Austrian-Czech-German trip

[Gil]

Hello,

As COVID finally seems to let people travel without too much problems, my family and I have decided to make a 10-days trip, after 3 years without travelling really far. We'll go by train to Vienna, Olomouc, Prague, Plzen, Leipzig and Berlin.

Sadly, I can't go everyday to the zoo, as I'm with my family and want to enjoy a great time together. So I had to chose what zoo I'm going to visit, and I'll finally visit Prague, Plzen and Leipzig. I've hesitated a long time with Schönbrunn, but the three zoos I've chose seem better. Maybe I'll have something like 2 hours to visit something in my interests in Vienna, but I think it's way too short to visit Schönbrunn. I was wondering if maybe Haus des Meeres could be an interesting option ? I've seen that they have some interesting species and exhibits.

After Vienna, we'll head to Czech Republic, where I'll we have one day for Prague Zoo and one day for Plzen Zoo. I've seen that Prague Zoo closes at 9pm in summer. Is it always the case ? Or are they any exceptions where the zoo closes earlier during this time ? Because if I can stay at the zoo until 9pm, it would be amazing. Will the new gorilla house be open in August ? From what I remember, it is supposed to open in September. For Plzen, I'm not sure that I'll be able to be there for opening and closure, so what are the highlights of the zoo ? Things I can't miss.

Then, I chose Leipzig over Berlin, because I want to dedicate a special to visit the two zoos of the city. I don't want to spoil myself by doing a quick visit of one of the two zoos, so I'll wait, especially for the opening of the new elephant house of the Tierpark. I will do Prague-Leipzig and Leipzig-Berlin on the same day, so it's really easy, as the zoo is near the train station. I will have at least 8 hours to visit the zoo : I think it's ok ? What is the best time to see the sloth bears ? Are the apes quite always in their outside enclosures in summer ?

I also have a final global question : aren't these zoos overcrowded in summer ? My visits are on weekdays, I wanted to avoid weekends. And if any ZooChatter wants to meet up in one the three zoos, it would be with pleasure.

 

[Fat-tailed dwarf lemur]

Hello,

As COVID finally seems to let people travel without too much problems, my family and I have decided to make a 10-days trip, after 3 years without travelling really far. We'll go by train to Vienna, Olomouc, Prague, Plzen, Leipzig and Berlin.

Sadly, I can't go everyday to the zoo, as I'm with my family and want to enjoy a great time together. So I had to chose what zoo I'm going to visit, and I'll finally visit Prague, Plzen and Leipzig. I've hesitated a long time with Schönbrunn, but the three zoos I've chose seem better. Maybe I'll have something like 2 hours to visit something in my interests in Vienna, but I think it's way too short to visit Schönbrunn. I was wondering if maybe Haus des Meeres could be an interesting option ? I've seen that they have some interesting species and exhibits.

After Vienna, we'll head to Czech Republic, where I'll we have one day for Prague Zoo and one day for Plzen Zoo. I've seen that Prague Zoo closes at 9pm in summer. Is it always the case ? Or are they any exceptions where the zoo closes earlier during this time ? Because if I can stay at the zoo until 9pm, it would be amazing. Will the new gorilla house be open in August ? From what I remember, it is supposed to open in September. For Plzen, I'm not sure that I'll be able to be there for opening and closure, so what are the highlights of the zoo ? Things I can't miss.

Then, I chose Leipzig over Berlin, because I want to dedicate a special to visit the two zoos of the city. I don't want to spoil myself by doing a quick visit of one of the two zoos, so I'll wait, especially for the opening of the new elephant house of the Tierpark. I will do Prague-Leipzig and Leipzig-Berlin on the same day, so it's really easy, as the zoo is near the train station. I will have at least 8 hours to visit the zoo : I think it's ok ? What is the best time to see the sloth bears ? Are the apes quite always in their outside enclosures in summer ?

