Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Checkpoint Zoo
Checkpoint Zoo is a documentary from Joshua Zeman that plays out like a thriller. Almost all the action, and it’s fully action-packed, occurs at the Feldman Ecopark on the outskirts of Kharkiv.Home to more than 5,000 species, the park was one of the most popular destinations for Ukrainians. Founded by Oleksander Feldman, Ecopark was a labor of love, containing rehab zones, programs for kids, an alpaca farm, monkeys, predators and more.
Until February 24, 2022, the day that Russia attacked Ukraine and began bombing Kharkiv. That was the day Feldman’s new mission began: find a way to transport his 5000 animals out of the war zone to safety.
Approximately 30 km from Russia’s border, Ecopark was located in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.Following the initial attack, the Ukrainian Army pushed back Putin’s invading forces, but the military action left the park trapped between the two front lines.
At peak season, Ecopark was staffed by 100 dedicated workers.When the film begins, we learn that a staff of 10 have remained behind to care for all 5,000 residents. This was their mission. It also became the mission for volunteers who arrived at the park’s entrance, answering an emergency plea to help save these innocent animals.
To even reach the park was perilous. Military checkpoints were set up along the road, while bombs and missiles flew constantly overhead. Whenever someone arrived at the park, the missiles started flying shortly after. The park had no heat, no electricity and no running water. The assault was in the dead of winter; temperatures dropped to -18 degrees.
These volunteers hand-fed grapes to petrified, hungry lemurs, while the shells continued to fall.They tossed in whatever meat they could buy or scrounge to feed the starving big cats. Carried buckets of water to thirsty camels at the far end of the park. The small rodent exhibit, once populated by guinea pigs, was decimated.Invading Russian soldiers had used their little bodies for target practice. You can see the holes in the glass and walls. Volunteers had to enter the exhibit and retrieve the tiny, mutilated carcasses.
Checkpoint Zoo follows heroes like Tymofii Kharchenko, a veterinarian, who just showed up to help. He drafted several of his friends and relatives including Oleksii Husak and Andrii Tyvaniuk. This band of brothers became known as “the Boys”.The Boys, assisted by Ukrainian families whose homes were in the area, are pushed to the brink, finding themselves in perilous situations from both bombs and animals. Many animals have been starved for weeks and are down to skin and bone.
Let’s not forget that the filmmakers are not recreating these events. They are there when the camels and ostriches are herded into buses and vans.When the wild cats are darted to sedate them, then transported into whatever vehicles were mobile. You can feel their sadness after a missile hits the roof of the monkey house, and one of the animals succumbs to a heart attack. The Monkey House, a centerpiece of the Park, was destroyed and many, many monkeys perished.
All these heroic volunteers dig deep to help the animals survive, while desperately searching for a way to avoid further tragedy. Somehow, amid everything, these humans remain positive. We’re given moments of sheer amazement – imagine glancing behind you and seeing a sedated lion in the back of your van! Reluctant kangaroos are dragged to safety by their tails, when they refuse to leave their enclosure. Goats draped over their rescuer’s shoulders when they are too scared to move.
But how, and where can 5000 animals go, while a war is raging just miles from their home?
Time is running out and food, medicine and shelter are quickly becoming scarcer. Though the Ukrainians had hoped for a fast end to the war, that did not happen. The Russian attacks continue to this day.
If you’re lucky enough to have Checkpoint Zoo come to your neck of the woods during a local film festival, grab a ticket. It's been a smash hit wherever it plays. You will be spellbound by this moving, magical tale of tragedy and triumph.
