Prague has pangolins, so I'd say 5-0 to them should be sufficient.
All jokes aside, here is an overview of everything the Czech collection has to offer with photos. I don't know much about Berlin, but if
@EliasNys is to say that their offerings are essentially confined to the nocturnal house then I struggle to imagine them having the edge over Prague here, but I'll await further discussion.
Rock Outcrop:
One of the first exhibits one sees after entering Prague is what I am fairly certain was once a bear grotto, but is now a very large enclosure for North American Porcupines.
@MagpieGoose - enclosure from above. Can't quite remember if there is an alternative viewing angle?
@MagpieGoose - not of the enclosure, but I feel its worth showing how the positioning of the grotto on the cliff allows for spectacular views.
Indonesian Jungle:
In the middle of this 1,600 sqm domed greenhouse is a long corridor with a reverse daylight cycle, home to a variety of nocturnal species. Specifically, the ones that count here would be both Northern and the rarely kept Southern Luzon Giant Cloud Rats, Sugar Gliders, New Guinea Ground Cuscus, and of course Chinese Pangolin. Rather famously, the zoo just became the first in European history to successfully breed pangolins with a female called Šiška, and has just done it again with another female named Connie. With the former set to move to Vienna soon and finally add a third European holder of the species, Prague's breakthrough may yet prove decisive in establishing a large population of pangolins in Europe. All of the enclosures here are rather large, particularly that for the pangolins which has three onshow rooms, more offshow and a network of glass-fronted tunnels in between them, with the rooms also all equipped with natural substrate and branches for climbing.
@twilighter - a small portion of one of the pangolin enclosures, none of which are represented in their entirety anywhere in the gallery.
@twilighter
Upstairs in the Indonesian Jungle is another relevant enclosure, this time for a mix of Palawan Porcupines and Belanger's Treeshrew.
Across the Continents:
This very large series of what are essentially miscellaneous paddocks contains two relevant species, both rarities: Eastern Wallaroo and Cuban Hutia. The wallaroos have a large grassy paddock that is very well-planted and backdropped by an attractive line mature trees, whilst the hutia have a much smaller enclosure in a little pavilion known as 'South American Carnivores,' where they stick out due to being neither of the above, and instead a Caribbean rodent!
@Robaque - as the photo demonstrates, this enclosure
did hold Maned Wolves, but I'm fairly sure it's now home to the wallaroos. Certainly, the two have near-identical, side-by-side enclosures which, as the map showing them in the wrong place illustrates, the two species have swapped over the years.
@vogelcommando - the hutia enclosure.
Australia:
A rather usual area of Prague Zoo with several large, pretty grassy lawns for macropods and ratites, albeit with some wonderful views of the city behind if you can get the angle right due to the well-hidden fences, behind the cliff. Only Red Kangaroos and Swamp Wallabies count here.
@Kalaw - Red Kangaroo enclosure.
Africa Up Close:
Here is where we find most of Prague's miscellaneous mammals. AUC is an interesting exhibit because it is devoted entirely to smaller, lesser-known African animals, and therefore provides visitors with a crucial insight into the diversity of the continent. The garden-like outdoor area and the winding pathway of the indoor area with enclosures on all sides that all look different are particularly engaging.
The miscellaneous mammals in this area are as follows: Cape Ground Squirrel, Cape Porcupine, Golden Spiny Mouse, Wagner's Gerbil, Southern African Pygmy Mouse, African Pygmy Mouse, Gundi, Mechow's Mole-rat, Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec, Malagasy Giant Jumping Rat, Barbary Striped Grass Mouse, Round-eared Sengi, Turkish Spiny Mouse, Black-and-rufous Sengi and Bush Hyrax. 15 species in total, many of which major rartities, and mostly in decent enclosures barring a few of the smaller mice species near the entrance whose box-like crevices are certainly far too small. The highlight for me in terms of exhibitry was certainly the mole-rat enclosure, which actually gives the species soil to burrow in for themselves rather than carving out pre-made glass tunnels which look more science-fiction than anything else. It's worth noting that the tenrecs and jumping rats are also in a nocturnal setup.
@lintworm - the giant jumping rat enclosure, which they share with bushbabies who don't count.
@vogelcommando - one of the aforementioned mouse enclosure which are obviously too small, with this one being for Barbary Striped Grass Mouse. A truly poor enclosure and probably the only bad one at Prague in this category.
@Robaque - a rather good Bush Hyrax enclosure which they share with even more Belanger's Treeshrews. An interesting reason was given about why they have this geographically inaccurate mix, but I've forgotten it.
@vogelcommando - a very large Black-and-rufous Sengi enclosure which offers plenty of cover.
African Savannah:
Possibly Prague's best bragging point in this category is their reintroduction of European Sousliks, a species in Czechia that was once widespread but has been dwindling enormously in recent times. As such, Prague Zoo collected some from the last remaining colony within the city, at an old airport in Letany, and began breeding them until they had a colony large enough to be released. As the cage they were reared in at the zoo was offshow right behind the savannah, this is where they are most often seen, running amongst the feet of the various hoofstock scouring for food and offering some really enjoyable views that no other savannah can provide. Prague's work with reintroducing this struggling species to the country, and the wonderful views they were able to provide as a result, deserves immense credit in my opinion.
