Prague Zoo

02/09/2024

❗️ Prague Zoo Now Keeps Fossas

Fossas have settled in at Prague Zoo’s Feline and Reptile House. In the wild these fascinating beasts can only be found in the African country of Madagascar. Prague Zoo’s visitors can now observe both a male and female of the largest carnivore on this tropical island. It is hoped they will form a breeding pair in the future.

More information: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14945-prague-zoo-now-keeps-fossas

Photo Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

30/08/2024

Wombats in the wild are threatened by mange, which was introduced to Australia from Europe 200 years ago. About 70 percent of all wild common wombats are currently infected with it. Without treatment, mange is fatal... 😢

Therefore, Prague Zoo financially supported the non-profit organization Wombat Rescue, which rescues wombats in the area of Canberra, Australia. After treatment and rehabilitation, its workers release these marsupials back into the wild. Thanks to the Prague Zoo, which is the only zoo in the Czech Republic to keep wombats since 2021, new enclosures designed for the return of cured wombats to the wild using the "soft release" method will be created. On this occasion, the Czech Ambassador to Australia, Her Excellency Jana Tyrer, visited the wombats in the Prague Zoo today. 🥰

ℹ️ https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14947-prague-zoo-helps-sick-wombats-in-the-wild

23/08/2024

❗️ Two Bison from Prague Zoo Are Heading for the Wild in Azerbaijan

🦬 Two female bison from Prague Zoo, two-year-old Prya and six-year-old Omana, are awaiting transport to Azerbaijan. They will bolster the wild-living population of these ungulates reintroduced in Shahdag National Park. The two females left Prague Zoo on 25 July and headed to Germany's Tierpark Berlin. Here they will first meet the rest of the herd that is set to be transported. They will then travel to the vast forests in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains in November.

More information: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14923-two-bison-from-prague-zoo-are-heading-for-the-wild-in-azerbaijan

22/08/2024

🦍🦧🦍 A great ape hat trick – that is one way to describe the most outstanding trio of young to be born at Prague Zoo this year. Both the baby gorillas and the orangutan are doing very well and are coming out to see the visitors more and more. Mobi likes to play on the ropes and is now swinging upside down, while his younger sister Gaia is sucking on vegetables and starting to toddle. The orangutan, Harapan, who will be a quarter of a year-old tomorrow, is now regularly spending time in the outdoor enclosure.

More information here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14919-baby-apes-take-it-easy-in-the-summer-mobi-swings-on-the-rope-gaia-s-toddling-and-harapan-will-be-three-monthsf

Photo: Petr Hamerník, Zoo Prague

21/08/2024

The baby Chinese pangolin, born on July 1st in Prague Zoo, was named Connie. The name was chosen by the public from a list of names on the Internet. The name is based on the English word cone. The godfather was Lukáš Dědek, director of Bidfood, a company that is a long-term supporter of protecting endangered species and works closely with Prague Zoo. The female, who’s nearly one-month-old, is only the second of these critically endangered mammals to be born in Europe.

More information here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14915-prague-zoo-s-pangopup-has-been-named

Foto: Petr Hamerník, Zoo Praha

06/08/2024

As of july, a baby northern giraffe has been on display at Prague Zoo. The little female was born at the start of the month, but until now she has been with her mother in the rear quarters of the African House. This was due to an insufficiently stable left forelimb, which was apparent soon after birth. Moving around on solid ground and the mother’s exemplary care both played their part and the complication was resolved with no need for extra veterinary care. Yesterday the new addition was introduced to the indoor quarters and eventually she will meet the rest of the herd. The calf’s mother is Fara, while her father is the now-deceased male Johan. The calf is his 30th offspring.

For more information: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14874-giraffe-calf-born-in-prague-zoo

22/07/2024

It is known all over the world that since July 1 we have the second baby of Chinese pangolin in Prague Zoo; its photos have been published in media from the United States to India to Japan. But this is how it started – and the Prague Zoo’s director, Miroslav Bobek happened to be around.

It is known all over the world that since July 1 we have the second baby of Chinese pangolin in Prague Zoo; its photos have been published in media from the United States to India to Japan. But this is how it started – and I happened to be around.

