Leningrad. July 1941. In the zoo, just as the war was closing in and bombs were about to rain down on the city, a terrible order was issued: liquidate the large predators.

This was a decision made by the city authorities. Harsh, but unavoidable. The enclosures were mostly wooden, the cages fragile, and bombings could destroy them at any moment. Imagine: a tiger, a lion, or a bear loose on the streets of besieged Leningrad, among people starving to death. Nobody wanted such a nightmare. Therefore, in early July, even before the city was completely surrounded, the order was given: destroy all large predators. This included lions, tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves (those that could not be evacuated before the siege). This applied to those who could pose a real threat if they broke free.

The executioners were not the zoo keepers. The keepers could not bring themselves to raise a hand against their charges. The task fell to the militsiya (the Soviet equivalent of the police)—men in uniform, accustomed to orders, but not to this kind of order. They arrived at the zoo early in the morning, while the city was still asleep, and did what was required: they shot the animals with rifles.

The bodies of the predators were buried right there, in hastily dug pits. This was a necessary measure; the war left no other choice.

But there was a loophole in the order. A small, yet saving one. The decree stated: liquidate the large predators. Baby animals were not considered “large.” The militiamen decided to interpret the order literally: “Large means adult.”

Thus, the tiger cubs, brown bear cubs, and wolf cubs survived. The situation became somewhat more stable, so the authorities did not issue a second order to eliminate the now-grown cubs.

The liquidation of the predators became one of the first tragedies of the Siege and a reminder that war spares no one. But the specific wording in the order, “large predators,” allowed at least some to survive.

NOTE: I could not find any photographs of the liquidation (and it is unlikely anyone would have taken any at the time), so I have inserted a photo of a militsiya officer.