to construct new buildings on site of the old ones. The fact that the work took such a long time was one of the main reasons for the decline of such an excellent collection of animals, and the majority of difficulties in the further acquisition of animals. The zoo lost both its elephant and hippo enclosures. The hippopotamuses were moved to Kiev, the rhinoceros was moved to Belarus, and the African elephant to Tashkent. By 1988 only 8 buildings had been built as part of the renovations. In 1996, construction of a Terrarium begun, but this was stopped due to lack of funding. This building was only opened for visitors in 2007, renamed as ‘Exotarium’, which houses fish, snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles and other animals. In 2005 the government developed a strategy to develop Leningrad Zoo at its historical site, where it is currently located. Animal Exhibits The zoo's current collection of animals consists of around 600 types of animals, including large and small predators, hoofed animals, birds, camels, alpacas and llamas, primates, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish. Priority has been given to the smaller species which don't require a lot of space, as the zoo has limited area. Predator's House is home to big cats such as jaguars, African lions, pumas and snow leopards. Inside the exhibit, there are open air winter cages for the lions and jaguars. Primate's House houses a variety of primates, and includes lemurs, armadillos, and a few other that live in warm environments. Exotarium covers two floors. The aquarium is located on the first floor, and is home to different types of coral, marine and freshwater fish and other aquatic life. The second floor houses reptiles and amphibians and insects, as well as a winter enclosure for birds, and other small predators. Small Predator's House is open year round. This exhibit houses wolverines, martens, Pallas's cats, and other small predators. European Forest Exhibit houses typical animals of the European forest, such as squirrels, hares, lynx, and beavers. Tropical House houses porcupines, peccaries, parrots, squirrel monkeys and other species that require a warm environment. Deer Circle has reindeer, Pere David's deer and elk. Kangaroo and Emu Enclosure is a complex of enclosures, which house Bennett's tree-kangaroos and emus. Educational Animals House is where the animals used in the zoo's lectures and educational programmes are housed, including lynx, steppe marmot, owls, foxes, amongst others. Children's