05/07/2024

🐸 Poisonous beauties from the American rainforests❗️

This Saturday, 6 July, Prague Zoo will unveil 30 species of poison dart frogs for its visitors. At 1 p.m. the grand opening of the Dart Frogs exhibition will take place in the Gočár’s Houses Gallery. The themed programme will offer a performance by a Brazilian dancer or a quiz trail for young and old alike. In dozens of terrariums people will be able to see one of the most poisonous frogs in the world, the golden poison frog, as well as rarely bred species such as the Marañón poison frog or the green and black poison dart frog “Capurgana”.

Every Sunday from 1 pm, visitors can also enjoy guided tours with a breeder who is an expert in the field. People can admire the frogs, whose poison is used by aboriginal South Americans for hunting, until mid-September. The exhibition is free for all visitors to Prague Zoo.

🟠Programme at the Gočár's Houses on 6 July 2024:

🔶 12.50 Dance performance by a Brazilian dancer
🔶 13.00 Opening of the Dart Frogs exhibition attended by the authors
🔶 10.00–16.00 Accompanying programme
🔸quiz trail seeking the most beautiful frogs in the world
🔸themed game station at Gočár's Houses

05/07/2024

Another Pangopup Born in Prague Zoo❗️

After Šiška, the first Chinese pangolin to be born in Europe, Prague Zoo is once again rejoicing: another pangopup was born on Monday! It weighs 141 grams (without its umbilical cord) and its parents are again the female Run Hou Tang and the male Guo Bao. '

For more information click here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14825-another-pangopup-born-in-prague-zoo

Photo: The first picture of the new baby Chinese pangolin, born in Prague Zoo on July 1st. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

04/07/2024

MOBI IS HALF A YEAR OLD 🎉

Mobi, born at Prague Zoo in January, is the new star of the Dja Reserve. She is learning to walk and hang from a rope, while her mother, Duni, lets her go on ever more daring expeditions around the pavilion. The nearly six-month-old baby also tries to communicate with the mantled guerezas living in the same exhibit, as well as with visitors through the glass. Mobi has even started making contact with the second baby, two-and-a-half-month-old Gaia.

Read more here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14818-mobi-will-be-half-a-year-old-the-little-gorilla-is-learning-to-walk-and-is-interested-in-her-sister-gaia

03/07/2024

Przewalski's Horses Doing Well in Kazakhstan and Have Just Mated❗️

The Przewalski's horses that Prague Zoo transported to Kazakhstan at the beginning of June, are adapting well to the local conditions. Both groups are now fully using the acclimatization pens and have also learned to enter the ponds and drink from them. Likewise, all seven horses have also become accustomed to one another, which is key to creating a healthy social structure within the local population. Prague Zoo’s in-situ monitoring team reports that the stallion, Zorro, has even tried to mate with the mares.

For more information click here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14817-przewalski-s-horses-doing-well-in-kazakhstan-and-have-just-mated

02/07/2024

First Czech Wombat Is Female❗️

The first wombat born in the Czech Republic was officially named. Actor and presenter Ondřej Sokol named the joey Mersey, after the river flowing through the area in Tasmania that has recorded the highest number of sightings of these marsupials on the entire island. At the same time, it was announced that the offspring of dad Cooper and mum Winkleigh is female. Prague Zoo is the only place in the Czech Republic to breed wombats. They are usually active in their enclosure in the Darwin Crater around 2pm.

For more information, please read here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14816-first-czech-wombat-is-female-ondrej-sokol-christened-her-at-prague-zoo

19/06/2024

🦧 PRAGUE ZOO’S MALE ORANGUTAN NAMED HARAPAN 🦧

The Sumatran orangutan, born in Prague Zoo May 2nd, 2024, was named Harapan, which means “hope” in Indonesian. The name for the first offspring of female Diri was chosen by the keepers from almost two thousand suggestions from the public.

For more information, please read here: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14796-prague-zoo-s-male-orangutan-named-harapan

15/06/2024

MIROSLAV BOBEK: THE NEW HOME FOR WILD HORSES

We walked through the large acclimatization enclosure in Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe and looked around in vain for the three Przewalski’s horses that we released here. Finally, we noticed a movement in the distance. But it was only a solitary saiga.