I also have a final global question : aren't these zoos overcrowded in summer ? My visits are on weekdays, I wanted to avoid weekends. And if any ZooChatter wants to meet up in one the three zoos, it would be with pleasure.

So I know a little bit about the rarities in Plzen (the mammals if it would help!) ?
Let's start the

• Fat-tailed dwarf lemure are in the house where the ring-tailed lemure is on the map (in this house is one of the best collection of lemures I've seen!, they are very hard to see and no feeding time so this is maybe the most difficult one )
• Western tree hyraxes are in the World of african mammals in the nocturnal section (same with the Southern black-backed jackal (never saw them ) and the Haussa genet)
• Palawan binturong is in the near of the lion-tailed macaque
• White-beared palm civiet (Paguma larvata leucomystax) are between the indian rhinoceros and the porcupine. (This is mentioned in the map as a small red house. On the one side there are small pandas and on the other the civets.)
• Tule-Wapitis are next to the sonora area (in the map)
• Bobcats and Canadian lynxs are where the lynx is on the map
• Southern tree hyraxes are between the rhino house and the giraffe house inside (nocturnal section)
• Common opossum maybe in the amazonia house no guarantee!

 

[twilighter]

Sounds like a nice trip
If you have two clear hours, you can visit Vienna zoo, imo. You will miss the rare birds and small mammals, maybe, but the zoo is not huge and your kids will be very happy to see Pandas, Koalas, Polar Bears, Elephants and Giraffes for less than 20 minutes.

I don't think you will stay until 21:00 at Prague, since all the pavilions and houses close at 19:00.
Pangolins were active on the early morning on my visit 10 days ago. There is keepers talking for the Tasmanian devil and the Wombat. The Echidna showed up around 16:00, when they feed them.

What type of animals you are interested in? If you have any particular questions, please ask.

It's good to arrive at Plzen as early as possible, because many of the small mammals and Carnivores, like Cape Fox are most active.

The Common Opossums are not on display, unfortunately.

The Dall's Sheep and California bighorn sheep are on the top of the zoo in the Canadian area.

8 hours for Leipzig should be fine and you shouldn't have problem to see everything. It's a well organised loop there. Go at Gondwanaland first, because it tends to be crowded. The Quolls are at the tunnel of the Gondwanaland.

 

[xmoose]

Prague gorilla house shall be indeed opened in september (28th I think)
If you don´t have whole day for Pilsen, I don´t think it is catastrophic tragedy, it isn´t that big zoo

 

[Gil]

Thank you everyone for your answers.

I'm definitely going to check the rare species, and maybe with a bit of luck, I would be able to get some nice pictures of them. But I think it's quite impossible in the nocturnal areas ? The lemur collection of Plzen looks really nice and quite different from those I'm used to, especially Mulhouse, where there's a lot of species, but no smaller lemurs, like mouse lemurs. I also can't wait to see binturongs, as I work for ABConservation (sadly not on the field, at least not yet), I always enjoy to see this species, but there's no binturong in Switzerland...

If you have two clear hours, you can visit Vienna zoo, imo. You will miss the rare birds and small mammals, maybe, but the zoo is not huge and your kids will be very happy to see Pandas, Koalas, Polar Bears, Elephants and Giraffes for less than 20 minutes.

So it's definitely better to give a 2-hour visit at Schönbrunn than Haus des Meeres ? I don't have kids, so maybe I could avoid missing rare birds and small mammals, but I will definitely go seeing the elephants. Is the bull paddock visible to the visitors ? Because I would really appreciate to see Tembo, the elephant bull, if I visit Schönbrunn.

What type of animals you are interested in? If you have any particular questions, please ask.

All the species that I've never seen or that are totally missing from the collections of Swiss zoos.
In Prague, I would love to observe the shoebills, the Javan leopard, the honey badgers and the brown hyenas, but as long as I see species I'm used to see, it's perfect. I also love looking at the zoo enclosures and designs, and Prague seems to have some really nice enclosures. Prague pavillons look really awesome too, and I think all the rare birds are easily viewable all the day ?

