Legendary Long-Lived Giraffe Samson Decorates the Exhibition at the Darwin Museum

As the New Year 2025 approaches, visitors to the Darwin Museum will have the opportunity to see the legendary resident of the Moscow Zoo and a beloved figure among Muscovites, giraffe Samson. Standing at an impressive height of 5 meters, he holds the title of the tallest giraffe in the museum's collection and is uniquely known by his full name—Samson Hamletovich Leningradov.

This summer, the iconic giraffe of the Moscow Zoo, Samson Hamletovich Leningradov, passed away. Beautiful and extraordinarily majestic, he was adored by the public and lived a long life for a giraffe—30 years! Samson arrived in Moscow in 1994 from Saint Petersburg and quickly became one of the main attractions of the capital's zoo. He enjoyed his popularity, spending a lot of time in the outdoor enclosure, interacting with fans, and posing for photographers.

Samson was truly remarkable: 5 meters tall, weighing 700 kg, possessing a hearty appetite, and an extraordinarily long neck—reticulated giraffes are the tallest terrestrial animals on the planet. Following his passing, the management of the Moscow Zoo decided to immortalize their legendary resident by donating his skin to the Darwin Museum.

The Darwin Museum and the Moscow Zoo share a long-standing friendship. This collaboration has resulted in thousands of exhibits and remarkable legends of animals with extraordinary biographies, such as the Indian elephant Jin-Dau, the white tigress Kali, the alligator Saturn, the black jaguar Melani, Apollo the tiger, and many others. Giraffe Samson became the first representative of reticulated giraffes and the tallest giraffe in the Darwin Museum's collection, as well as the first animal with a full name.

By the decision of the director of the Darwin Museum, Anna Iosifovna Klyukina, Samson adorned the museum's signature exhibit— the "Savannah" display. To accommodate Samson comfortably in his new location, museum staff had to dismantle the old pedestal and temporarily relocate some African inhabitants to service areas. The workshop of Alexander Sokolov worked on creating the future exhibit; it took over a month just to make the model due to Samson's remarkable height.

Starting December 24, every visitor to the Darwin Museum will be able to see Samson. The giraffe is located in the central hall on the first floor of the museum's permanent exhibition, surrounded by his African compatriots, including an elephant, an ostrich, a hyena, cheetahs, and a three-meter-long Nile crocodile.