Tehran Bird Garden, unique in the region
Tehran Bird Garden is a beautiful and green environment in which you will see rare birds that are not found anywhere else. Some birds are flying freely in a part of the garden, where visitors can communicate with nature directly.
A huge steel structure, with a large net about 50m high, covers the garden.
In the Tehran Bird Garden you can walk alongside the birds and enjoy the beauty of these incredible creatures. The lakes and creeks flowing in this garden, as well as beautiful wooden bridges built over these rivers, have doubled their beauty.
Manager of Tehran Bird Garden Hamid Reza Mahabadi put the total area of Tehran Bird Garden at 86 hectares, of which 23 hectares are used for keeping the birds.
He added that 8,000 birds, from 176 species, are presently kept there.
Cassowary, a type of rare and flightless bird native to Australian forests is among the strangest birds you can see in the garden. The Cassowary is usually considered to be one of the world’s most dangerous birds, at least where humans are concerned. Cassowaries are shy and usually hard to spot.
“We have prepared a special atmosphere for this type of bird to not only live freely but not harm themselves and others,” he said.
He noted that the Tehran Bird Garden has close cooperation with the Department of the Environment (DoE).
“Sometimes the department gives us birds which are in need of care. We look after them with much attention and prepare them for return to nature.”
Some ponds have been built at the entrance of the garden, which are used to disinfect visitors’ shoes. Moreover, the garden’s personnel remind people to avoid feeding the birds.
Mahabadi said that the management of the Tehran Bird Garden was handed over to the private sector.
Referring to the financial problems they faced in running the garden, he noted that the spread of COVID-19 in the country led to a two-year closure of the Tehran Bird Garden.
“This helped create many financial problems for the complex; however, it was not possible for us to leave the birds unattended. They needed food, treatments and vaccinations. Our specialized workers were present in the garden all days during the period,” he said.
He noted that the garden ranks first in the Middle East in terms of area and the number of birds kept in it. It has been built in two sections, the first of which is allocated to caged birds.
He noted that in the second section, expanding in an area of 6.5 hectares, the birds are free to fly.
He said that some people buy birds, but after some time they can’t keep them any more due to certain reasons including living an in apartment, thus, the best solution is to give them to the bird garden.
Mahabadi said that about 150 workers with various tasks are active in the Tehran Bird Garden. Some of them manage the green space of the garden while others are involved in feeding and taking care of the birds.
“Active in the garden is a team of veterinarians who visit various parts of the garden on a daily basis and bring sick birds to the clinic to be treated,” he said.
The Tehran Bird Garden, located on East Babaie Expressway, Kouhestan Street, is open to the public in the summer from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day.