About Plzen, it looks like the zoo has impressive collections of birds and reptiles, and some small rare mammals, but I need to make some more research to learn more about the zoo collection.

Question about both Leipzig and Prague : do the pangolins live a nocturnal enclosure ? Or is there daylight ? Because it would be amazing if I could some great pangolins pictures.

 

[twilighter]

Thank you everyone for your answers.

I'm definitely going to check the rare species, and maybe with a bit of luck, I would be able to get some nice pictures of them. But I think it's quite impossible in the nocturnal areas ? The lemur collection of Plzen looks really nice and quite different from those I'm used to, especially Mulhouse, where there's a lot of species, but no smaller lemurs, like mouse lemurs. I also can't wait to see binturongs, as I work for ABConservation (sadly not on the field, at least not yet), I always enjoy to see this species, but there's no binturong in Switzerland...



So it's definitely better to give a 2-hour visit at Schönbrunn than Haus des Meeres ? I don't have kids, so maybe I could avoid missing rare birds and small mammals, but I will definitely go seeing the elephants. Is the bull paddock visible to the visitors ? Because I would really appreciate to see Tembo, the elephant bull, if I visit Schönbrunn.



All the species that I've never seen or that are totally missing from the collections of Swiss zoos.
In Prague, I would love to observe the shoebills, the Javan leopard, the honey badgers and the brown hyenas, but as long as I see species I'm used to see, it's perfect. I also love looking at the zoo enclosures and designs, and Prague seems to have some really nice enclosures. Prague pavillons look really awesome too, and I think all the rare birds are easily viewable all the day ?

About Plzen, it looks like the zoo has impressive collections of birds and reptiles, and some small rare mammals, but I need to make some more research to learn more about the zoo collection.

Question about both Leipzig and Prague : do the pangolins live a nocturnal enclosure ? Or is there daylight ? Because it would be amazing if I could some great pangolins pictures.

You can easily see the Elephants at Vienna zoo, either inside or outside.

Shoebills are on the map at the Bird Wetlands section. Javan leopard(Cat house) and Honey Badger(African house) are visible both outside and inside. You will need some luck with the Brown Hyena, but if you going to stay the whole day, you can't miss it.

Ztl is quite up to date for the Plzen collection, cos it is based on the Year report. Many of the small mammals are behind the scenes, but there are a lot on display as well. If you need some of the mammals location, please ask.

The Pangolins are in nocturnal settings both at Prague and Leipzig, but at Leipzig there is more light and better chance for pictures. There are located in the Elephant house basement. At Prague they are in the Indonesian Jungle. Binturongs are also there.

 

[Rayane]

Prague gorilla house shall be indeed opened in september (28th I think)
If you don´t have whole day for Pilsen, I don´t think it is catastrophic tragedy, it isn´t that big zoo

I couldn’t disagree more. If there is one place where you want to spend the whole day - I mean if you want to see as many species as possible - it’s Plzen, because seeing the smaller birds, the day geckos and other rarer species is quite time consuming.
I’d recommand rushing to the African house in Plzen at opening, lights might still be on and you’d have better chance of seing the Cape fox.
Then I’d go to the Madagascar attic.
The Dinopark and the aviaries that follow are home to many rare bird species but also to a few species of smaller rodents.
There is an easy to miss little house right of the entrance IIRC, it used to house Pademelons and quolls I believe, not sure what’s there now.
Rhino house is full of terrariums with rare reptiles

In 2 hours you can see quite a lot in Schönbrunn if you think ahead of your visit so you don’t waste time unnecessarily. I’d recommand checking out the bird house and the tropical house.

In Prague nothing is really hidden, except for the Chacoan maras, they’re on the roof behind the fur seals if I recall correctly?

