Masuleh Wildlife Museum (Gilan)

Masuleh Wildlife Museum was established in 1381 S.H. the building is one of the same famous stair-stepped houses with geraniums flowers in the wonderful city of Masuleh. The house-museum is in fact the private house of one of the founders of the museum named Shahpour Akhavan who established the museum in collaboration with his friend Farhad Sharafi. 

The main building of the museum is placed in the basement of the house. Locating in a mountainous area with freezing winters leads to the death of many animals which sparked the idea of founding a museum of taxidermied animals in the mind of two friends. All animals which are on display in the museum have naturally died. There is a bear at the entrance welcoming visitors with half-open mouth and the posture of his hands, located freely in the space without any vitrine or case. Other taxidermied animals are exhibited inside a glass box in the museum. 

In addition to showing the animals, you can also find detailed written information on habitat, food and special features of each animal. Remarkable among the preserved animals in the museum are eagle, Greylag goose, stoat (related to weasel family living in the north Asia, Europe and North America. Shah Nameh stories refer to this animal; it was firstly hunted by Houshang for their skin to be used). Purple heron (a bird which is locally called Siah Choin and Qar pigeon. They live in wetlands, coasts, mass reeds and vegetated basins, rarely seen on the trees.), Eurasian teal (a kind of migrating duck which comes to the southern warm areas in cold seasons while lives in different regions.), Jackal, Black-headed duck, bitterns (a kind of small bird living in Sistan and also Caspian Sea among the reeds and wetlands), turtle, coots (an aquatic bird in black color, domestic in Iran), Western marsh harrier (a predatory bird from the family of eagles), white swans, badger, non-poisonous snakes and hedgehog. It is also interesting to state that all the animals taxidermied and exhibited here are domestic in the region of Masuleh and Gilan province.