Pardisan park, as originally envisaged, was designed to be an urban environmental park modelled on a traditional Persian garden, bringing together zoological and botanical gardens, aquariums, natural history museums and planetariums etc. under the banner of a single institution. The park would have been divided into 7 geographic zones – Iran, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, with each geographic zone being further divided into multiple climatic zones. In addition to the fauna and flora of each region, the exhibits would have also highlighted the adaptations of humans communities native to each region, and the human-environment relation in both a historical and modern context. I will, however, only focus on the animal species that were planned to have been exhibited. Total area: ~300 hectares IRAN Zagros and Elburz mountains Timber wolf Blanford's fox Snow leopard Persian wild goat Hyrcanian forest Shrew spp. Mediterranean mole Edible dormouse Indian crested porcupine Vole spp. House mouse Jungle cat Lynx Siberian tiger European badger (Eurasian?) otter Weasel (sp. ?) Pine marten Red deer Roe deer Waterfowl "Forest birds" Fish Lake Rezaiyeh Bicolored shrew Lesser (white-toothed?) shrew European hedgehog Long-clawed ground squirrel Common vole Mole vole (sp. ?) Great jird Wood mouse Waterfowl Zagrosian oak woodland European hare Persian squirrel (Asiatic?) lion Leopard Red fox Syrian brown bear Wild boar Persian fallow deer Cave fish "Zagrosian stream" fish spp. Pistachio-Almond scrub Manul Wild cat Golden jackal Marbled polecat Domestic donkey "Aurochs" Domestic goat Sheep spp. Birds Juniper scrub Birds of prey Plateau desert Striped hyeana Asiatic cheetah Caracal Sand cat Persian onager Gazelle spp. Jerboa spp. Jird spp. Artemesia steppe Hedgehog spp. Fox spp. Marten spp. Hare spp. Pika spp. Squirrel spp. Hamster spp. Jird spp. Bactrian camel Gulf coastal plain Hedgehog spp. Bat spp. Hare spp. Northern palm squirrel Jerboa spp. Gerbil, Jird spp. Rat spp. Mongoose spp. Fox spp. Honey badger Dugong Dromedary (Mugger?) crocodile Waterfowl Insects Makran Sand fox Asiatic black bear Waterfowl
NORTH AMERICA Rocky mountains Pika "Rocky mountain" marmot (Yellow-bellied?) Meadow vole Bobcat Timber wolf Dall sheep Rocky mountain goat Birds Reptiles Insects Pacific coniferous forest Snowshoe hare Grey squirrel Northern flying squirrel North American porcupine Beaver Muskrat Meadow vole Northern red-backed vole (Southern?) bog lemming Canadian lynx Grizzly bear American mink American marten Fisher Wolverine Mule deer Elk Birds Reptiles Insects Appalachian forest Opossum Bat spp. Cottontail rabbit (sp. ?) Woodchuck North American porcupine Mouse (sp. ?) Cougar Grey fox Black bear Raccoon Skunk (sp. ?) Birds Reptiles Fish Insects Great plains (Black-tailed?) jack rabbit Prairie dog (sp. ?) Ground squirrel (sp. ?) Pocket gopher (sp. ?) White-footed mouse Coyote American badger Black-footed ferret Pronghorn Plains bison Sage grouse Reptiles Insects Sonoran desert Desert shrew Desert cottontail Kangaroo rat (sp. ?) Woodrat (sp. ?) Kit fox Ringtail White-nosed coati Collared peccary Desert bighorn Aquatic birds Reptiles Insects
SOUTH AMERICA Páramo Chinchilla Pacarana Spectacled bear Alpaca Llama Vicuña Birds Reptiles Insects Pampas Giant anteater Patagonian mara "Patagonian cavy" (Southern mountain cavy?) (Plains?) viscacha Tuco-tuco (sp. ?) Cougar Pampas cat Culpeo fox Maned wolf Patagonian weasel Guanaco Pampas deer Rhea (sp. ?) Birds Reptiles Insects Amazon rainforest Grey four-eyed opossum Mouse opossum (sp. ?) Vampire bat Howler monkey spp. Woolly spider monkey Capuchin spp. Cotton-top tamarin Golden lion tamarin (Southern?) tamandua Pygmy anteater Two-toed sloth (sp. ?) Prehensile-tailed porcupine Capybara Orange-rumped agouti Jaguar Ocelot Kinkajou Brazil tapir Birds Caiman (sp. ?) Amazon river fish
Is this an actual species list from 1975 or a made up/fantasy species list. If it is a made up/fantasy zoo then you are supposed to put this into the speculative zoo design and planning forum. Even then you can’t just make a thread which consists of a list of animals (many of which are seldom kept in captivity outside their range). You have to explain the plan and design if the park.
All of these were originally planned to have been kept at the park, as mentioned in the original plans by the architecture firm that was hired to design the place.