 

[Gil]

Thank you a lot for your answers and advice. I take notes of all of it

Ztl is quite up to date for the Plzen collection, cos it is based on the Year report. Many of the small mammals are behind the scenes, but there are a lot on display as well. If you need some of the mammals location, please ask.

Where are located the different species of mongoose ? And I've seen that Plzen has a lot of reptiles from Madagascar, where can I see them ?

The Dinopark and the aviaries that follow are home to many rare bird species but also to a few species of smaller rodents.
There is an easy to miss little house right of the entrance IIRC, it used to house Pademelons and quolls I believe, not sure what’s there now.

Do you recommend me to take also a ticket for the DinoPark ? I've seen that quolls are back at Plzen, so maybe they are back in their former enclosure ?

 

[Rayane]

Thank you a lot for your answers and advice. I take notes of all of it



Where are located the different species of mongoose ? And I've seen that Plzen has a lot of reptiles from Madagascar, where can I see them ?



Do you recommend me to take also a ticket for the DinoPark ? I've seen that quolls are back at Plzen, so maybe they are back in their former enclosure ?

Yes it would be a shame to miss the aviaries of the Dinopark section in my opinion. The quolls might just be in the enclosure I saw them in 4 years ago, I don't know, you'll see for yourself I guess. But even if you were to miss them in Plzen, they were quite easy to see right after opening time in Leipzig.
If you have time, study the Plzen map and try to make a little itinerary before going so you don't miss anything.
Reptiles are either in the Philippines house, the Madagascar house, the Rhino and Giraffe house and Mediteraneum. The Sonora house should house a few of them as well.
Many species are kept off-show or in AkvaTera in town.

 

[HOMIN96]

Pademelons and quolls I believe, not sure what’s there now.

Quolls and Water rats. Quolls replaced the pademelons.

lights might still be on and you’d have better chance of seing the Cape fox.

Lights go off few minutes after 9 AM

Plzen has a lot of reptiles from Madagascar, where can I see them ?

The majority of the Madagascar reptiles is now off-show.

 

[xmoose]

I couldn’t disagree more. If there is one place where you want to spend the whole day - I mean if you want to see as many species as possible -

Oh, of course one may stay there whole day and don´t get bored! : )
I just meant that Pilsen isn´t that great (area speaking) as, lets say Prague

 

[Fat-tailed dwarf lemur]

Hi Zoochatters.

I'm planing a trip to Vienna in (maybe in this year or next year) so I had a few questions about a few species which I want to see but they aren't on the map. I would visit Schönbrunn, Zoo Brno, Zoo Jihlava and Zoo Herberstein.

Is it possible to visit Zoo Brno and Zoo Jihava in one day? I would start with Zoo Brno because it's in the near of Vienna.

Zoo Herberstein
- Montana-Puma (what time?)


Zoo Brno
- Javan ferret-badger (what time and where, I know somewhere next to the Tigers)
- Margay
- Canadian lynx

Zoo Jihlava
- Common brushtail possum
- Brown greater galago
- Lowe's mona monkey
- Western lesser bamboo lemur
- Palawan bengal-cat (Leopard cat)
- Jungle cat
- Rufous rat-kangaroo
- Bobcat
- Black crested mangabey
- Western tree hyrax
- Sri-Lankan leopard
- Southern giant slender-tailed cloud rat (this name is awfull)


Thank you for your answers!

Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

 

[Gil]

Today I visited Tiergarten Schönbrunn. I spent a little bit less than 4 hours there, with a really nice weather, not too hot, after a day with temperatures going up to 37 degrees Celsius.

The visit was truly amazing, even if I had to skip some enclosures, like the ones in the forest part, on top of the zoo. I was stunned by the quality of the zoo : it doesn't feel at all that it's the oldest zoo in the world. It has adapted so well through the years. I can't say everything is good, there are enclosures that are outdated, but the main part of the zoo is great. The rotunda is one of my favourite places in all the zoo I've visited, it's so beautiful. Some places were closed, like the bottom of the greenhouse or the big cats house. The back of the rhino enclosure is being refurbished I guess.

