Eight giraffes from Namibia have arrived in Russia by plane and are settling into their new home at Kazan Zoo, city authorities said on Friday. The group of three males and five females was transported to the capital of Tatarstan on a specially chartered Il-76 cargo aircraft.
The animals were accompanied by specialists throughout the journey, who monitored the animals and their transport conditions. According to Kazan officials, they handled the long flight well and are now being kept under observation while adapting to their new surroundings.
“We have a state-of-the-art giraffe enclosure – one that meets not only Russian zoo standards but also global ones. It has everything necessary, and every detail has been carefully thought out, including arrangements for winter housing,” noted Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin.
The animals, which are between one and two years old, will spend 21 days in quarantine, with zoo staff monitoring each giraffe individually, local media reported. Metshin said rhinos could also be brought to Kazan in the future.
The shipment marked the first time in 19 years that giraffes had been brought to Russia by air, according to Kazan officials.
The arrival comes amid efforts to bring more African wildlife to Russian zoos. In 2023, Russia’s veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said it planned to discuss imports of hippos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and rhinos from game reserves in South Africa’s Limpopo and Gauteng provinces. As of July 2025, Russian zoos had only six female South African giraffes, with no new animals imported for more than 15 years, according to RBK.
The giraffes are not the only African animals brought to Russia this year. In July, 30 zebras from Namibia arrived in Moscow for keeping and breeding at a local zoo, along with dozens of reptiles and other exotic animals from Namibia and Togo.
Wild animals are also relocated between African countries as part of conservation efforts. Earlier this year, nine southern white rhinos were transferred from South Africa to Mozambique as part of a program aimed at restoring the species in areas where its population had been depleted.