Photo of Rostov-on-Don Zoo

With Rosneft’s participation, the Rostov-on-Don Zoo completed the overhaul of the enclosure and swimming pool for a polar bear named Kometa.

Conservation and protection of the polar bear population is one of Rosneft’s environmental priorities. Since 2013, the Company has taken care of 34 bears in 16 zoos across the country. Rosneft provides maintenance, feeding, veterinary care, as well as building and renovating enclosures. The Company has also developed special toys to enhance the physical activity of the animals.

At the Rostov-on-Don Zoo enclosure, the natural stone floor was replaced, the pool was overhauled, the walls were decorated with Arctic landscapes and an additional canopy was installed to provide shelter from the sun in summer.

Photo of Rostov-on-Don Zoo

In 2024, Rosneft helped the Rostov-on-Don Zoo to reconstruct an enclosure for another polar bear, Aion-Veles, including the installation of ice-makers and the construction of a new paddock.

In total, polar bear enclosures in 10 zoos across the country were renovated last year with Rosneft’s support. In addition to Rostov-on-Don, facilities for Arctic animals were renovated in the zoos of Novosibirsk, Seversk (Tomsk region), Bolsherechensk (Omsk region), Chelyabinsk, Penza, Yekaterinburg, Yakutsk, Khabarovsk and Leningrad. Other measures to improve conditions for polar bears include annual maintenance of ice machines and water treatment systems, and the purchase of chemical reagents to purify water in pools and disinfect cages.

Photo of Rostov-on-Don Zoo

Polar bears are a key bioindicator species for the sustainability of Arctic ecosystems. Since 2016, Rosneft has been studying the behaviour of the red-listed predator in the waters of Russia’s Arctic seas. Several large-scale expeditions have taken place during this time, as scientists studied the migration routes, abundance and distribution density of these polar predators, as well as conducted various analyses of biological samples. Their aim is preservation of specie in its natural habitat.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft
January 21, 2025