Overall, the visit of Tiergarten Schönbrunn was brilliant. Compared to the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes that I visited 3 years ago, it's so much better and more modern. It jumps easily in my top 5 of the zoos I've visited so far. I'll upload my photos on the gallery when I'll be back home.

 

[Gil]

It's review time ! Today, two reviews, wich means there will only be one zoo left.

Yesterday was Prague Zoo visit. I had really big expectations and I'm not disapointed. It was wonderful, there's so much to see, my eyes were not far from blowing up. The zoo has some world class enclosures (cliff enclosures, Sichuan pavillon, Garhial house, ...), but what I liked is that all these enclosures are quite simple. They are really well thought and make everyone curious about some mysterious species to the public's eyes. The zoo also chooses in main cases conservation over attractivity. This is one aspect I really liked. They don't pick any random cute animal to make money, the zoo seems to know what real priorities should be for every zoo and could even pretend to be a leader in the zoo world evolution. They also tend to mix big popular species next to unknown small species, which can get the public's attention after they watched the big animals.
The only enclosure that doesn't fit to the 21th century is for sure the polar bears one. What an awful thing... Why do they still keep this species in theses conditions ?? An other bad point is the big amount of bird who are remigrated... It always disapoints me to see birds who are disallowed to fly.

This is quite all I had to say about the zoo. Now, about my visit, I stayed from the opening (9 am) to 8:30pm. It's an amazing to walk in the alleys late in the day, when there's nobody else. I had big big luck with brown hyenas, I saw one individual moving for around 15 minutes, just before the feeding talk. I saw all the species I wanted to see, except the goral. I have some great photos that I will share on the forum as soon as possible, but it could take some time.

The Plzen Zoo review will follow tonight or tomorrow morning ! If you have some questions or comments, it's with pleasure.

 

[xmoose]

It's review time ! Today, two reviews, wich means there will only be one zoo left.

Yesterday was Prague Zoo visit. I had really big expectations and I'm not disapointed. It was wonderful, there's so much to see, my eyes were not far from blowing up. The zoo has some world class enclosures (cliff enclosures, Sichuan pavillon, Garhial house, ...), but what I liked is that all these enclosures are quite simple. They are really well thought and make everyone curious about some mysterious species to the public's eyes. The zoo also chooses in main cases conservation over attractivity. This is one aspect I really liked. They don't pick any random cute animal to make money, the zoo seems to know what real priorities should be for every zoo and could even pretend to be a leader in the zoo world evolution. They also tend to mix big popular species next to unknown small species, which can get the public's attention after they watched the big animals.
The only enclosure that doesn't fit to the 21th century is for sure the polar bears one. What an awful thing... Why do they still keep this species in theses conditions ?? An other bad point is the big amount of bird who are remigrated... It always disapoints me to see birds who are disallowed to fly.

This is quite all I had to say about the zoo. Now, about my visit, I stayed from the opening (9 am) to 8:30pm. It's an amazing to walk in the alleys late in the day, when there's nobody else. I had big big luck with brown hyenas, I saw one individual moving for around 15 minutes, just before the feeding talk. I saw all the species I wanted to see, except the goral. I have some great photos that I will share on the forum as soon as possible, but it could take some time.

The Plzen Zoo review will follow tonight or tomorrow morning ! If you have some questions or comments, it's with pleasure.

New polar bear exhibit is planned, in opposite side of zoo (behind siberian tigers, owls and deers), its construction should start next year (but I am affraid, that its financing isn´t 100 % secure at this moment, so we can hope and wait...)
There is more info about bears in Prague, in czech only, I am affraid, but at least some pictures and visualisations
Nová expozice pro lední medvědy

 

[Gil]

New polar bear exhibit is planned, in opposite side of zoo (behind siberian tigers, owls and deers), its construction should start next year (but I am affraid, that its financing isn´t 100 % secure at this moment, so we can hope and wait...

