Kaunas Zoological History Museum

The Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum, founded in 1919 by Tadas Ivanauskas (1882-1970), is located in Kaunas, Lithuania. The museum's extensive collection includes hunting trophies, stuffed animals, insect collections, skeletons, and dissections. Additionally, it serves as an educational and research institution with four branches: bird ringing stations at Ventė Cape and Juodkrantė, and nature reserves at Čepkeliai Marsh and Lake Žuvintas.
Kaunas Tadas Ivanauskas Museum of Zoology proudly announces its distinction as the first Lithuanian institution to join the Global Coalition #UnitedforBiodiversity. This initiative, launched by the European Commission on World Wildlife Day 2020 in preparation for the CoP 15 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021, aims to raise awareness about biodiversity.
The world is currently facing a biodiversity crisis, with species extinction occurring at an unprecedented rate. Estimates suggest that up to 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction, pollution, and resource overexploitation.
EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, who initiated the Global Coalition #UnitedforBiodiversity in March 2020, has called on national parks, zoos, aquariums, research centers, museums, and botanical gardens worldwide to advocate for biodiversity preservation. He emphasized, “We urgently need to take action, at all levels, from local to global, otherwise, our only chance of seeing nature is in these institutions. That would be a failure of humankind. It is time for us to reconnect with nature.”
The preservation of biological diversity is a critical focus for Kaunas Tadas Ivanauskas Museum of Zoology. The museum aims to educate the public about animal diversity, development, and the ecological relationships within Lithuanian and global fauna. This is achieved through research on Lithuanian fauna and by organizing excursions and educational activities on biodiversity.
Currently, 205 institutions from 47 countries have joined the Coalition. The Kaunas Tadas Ivanauskas Museum of Zoology urges all its partners to join the #UnitedforBiodiversity Coalition to raise awareness of the importance of the CoP15 negotiations and biodiversity preservation. Together, we can halt species extinction and build a sustainable future.