Prague Zoo

Whether you’re looking for a way to entertain the kids or you’re an animal lover, Prague Zoo is an ideal day out. Covering 65 hectares and with animals from mighty elephants to brilliantly colored beetles, there has to be an animal for everyone.

Eightieth Birthday Celebration
To commemorate this anniversary the zoo has planned a few special events. Over the year they have been celebrating the birthdays of some of the more mature animals at the zoo. These include 45 years for the oldest female elephant, 40 years for a couple of bearded vultures and the 40th birthday of Kama, the first orangutan born in a Czech or Slovak zoo.

The focus won’t just be on the animals. Some of Prague’s senior citizens will be holding ‘tea sessions’ when they will talk about the ‘good old days’ of the zoo. These events will take place on the first Sunday of the month up to and including October. (For full program click here.)

History
The Prague Zoo was open to the public on September 28th, 1931. The land was actually bequeathed by Alois Svoboda with the expressed intention of establishing a zoo on the grounds.

Indian Gavial

Brazilian Tapir

Stars Past and Present

• Šárka, the lioness – given to the zoo before it opened, this ex-circus animal lived with the zoo’s founder Professor Janda in his villa.
• Lotta, a she wolf – widely remembered as the first animal to set foot or paw in the zoo grounds.
• Hýta and Batul – two sea lions donated to the zoo by the artist Vlasta Burian.
• Moke, a female chimp – she was the first great ape, other than the humans, in the zoo.
• Kama, a female orangutan – the first orangutan born in the former Czechoslovakia. Kama is turning forty this year.
• Ilun a female polar bear – the world’s first polar bear born after artificial means. Unfortunately, Ilun only lived for ten months.
• Gaston, a male brown fur seal – Gaston made world news when he escaped during the 2002 floods and swam from Prague to Dresden, a journey of over 300 km. Sadly, Gaston died from exhaustion of his epic swim.
• Richard, a male lowland gorilla – Richard is famous for his offspring, and the Czech media are almost as interested in his antics as those of Leoš Mareš.

Gaston in Prague ZOO

Tips and Current Attractions
This list is only an impression from what is there of 2011:

The Gorilla Pavilion – You can see the aforementioned Richard and the three women he shares his life with (Kiviju, Kamba and Shinda). But the real star is Kiviju’s newborn, the third baby she has given birth to in the zoo. For this reason, the pavilion gets quite packed.

The Large Mammal House – another newborn commanding a lot of attention is a baby hippo born on 8th June.

The African Savannah and House – The main appeal is the chance to see the zebra, antelope and ostrich out in the open. The house lets you get close to the giraffes – as close as a large glass screen allows. Among them are the still young giraffes born in January this year. Not to mention the meerkats can be found nearby.

The Fur Seal Show – At 1:30pm (except Fridays) you can see the fur seals being trained. These seals also have a new member, who is the grandchild of the world famous Gaston.

Nocturnal House – I’m quite fond of bats and in the nocturnal house of the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion, it is possible to see Egyptian Fruit Bats flying quite freely around you. If you’re frightened of these adorable critters, I’d avoid this building.

The zoo has quite a busy schedule of events, including feeding, short lectures, and training. At this time the English program was only valid for the winter.

Breeding Programs

Given the new arrivals mentioned above, it would seem that Prague Zoo is doing well in terms of breeding. The zoo has also witnessed the arrival of Komodo Dragon hatchlings and Cheetah cubs. Perhaps, the zoo is proudest of its breeding program for Przewalski’s Horse. This species is considered to be the only true wild horse. It disappeared from its home in Mongolia in the 1960s. The population in Prague Zoo was one of only two remaining anywhere. In what was a moment of pride for the zoo, four specimens were flown to Mongolia where they were reintroduced.

Releasing Bearded Vulture

Sponsoring
There are a number of ways you can contribute to the zoo and/or particular animals. One fairly easy way is sending a DMS to the animal of your choice. Basically, you send an SMS to the number 8 77 77 and write the name of the animal you want as the message. But it must be written in Czech without any diacritic markings. You will be charged 30 CZK of which 27 CZK will go to the zoo for that animal.

If you feel especially generous you can adopt an animal, though the amount varies depending on the species as each have different requirements. For this you get your name on a plaque as well as a photo and a one-time free family pass. See this page for more information if you’re interested.

Getting There
To get to the zoo you can take the Bus 112 from Nádraží Holešovice on Metro Line C (the red one). You can also take a ferry from Podbaba to Podhoří. The zoo is a short walk. A timetable can be found here under ‘přívozem’. Or you can take a steam boat from Rašínovo nábřeží.

Entry and Times
An adult is 150 CZK. A family ticket (2 adults and 2 kids) is 450 CZK. An annual ticket is 500 CZK.

The zoo’s opening hours do change through the year, staying open till 19:00 in summer, but closing at 16:00 in the winter.