@robreintjes - one of the released sousliks.
Also in the savannah exhibit are Aardvarks. The zoo has three onshow and more offshow including Pieta, the oldest aardvark ever recorded who by now must be well over 33 years of age! The aardvark outdoor area is fairly generic but the indoors is huge, possibly the largest that I've ever seen. Could do with a little more natural substrate than the straw they have though.
@MagpieGoose - aardvark indoors
Dja Reserve:
The zoo's huge new gorilla pavilion has a mixed-species exhibit for Straw-coloured Fruit Bats and Gambian Giant Pouched Rats in the main hall, tucked away in one corner of the huge, themed and planted visitor room and shielded from sunlight by a straw-roofed wooden shelter. It is a sufficiently large and well-designed nocturnal room, not pictured in the gallery just yet.
Elsewhere in this building, there are also African Brush-tailed Porcupines in a large and daylit mixed-species enclosure with talapoins. There are no photos of this enclosure either on the gallery.
Plains:
The only exhibit that counts here is that for Black-tailed Prairie Dogs. Again, no photos, but from memory it's nothing interesting barring the abundance of burrows and isn't exactly massive.
Gobi:
One of the most interesting parts of Prague's newest exhibit is the wall of four vivariums for small mammals: Long-eared Hedgehog, Steppe Lemming, Roborovski Dwarf Hamster and Mongolian Gerbil. Some nice rarities in that list, and Prague is amazing at landscaping desert enclosures with the thick sand, appropriate choice of vegetation and tasteful rockwork all making for a really satisfying enclosure which doesn't seem lazy as so many other sandy enclosures at zoos tend to. I thought all four of these enclosures were exquisite, and the whole theming and bold, flashy novelty of the house added to it.
@MagpieGoose - all four mammal enclosures, with the largest being for the hedgehog.
Mefou Centre:
Again, no photos that I could find, but there is a fairly generic (still by all means sufficient) Tree Hyrax enclosure in the old Gorilla Pavilion.
Darwin Centre:
Possibly one of Europe's very best Australian exhibits includes, alongside some aviaries and vivariums, six relevant species here. The highlight for me were the pair of absolutely outstanding Tasmanian Devil exhibits, stunningly well-landscaped and large with plenty of logs, long grasses and an undulating setting, not to mention a good onshow indoors. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better enclosure for the species anywhere in Europe, I'd think. There is also a pair of very good Tasmanian Wombat enclosures, a nice mixed-species exhibit with Short-beaked Echidna and Long-nosed Potoroo, and finally a very large and sloping walkthrough with Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Bennett's Wallabies.
@Kalaw - one of two Tasmanian Devil enclosures.
@lintworm - one of two Tasmanian Wombat enclosures.
@lintworm - indoor area for echidnas and potoroos. The echidnas are notoriously difficult to see because the natural substrate is so thick and deep that they are able to fully submerge themselves, something that they very much enjoy doing from what I've been told.
@vogelcommando - the uniquely steep Grey Kangaroo and Bennett's Wallaby enclosure.
Bororo Reserve:
The area around the zoo's former elephant and hippo pavilion is now mostly a children's play area, but there are also enclosures for three South American mammals of which two are relevant here: Giant Anteater and Capybara.
@Chapman'szebra - Giant Anteater enclosure.
I don't believe there are any photos of the capybara enclosure in the gallery, as the only ones I can find show them mixed with the tapirs whilst I am 99% sure on my visit they had their own enclosure on the other side of the pavilion, nearer the anteaters.
Fur Seals:
Supposedly, if one follows the pathway around the top of the fur seal enclosure, you come to a well-hidden enclosure for a nice mammal, the Chacoan Mara. I didn't do this on my visit, but annoyingly I actually did go up this fur seal upper boardwalk. Presumably, I stopped right before I reached the maras, or I simply missed them.
@vogelcommando - showing portions of both the indoors and outdoors.
All in all, I counted 46 miscellaneous mammals at Prague onshow, but per ZTL the total is actually 70. Presumably most of the 24 that I missed are simply offshow, rather than forgotten by myself. By contrast, the total ZTL lists for Berlin is just 27.
I don't know about Berlin's exhibitry, but Prague has numerous excellent and attractive exhibits, the brilliant work with sousliks, the breeding success with pangolins and the world-class marsupial enclosures throughout. Couple that with five species of porcupines and several species found at only five or so other European collections, at times even less, and you have possibly one of the best zoos in Europe for miscellaneous mammals. Plzen is probably ahead, maybe Wrocław, but anywhere else?
3-2 Prague for now, open to being persuaded to switch to 4-1 Prague or 3-2 Berlin, but it must be said the former is more likely!
