunflower seeds, 54,000 loaves of bread, 7,200 kilograms

of milk and milk products, 42,000 eggs, 144 tons of clover, 480 kilograms of

vitamins and 600 kilograms of artificial food.

Stressing they are trying to continue without state support, Demirbað noted

that the annual expenditures of the zoo and park are YTL 1.99 million, while

annual income from visitors was only YTL 910,000, meaning their total annual

loss was over YTL 993,500.

Noting that no zoo in the world can cover its expenses with the income from

visitors alone, Demirbað said: " Zoos function thanks to the state, local

administration members and aid from sponsors. That is why we expect support

from every part of our state. "

19.04.2007

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