I was beginning to worry about what could have happened. David flew the drone to check the parts of the enclosure that were out of our sight. Again nothing. And then, to my delight, three horses’ heads emerged from the tall reeds at the watering hole. Zorro, Ypsilonka and “my” Zeta II. All three Przewalski’s horses looked at us, they came closer as if they wanted to get a better look at us, and measuredly ran away. After two days and three nights they were at home in the enclosure.

But the four “Berlin“ mares, which we had released to the second enclosure the previous evening, were still very restless and kept to the fence. We left them alone and went to load our luggage to move to Arkalyk and from there to return to Prague. However, three of our staff – including Ganbaatar, who has tremendous experience from Gobi – remained in the reintroduction centre together with our colleagues from Kazakhstan to monitor the acclimatization of the horses.

Despite the glory that accompanied the arrival of our first plane a few days ago, only the return to Arkalyk made us feel how local people appreciate our project. When I went out to have an espresso, guests in the coffee shop recognized me, started asking me questions and taking photos with me. When one of the soldiers went to have a haircut, he didn’t have to pay anything because he brought wild horses. And when my colleagues visited a local museum, they got free entry as well as the guide.

The return of the wild horses aroused enormous interest in Kazakhstan, and it gradually began to spill over the world. It is written about almost everywhere, which creates an interesting contrast to the lack of interest of part of the media in our country. On the other hand, the Instagram reel capturing releasing of Zeta II has already received 6 million of views.

It took us the whole of Sunday to return home by the military plane with two stopovers. Still on the way I received an unexpected message from the acclimatization centre in Alibi: “We went to see Zorro and the others in the afternoon,” the researches Martina and Anna wrote. “After barely a half-an-hour of recording we saw the first mating attempt with Zeta II. According to all indications she is already in heat the fifth day after arrival, and she is receptive to the stallion.”

After my return, in between taking care for backlogs and writing thank you messages to all who helped us, more and more news is coming about our horses in Kazakhstan. Shortly: also “Berlin” mares started looking better and a camera trap captured them going to drink as well. And Zorro repeatedly mated Zeta II.

13/06/2024

The Return of the Wild Horses to Kazakhstan has caught the attention of the BBC.

The wild horses roamed Asian steppes for millennia before dying out and surviving only in European zoos.

07/06/2024

The first seven Przewalski’s horses in Central Kazakhstan!

Thursday morning, a Czech Army CASA aircraft landed in Arkalyk, central Kazakhstan, with four more Przewalski’s horses. The mares, Tessa, Wespe, Umbra and Sary, had undergone an 18-hour flight from Berlin, followed by a seven-hour truck journey over treacherous terrain. Just before 5pm local time, the mares were released into an acclimatisation pen at the Alibi reintroduction centre in the Altyn Dala area. A stallion, Zorro, and two mares, Zeta II and Ypsilonka, transported from Prague on the first flight, have been acclimatising in the neighbouring pen since Tuesday.

ℹ https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14775-the-first-seven-przewalski-s-horses-in-central-kazakhstan

05/06/2024

First three Przewalski’s horses were successfully transported from Europe to Kazakhstan. One stallion named Zorro and two mares Zeta II and Ypsilonka flew on the board of a CASA C-295M military aircraft of the Air Force of the Army of the Czech Republic and landed in Arkalyk in Central Kazakhstan.

After a following ground transport the horses were released into the acclimatization pens the same day at 18.40 local time. Additional four horses are being transported this week from Tierpark Berlin, Germany, also by the Czech Army. The presence of the Przewalski’s horses in the Altyn Dala region will not only mean that the last living wild horse return to their ancestral home, but it will help the local steppe ecosystem as a whole.

ℹ️ https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14768-prague-zoo-transported-first-przewalski-s-horses-to-the-steppes-of-kazakhstan

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, EAZA - the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, ACBK, Armáda České republiky

31/05/2024

Prague Zoo’s visitors can look forward to several special events during the first weekend of June. On Saturday, June 1st, all children under 15 will pay a symbolic one crown for admission to the zoo. Prague Zoo, working with the Prague Metropolitan Police, have prepared a special Children’s Day programme. It will include live music, prize competitions, sports activities and a bouncy castle. On Sunday, June 2nd, at 11 a.m., the baby orangutan will be baptized at the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, and British Ambassador Matt Field will join forces to name the one-month-old male.

