In October 2023, in cooperation with the Tara National Park, the Zoo launched the “Project to preserve the gene pool of protected species” and on that occasion planted seedlings of Pančić’s spruce, which is a unique “living fossil” of the world’s flora and represents a scientific puzzle, given that is a species that originates from the Tercier, i.e. the period from the extinction of the dinosaurs, approximately 65 million years ago, and the beginning of the Ice Age, about 1.8 million years ago.
It represents an endemic-relic species of conifers. The largest part of its population in Serbia is located within the Tara National Park.
It is a strictly protected species in Serbia.
Omorika was discovered in Zaovine na Tara in 1875 by Josif Pančić, the famous botanist and founder of the Botanical Garden.