This is the first lion park in Europe, such parks have never been created here before. About 50 African lions live freely on more than 30 hectares of the Crimean foothills. Lion parks are not uncommon in African countries, they exist in Tanzania, Kenya, but to create such a park in a luxurious place in the Crimea, near the picturesque reservoir «Taigan», in honor of which the park is named, was a new and fresh idea. It took a lot of effort to create the lion park. The animals were collected for more than five years from various zoo collections in Russia, Ukraine, and Europe, and some were specially brought from South Africa, such as, for example, unique white lions, which are not found in any zoo in the CIS.
The visitors of the park can observe lions in the natural conditions of the Crimea. At the same time visitors are on safe specially equipped bridges located above the territory with lions. The length of the viewing bridges over the safari park is more than 1 km. It should be noted that lions lead a free lifestyle, and naturally, they can hide in the heat, can not be seen from the viewing bridges, etc. Therefore, at some hours lions are difficult to spot. It is highly recommended to spend at least a day here to get a full impression of the lion park, to see all phases of lions’ life during the day, because lions, as bright representatives of felines, are active in the evening, at night and at dawn.
Besides the lion safari in the lion park there is also a children’s mini-zoo, as well as a stationary zoo, where ungulates, mammals, birds are presented.
The park has created a complete infrastructure for recreation for adults and children, there is a cozy hotel of European class, restaurants, bars, meeting halls, entertainment venues, and even a Ferris wheel, which opens an unforgettable large-scale spectacular views of the nature of the steppe Crimea, the reservoir Taigan and White Mountain. The total area of the park is more than 32 hectares.
Lion Park «Taigan» is a new tourist object of Crimea, it is a bold step in zoo construction among the CIS countries.
The Supreme Council of the AR of Crimea will soon consider a draft decree on reserving this object and assigning the status — object of the natural reserve fund of Ukraine.
Currently, the general construction works in the park are 95% complete, new enclosures and elephant enclosure are under construction.