Vijesti
The Wild Heart of the City and the Search for the Giraffe
Zagreb Zoo has one of the most romantic stories of how it came into being, and it all began with one man’s vision and just three animals.
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The Zoo is located in Maksimir Park, which was named after Zagreb Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac. The name Maksimir was coined from the phrase ‘Maksimilijanov mir’ (‘Maksimilijan’s peace’), symbolising the bishop’s wish to give the citizens a place to relax and enjoy nature on the site of what had once been the old episcopal forest.
The entire project to build the Zoo was not initiated by the state or a scientific institute, but by the sheer passion of one individual. Mijo Filipović was not a zoologist by profession, but a nature enthusiast who had spent years dreaming of giving Zagreb a window onto the wild. His enthusiasm was so infectious that he managed to get the whole city behind the idea at a time when there were far greater problems to deal with.
It all began on 27 June 1925, when Mijo Filipović, then director of a construction company, managed to convince the then Mayor of Zagreb, Vjekoslav Heinzel, that Zagreb, as a modern European metropolis, needed a zoo. Filipović insisted that the Zoo should be located within Maksimir Park because he wanted it to be more than just a place to look at animals – he wanted it to be a place for science and education. At the time, it was known as the ‘Zoological Museum’.
The Zoo’s first ‘residents’ were not exotic lions or elephants, but three foxes and two polar bears which Mijo Filipović received as a gift. They were housed on a small island in the middle of Maksimir Lake, which is still known today as Swan Island.
Between 1925 and 1926, the Zoo expanded at an astonishing pace. At first, it was not stocked by buying animals; instead, they were donated by citizens. People brought in injured birds, deer they had found, or unusual animals they had acquired while travelling. This created a strong emotional bond between Zagreb’s residents and the Zoo – it was literally ‘theirs’.
In the 1930s, some of the most recognisable structures that still stand today were built. The best known is Lion Bridge, with its lion statues, along with the towers that resemble castles, giving the Zoo a fairytale-like, ‘old Zagreb’ character. A special enclosure for monkeys was soon built as well, and they immediately became the Zoo’s biggest stars. An elephant also arrived during this period, becoming a real attraction.
The Zoo survived the Second World War, but by the end of the 20th century it was in very poor condition, with enclosures that were far too small. Major modernisation did not begin until the 2000s, when the cages were replaced with spacious enclosures designed to imitate the animals’ natural habitats.
The Case of the Zagreb Giraffe
One of the city’s great mysteries is why so many Zagreb residents insist that they saw a giraffe at the Zoo as children. Some remember seeing one, while for others it would have been impossible.
Since its foundation, the Zoo has kept detailed records of all its animals. Even today, its official website states under the ‘Questions and Answers’ section that the Zoo had a giraffe between 1955 and 1960. So after 1960, there was no giraffe at the Zoo. Yet the question remains: how did generations of children later remember seeing a giraffe that was no longer there?
Experts explain this through a phenomenon known as the Mandela Effect in a local context – a situation in which a large number of people share the same, highly specific, but incorrect memory. Experts suggest that there may have been confusion with camels or llamas, as camels and llamas lived for years in the old part of the Zoo, near the entrance. From a child’s perspective, these long-necked animals may have seemed ‘enormous’, and over the years that childhood memory could have transformed into the image of a giraffe.
There is also the influence of collective suggestion. When someone in a position of authority – a parent or an older brother or sister – says, ‘Do you remember how we saw the giraffe here?’, a child’s brain may create a false visual image to fill in the missing information.
The explanation may also be generational. Parents or older brothers and sisters may genuinely have seen a giraffe, while younger members of the family only heard about it.
Furthermore, most children’s ‘Zoo’ toy sets or picture books featured drawings of giraffes as a universal symbol of the zoo, which the brain could later associate with an actual visit.
Today, Zagreb Zoo – or the Wild Heart of the City, as we like to call it – has a historic reputation as the oldest zoo in south-eastern Europe. It ranks among the leading destinations for wildlife lovers in this part of Europe and remains Zagreb’s most popular destination for family walks.