Skopje Zoo celebrates 100 years today - a full century since biologist Stanko Karaman envisioned an "open-air school" in the heart of City Park back in 1926. It started with donated animals and sheer enthusiasm. Today the zoo is home to 96 animal species.

A hundred years is an impressive number for an institution in a country where institutions appear and vanish with every political change. Skopje Zoo has survived an earthquake, system changes, transition, and chronic underfunding - and it's still standing.

For generations of Skopje residents, this is where they first met the animal world - a place every childhood remembers. Today is a day for celebration with special programming for visitors. And for Skopje, a city that so rarely celebrates something of its own - 100 years of the zoo is a rare reason for pride without reservation.