I saw that on the zoo map, but it's still a problem that the zoo keeps housing this incredible species in a so bad enclosure. Why couldn't they send their bears elsewhere until there's a good for them ??

Back to the review. So yesterday I visited Plzen from 8:30 am to 6 pm, and I think I've seen quite everything, I missed the wolves, so I could spend time elsewhere, and maybe some really well hidden aviaries. I'd been told before my visit that there was a small nocturama near the penguins, but I didn't manage to find it.


My visit was really special and memorable, as I visited the small mammals breeding off-show area, thanks to a ZooChatter who helped me making it possible. The staff was incredibly kind with me, as they let me alone in the room with all the small mammals so I could take pictures. I have seen a lot of different species for the first time, like Sumatran bamboo rat, brushtail possum, common opossum, and the list goes on. It was a brilliant experience, and I thank all the zoo staff that I've met during my day.

Now, regarding the zoo itself, I think it's not difficult to say that Plzen is probably the only of its kind. There are so much enclosures that I've never seen anywhere else, Plzen has really well understood that a good concept but whithout a lot of money will always remain better that a bad concept with a lot of money. But, of course, not everything is perfect, and some enclosures are really really bad. The bad points are the small mammals enclosures. Except the primates on the islands (not the lion-tailed macaque), the tamarins, the coatis and maybe the mongooses, all the small mammals live in pretty bad conditions. Some don't have acces to outside and live in glass boxes (the poor Hausa genets live in a really small space, whithout outdoor space, in the African nocturama, in front of the exit door, which is always open, so they constantly have day light during their night cycle), while other can taste the fresh air in tiny and dark aviaries (as someone who really likes binturongs, it was so disapointing to see that their enclosure only consists of a really tiny and low aviary, while there are tens of big trees just around the aviary...). The big cats enclosures are still small, it is even the case for the new lion enclosure. The big cats area on the top of the zoo is way too small for 3 species. I would easily see the tigers and one of the two panthers species leave, so it could make a big space for panthers. Or smaller cats could replace the bigger ones.

Plzen seems, at my eyes, to be a specialist in doing good ungulates enclosures. There's not one single bad enclosure for hoofstocks. Even some are worldclass exhibits, I was stunned by the pygmy hippo one. Birds are well housed, even if the aviaries are not really big. The reptiles also get top enclosures, the pavillons dedicated to them are wonderful and so interesting.

Plzen was a wonderful experience, I had such a great time in this strange zoo. I would recommend to everyone who visits Prague Zoo to visit Plzen too. It is not as good as the main country zoo. Both zoos are really different, but this is what makes Plzen's strength.

 

[xmoose]

I saw that on the zoo map, but it's still a problem that the zoo keeps housing this incredible species in a so bad enclosure. Why couldn't they send their bears elsewhere until there's a good for them ??

Well if I would be really mean and cynical, I could suggest that they won´t get rid of such attractive species.
But even if that would be true, t wouldn´t be main reason I guess.
I am affraid, that there is not so much place where these bears could go. In Czech republic for example, there is just one another facility keeping p. bears (Brno), and their paddock isn´t better than Prague (at least visually is far, far worse). In rest of Europe, there are surely at least some better exhibits for p. bears but I guess there isn´t that much space for more of them.
If someone who knows more correct or complements me, would be glad.

 

[Slyhk]

@Gil
I will be visiting Prague in September this year. Did you manage to get to plzen zoo on a day trip from prague or did you stay overnight there?

 

[Gil]

@Gil
I will be visiting Prague in September this year. Did you manage to get to plzen zoo on a day trip from prague or did you stay overnight there?

Hey ! Yes, I left Prague around 6:30 am and took a train back from Plzen after the zoo closed. Timing was perfect.