Here is where the Belgrade Zoo is getting relocated: This is the new location

Photo: Telegraf.rs

The Belgrade (Beo) Zoo, which has been located on Kalemegdan since its foundation in 1936, will be moved to Ada Safari.

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After almost nine decades, the zoo is moving from Kalemegdan to Ada Safari.

Mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Sapic today spoke about the reasons for moving the zoo.

"This was often a topic, especially the conditions in which these animals live. We filed a request with UNESCO to put the zoo under protection. There were several proposals. Vuk Bojovic wanted us to relocate it to the Great War Island, but it turned out that was not feasible due to frequent flooding. We wanted to go to the outskirts of the city, but the zoo is an integral part of the city. After all, all large cities have a zoo in the urban environment. We need to find a part of the city where the animals will feel as if they are in their habitat," said the mayor.

He added that they have been talking for the last few months and that today he was presenting the plan they came up with.

"The zoo will be here, close to people and in the environment animals are used to, which is nature. There are a lot of trees here and we are in the center of the city. Here the space is twice as big as the existing one. We think, after many analyses, that this is the best solution. We will have the most beautiful zoos in Europe, and that is because of the location, the banks of the river, the lake and the city center, and it is quiet," said Sapic.

The mayor talks about the bridge

"The Assembly will make a decision about the pedestrian-bicycle bridge, we have to use a ten-year-old plan. I think this is a big deal, it will take us ten months to design the bridge and it will take a year to build. As for the cable car, it is already planned and that will go more easily. There are 370 families here who will be dislocated but in the end they will be satisfied because they will get what they are entitled to and no one will be left homeless. The moment they know everything, we start the work. I think this is a big thing for Belgrade. And the zoo deserves the place it deserves, while Kalemegdan deserves to be a cultural and historical asset," added Sapic.

(Telegraf.rs)