Tourists visiting Abkhazia will certainly make a tour in the Sukhumi monkey nursery, famous throughout the former Soviet Union, especially with the advent of space flight. The Sukhumi monkey farm will soon be celebrating the centenary of the founding. It was created in the 20-ies of XX century, specially for conducting medical research experiments on monkeys, and in the territories far from their natural habitats. In connection with the perspective of scientific research in 1957 medico-biological station was transformed into the scientific-research Institute of Academy of Sciences USSR. Sukhumi was chosen because of its humid subtropical climate, suitable for keeping outdoors mostly species of primates, a chance of growing here familiar plant foods.

The initiator of the nursery was the people's Commissar of health Nikolai.And. Semashko. For the organization of the nursery was originally selected the former summer residence of Professor Ostroumova on the mountain Trapezoid, where in 1927 the first four were delivered monkeys, the rest of the party in half a dozen individuals died on the way from Guinea. In the following years was able to settle down the different types of monkeys, such as the hamadryas, baboon, Anubis, rhesus monkeys, Javanese and Japanese monkeys. Some of them from 1974 to the present day live free population in the valley of the river Gumista. Here scientists had first vaccine, we tested the effect of antibiotics and medicines. Twelve Pets of Sukhumi nursery has been in space.

Today in the nursery there are more than three hundred monkeys, they still bring an invaluable contribution to the development of science and medicine.