Read here for more information: https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14756-kids-for-a-crown-and-the-baby-orangutan-s-baptism

21/05/2024

Polar Bear Twins Have Arrived at Prague Zoo 🐻‍❄️🐻‍❄️

Two polar bears from Warsaw Zoo arrived at Prague Zoo last Tuesday night. The thirteen-year-old twins, Gregor and Aleut, came to Prague on the basis of a recommendation from the European breeding coordinator for this species.

Read the full press release here:

Two polar bears from Warsaw Zoo arrived at Prague Zoo last Tuesday night. The thirteen-year-old twins, Gregor and Aleut, came to Prague on the basis of a recommendation from the European breeding coordinator for this species. Her decision ties in...

20/05/2024

PRAGUE ZOO’S BABY ORANGUTAN IS A MALE 🦧

Genetic tests have confirmed the keepers’ speculations that the baby Sumatran orangutan born on 2 May at Prague Zoo is a male. The Czech public will now help choose a name for the little great ape. That name will be revealed on the day the baby is a month old, on Sunday 2 June at 11 a.m. in the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion.

Photo Miroslav Bobek

13/05/2024

❗️ With the warm weather and increasingly late sunsets, Prague Zoo has extended its opening hours until 7 pm, – this is a month earlier than usual!

This week the Dja Reserve’s eight-member gorilla troop ventured outside for the first time, taking both newborns with them. Giraffes, zebras and antelopes are now grazing outdoors in the large African enclosure, hippos are taking turns at...

04/05/2024

Newborn orangutan as seen by the director of Prague Zoo ❤🦧
https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/14702-the-baby-boom-is-not-ending-an-orangutan-was-born

03/05/2024

Two Western lowland gorilla born in Zoo Praha!

The birth of these two Western lowland gorillas in Prague Zoo this year marks the first time in the zoo's history that two gorilla infants coexist. With the renowned primatologist Jane Goodall set to visit the institution in May, she will unveil the newborn's name, symbolising a continuation of the Zoo's dedication to Western lowland gorilla conservation since 1963.

03/05/2024

‼️PRAGUE ZOO SEES ORANGUTAN BIRTH 🦧
Pavilion to Stay Open to the Public

Shortly after noon yesterday a Sumatran orangutan was born at Prague Zoo. It is the first baby for the 11-year-old Diri, who was also born at Prague Zoo. The father is Pagy, a 22-year-old male. Initial observations indicate that the baby is full of life and the keepers have already seen it drinking mother’s milk. The Indonesian Jungle will remain open - so visitors will be able to see the rare addition for themselves.

Read the full press release here: www.zoopraha.cz/orangutan-birth

02/05/2024

❗️CRADLING TWO BABES 🦍

There’s always something afoot at Prague Zoo’s Dja Reserve: recently visitors could observe two baby gorillas being cradled by one of their mothers. On Monday, Duni was carrying her almost four-month-old daughter, Mobi, and the almost three-week-old female, Kijivu, at the same time. She also breastfed both cubs. She took on the role of nanny for a full three hours. This remarkable event – even though it was for a short while - was repeated yesterday morning. This means there is a high chance of seeing her doing so again in the coming days. The western lowland gorillas tend to be most active when they are being fed, at 10am and 3pm.

Mobi was born on January 2 and her half-sister was born on April 12. For the first time in Prague Zoo’s history, people can watch two gorilla babies at the same time. The second baby will be “baptised” by the world-famous primatologist and nature conservationist Jane Goodall on Saturday, 11 May at 11 am in the Dja Reserve.

📸 Eleven-year-old first-time mum Duni is holding both her baby - the nearly four-month-old female Mobi (left) - and her grandmother’s baby, Kijivu (right), born in mid-April. This testifies to the fact that Duni currently has a strong position in the group hierarchy. These days there is a high chance you too will be able to see this.
Photo by Kateřina Jíšová