Okay so I did find the documents which the list comes from. I am sorry for doubting your post in the first place J I N X. Here’s a link with the master plan for anyone who is curious; https://annewhistonspirn.com/sharefiles/WMRT-Pardisan-Plan-1975.pdf The problem with masterplans is that they are never absolute and the final product is never the same as the plan. Which is a shame since this does look like a very ambitious project. If it were to be made into reality this zoo would have been a exemplary zoo in the Middle East and maybe even join the world ranks.
EUROPE Scandinavian and Alaskan tundra Arctic hare Arctic ground squirrel Norway lemming Arctic fox Polar bear Ermine Musk ox Birds Insects Alps Alpine shrew Alpine marmot Snow vole Eurasian lynx Alpine ibex Chamois Birds Reptiles Insects Scandinavian conifer Mountain hare Red squirrel Siberian flying squirrel Siberian chipmunk Wood lemming Eurasian lynx Pine marten Sable Siberian weasel Wolverine Seal spp. European elk Wapiti Birds Reptiles Insects West European oak forest Shrew spp. European hedgehog Brown hare White-footed mouse Edible dormouse European wildcat Red fox European polecat Wild boar Red deer Roe deer Wisent Birds Reptiles Fish Insects
not as far as I'm aware Given Iran's economy at the time I wouldn't be surprised if they had actually pulled it off.
ASIA Tibetan Plateau Hare spp. Black-nosed pika (Black-lipped pika?) Wolf Tibetan sand fox Musk deer Wild yak Chiru Argali Birds Reptiles Insects Manchurian forest "Talloned shrew" Mole (sp. ?) "Short-eared hare" Siberian (flying?) squirrel Dwarf hamster Manchurian tiger Raccoon dog Chinese ferret-badger Manchurian roe deer Sika deer Birds Reptiles Insects Russian prairie Pika (sp. ?) Bobak marmot Jerboa (sp. ?) Mole rat (sp. ?) Steppe lemming Pallas' cat Przewalski's horse Saiga antelope Birds Reptiles Insects Gobi desert Hedgehog sp. Marmot sp. Jerboa spp. Wild ass Bactrian camel (Goitered?) gazelle Reptiles Insects Sunda rain forest Fruit bat (sp. ?) Tree shrew (sp. ?) Slow loris Tarsier (sp. ?) Gibbons spp. Siamang Orangutan Pangolin (sp. ?) Flying squirrel (sp. ?) Binturong Palm civet Clouded leopard Sun bear Asian elephant Asiatic water buffalo Birds Reptiles Insects Southeast Asia mangrove Crab-eating macaque Painted stork Chestnut kingfisher Reptiles Mudskippers
AFRICA Ruwenzori alpine Sahara desert Hedgehog sp. Jerboa sp. Rat sp. Fox sp. Addax Scimitar oryx Birds Reptiles Insects Namib desert Rock hare (sp. ?) Rock hyrax Meerkat Hartmann's mountain zebra Gemsbok Klipspringer Birds Reptiles Insects Grey Rift valley Patas monkey Baboon (sp. ?) Two-striped field mouse Banded mongoose (Spotted?) hyaena Lion Cheetah Serval African hunting dog Jackal African elephant (Plains?) zebra White rhinoceros Warthog (sp. ?) Nile hippopotamus Giraffe Cape buffalo Eland Greater kudu Hartebeest Brindled gnu Grant's gazelle Thomson's gazelle Springbok Red lechwe Impala Ostrich Goose spp. Duck spp. Kori bustard Crowned crane Stork spp. Secretary bird Ground hornbill Reptiles Insects Congo rain forest Checkered elephant shrew Fruit bat (sp. ?) Bosman's potto Dwarf galago Mona monkey Mandrill Colobus (sp. ?) Gorilla (sp. ?) Civets spp. Forest genet Leopard African golden cat Bushpig Okapi "Dwarf musk deer" Royal antelope Duiker spp. Birds Crocodile (sp. ?) Insects
The fall of the Shah of Iran killed these legendary plans. It also nearly bankrupted the design firm that was not paid for years of work on the project, leading to the ouster of one of it’s founders, the landscape architect giant Ian McHarg. Of note, one of the consultants on the team was a young British architect fresh off of writing a book about zoo design: David Hancocks…
OCEANIA Australian mulga scrub Tasmanian devil Native cat (sp. ?) Common wombat Great grey kangaroo Wallaroo Red necked wallaby Rock wallaby (sp. ?) Dingo Emu Reptiles Insects Great Sandy desert (Short-beaked?) echidna Marsupial mouse (sp. ?) Brushtail possum Rat kangaroo (sp. ?) Red kangaroo Hare wallaby (sp. ?) "Placental rodent" Birds "Freshwater pool" fish spp. Insects New Guinea rain forest Cuscus (phalanger sp.) Sugar glider Tree kangaroo (sp. ?) Fruit bat (sp. ?) Birds Reptiles Insects
From the ambition of the species list it looks like they were trying to build the San Diego Zoo from scratch.
The way zoos in a lot of the richer middle eastern countries (UAE and Qatar in particular) have managed to procure just about anything they have wanted, I'm pretty sure most of this collection would've been completed. Might as well be just that seeing as how most of the exhibits were supposed to have been large open air/moated enclosures.
