“I walked the lion cub on a leash, and read the news to the leopard.” How do predators live in a farmer's private zoo?
February 28, MINSK . In the mid-1990s, the former HEAD of a car depot decided to open a business . I went to one collective farm chairman and asked: “Give me for rent what is a burden to you!” The manager invited him to look at the unprofitable brigade in the village of Podgai near Minsk.
When Yuri Vladimirovich first got there, he immediately noted the beauty of nature: “A field running from hill to hill, the Ptich river flowing behind a fence, a forest, trees on the outskirts of Podgai.” The destruction of the former collective farm buildings did not frighten him. So, having two higher educations, but none of them in agriculture, the aspiring farmer began to study. I read books, consulted with experts, first rented and then leased equipment. He began to restore order around the estate, build roads, and repair the water supply system. The residents of Podgai understood: it was not a temporary worker who came to earth - the owner.
Collective farmers also believed that Yuri Karpilovich was a thorough person. In 2000, they voted to sell all outbuildings on the property to a tenant. And the state has already automatically transferred 100 hectares of farm land to him. So, 24 years ago, 38-year-old Yuri Vladimirovich became an agrarian. And then - the owner of an agricultural estate on the lands of Count Czapski and a zoo.
By the way, the zoo is an old dream for Yuri Vladimirovich. As a boy, he asked his parents: “Let’s at least get a dog...” Now, having firmly found his feet, the farmer himself can afford to get the one he wants. Two wolves were the first to appear in his zoo. Now there are almost 40 species of animals and birds. The spacious enclosures are home to camels, tigers, lions and leopards. Yuri Karpilovich drove the king of animals named Simba as a child 2 thousand km from Ufa. Now it is a powerful predator, and just recently a farmer walked it around the zoo on a leash.
Perhaps Yuri Vladimirovich’s favorite is the Far Eastern leopard Tigger. “When I brought him home, he was nervous: the cage was shaking!” says the owner of the zoo and recalls how he managed to calm the leopard. “So that he would get used to me, he would sit next to me and read him... the news .” Little by little, Tigger calmed down , we became friends. Now every day awaits me... I love him very much, I pamper him: in addition to 5 kg of MEAT, he receives three more eggs a day , and in the summer - goat's MILK . True, when I enter the cage, I leave food, but no longer "I'm petting Tigger: the leopard is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable animals. Now he is resting, and will begin to be active after four in the evening."
Yuri Karpilovich is another hero of our project. We visited his zoo and met the most scandalous inhabitants there, the deer Olezhka and the turkey Kostya Marmeladze, saw the 100-year-old hut of Baba Yaga and found out what dream of the farmer still remained unfulfilled.
Every week in the newspaper "7 days" and on the BELT website we look at the world through the eyes of ordinary Belarusians who sincerely love their business, family and country. All our heroes are unique, but they are united by one thing - loyalty to themselves and the land where they live.
Photo by Tatyana Matusevich
When Yuri Vladimirovich first got there, he immediately noted the beauty of nature: “A field running from hill to hill, the Ptich river flowing behind a fence, a forest, trees on the outskirts of Podgai.” The destruction of the former collective farm buildings did not frighten him. So, having two higher educations, but none of them in agriculture, the aspiring farmer began to study. I read books, consulted with experts, first rented and then leased equipment. He began to restore order around the estate, build roads, and repair the water supply system. The residents of Podgai understood: it was not a temporary worker who came to earth - the owner.
Collective farmers also believed that Yuri Karpilovich was a thorough person. In 2000, they voted to sell all outbuildings on the property to a tenant. And the state has already automatically transferred 100 hectares of farm land to him. So, 24 years ago, 38-year-old Yuri Vladimirovich became an agrarian. And then - the owner of an agricultural estate on the lands of Count Czapski and a zoo.
By the way, the zoo is an old dream for Yuri Vladimirovich. As a boy, he asked his parents: “Let’s at least get a dog...” Now, having firmly found his feet, the farmer himself can afford to get the one he wants. Two wolves were the first to appear in his zoo. Now there are almost 40 species of animals and birds. The spacious enclosures are home to camels, tigers, lions and leopards. Yuri Karpilovich drove the king of animals named Simba as a child 2 thousand km from Ufa. Now it is a powerful predator, and just recently a farmer walked it around the zoo on a leash.
Perhaps Yuri Vladimirovich’s favorite is the Far Eastern leopard Tigger. “When I brought him home, he was nervous: the cage was shaking!” says the owner of the zoo and recalls how he managed to calm the leopard. “So that he would get used to me, he would sit next to me and read him... the news .” Little by little, Tigger calmed down , we became friends. Now every day awaits me... I love him very much, I pamper him: in addition to 5 kg of MEAT, he receives three more eggs a day , and in the summer - goat's MILK . True, when I enter the cage, I leave food, but no longer "I'm petting Tigger: the leopard is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable animals. Now he is resting, and will begin to be active after four in the evening."
Yuri Karpilovich is another hero of our project. We visited his zoo and met the most scandalous inhabitants there, the deer Olezhka and the turkey Kostya Marmeladze, saw the 100-year-old hut of Baba Yaga and found out what dream of the farmer still remained unfulfilled.
Every week in the newspaper "7 days" and on the BELT website we look at the world through the eyes of ordinary Belarusians who sincerely love their business, family and country. All our heroes are unique, but they are united by one thing - loyalty to themselves and the land where they live.
Photo by Tatyana Matusevich