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(1839-1883) |
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(1835 - 1919) |
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Friedrich Jakob (Eduardovich) von Falz-Fein |
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bd.
17 Mar
1863, Askania-Nova
After finishing his studies of natural
science at the university of Dorpat, Friedrich, in 1890, as the oldest son took over the management of
Askania-Nova and proceeded to develop it not only as a sheep
and horse ranch (supplying the Russian army with horses) but as an animal park
and a nature preserve. As early as 1883 he had fenced in a first c.10 ha for keeping steppe animals, and
in 1897 he created a zoo and a botanical garden, plus a Nature Museum a
year later. In 1899, nearly extinct wild Przhevalski horses were brought from
the Gobi steppes to Askania Nova. His animal park became a model for other
such ventures, studied by zoo directors from all over the world. In 1914, the
Czar visited Askania-Nova and was so pleased that he made Friedrich a baron
("von"). The family resided in the nearby family estate of Preobrazhenka.
Before World War I, Askania Nova, in addition to its wild living steppe
animals, counted close to a million of sheep and over 100.000 shepherd
dogs. It was damaged during World War I and the Russian Revolution. In
1918, the Bolsheviki confiscated it, and on 1 April
1919 the whole family except for Friedrich's mother fled from Sevastopol on
the last steamer (the Bulgarian 'Roi Ferdinand') via Constantinople to Berlin. In 1920
Friedrich died from grief for his lost "animal paradise". Beginning in 1922,
Askania-Nova was divided and made into agricultural cooperatives, but a core
nature preserve was kept and in 1956 placed under the administration of the
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences which maintains a research institute for steppe
animals. Today the park is said to have been increased to 100.000 ha and is a UNESCO
Nature Preserve, containing an animal park of 2400 ha. It is situated in
Kherson Oblast c. 150 km |
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