Prague Zoo Praha Prague Zoo News 2022

Hello all, hoping someone here can help me today - does the zoo open today until 7pm or 9pm? Their website says 9 but Google and Facebook say 7pm- in struggling to contact them directly at such short notice to ask!

Thank you to anyone that sees this!
 
Hello all, hoping someone here can help me today - does the zoo open today until 7pm or 9pm? Their website says 9 but Google and Facebook say 7pm- in struggling to contact them directly at such short notice to ask!

Thank you to anyone that sees this!

I would trust their website over Google, which is rarely up to date with last minute changes. The website says 9pm throughout August with the following note: Turnstiles, ticket counters, pavilions and attractions, souvenir stores, restaurants and refreshment stands close at 7 p.m., but you can stay in the zoo until 9 p.m.

Opening time
Dfff
 
I would trust their website over Google, which is often not up to date with last minute changes. The website says 9pm throughout August with the following note: Turnstiles, ticket counters, pavilions and attractions, souvenir stores, restaurants and refreshment stands close at 7 p.m., but you can stay in the zoo until 9 p.m.

Opening time

Thank you so much for this - I didn't see that quoted part on the website! I agree I would trust the website over Google, I just wasn't sure if I was misreading something!

Thanks again!
 
Thank you so much for this - I didn't see that quoted part on the website! I agree I would trust the website over Google, I just wasn't sure if I was misreading something!

Thanks again!

Google quite often displays "last entry" and calls it "closing time" - could be what's happened here. Have a good day!
 
What about giant pandas rumors?
To be honest, Prague is kind of a collectionist of rare species, if they catalogue Giant Pandas as such and want them, I see no issue: Prague does an amazing job at keeping rare specimens that I would not get mad if they permitted themselves a bit of a crowd pleaser.
The only thing that worries me is that I do not know if they are a city zoo limited by the boundaries of the city thus having limited space to expand and they'll perhaps have to demolish something else in exchange, I sure do hope the Amur Aviary is not one of the candidates.
 
To be honest, Prague is kind of a collectionist of rare species, if they catalogue Giant Pandas as such and want them, I see no issue: Prague does an amazing job at keeping rare specimens that I would not get mad if they permitted themselves a bit of a crowd pleaser.
The only thing that worries me is that I do not know if they are a city zoo limited by the boundaries of the city thus having limited space to expand and they'll perhaps have to demolish something else in exchange, I sure do hope the Amur Aviary is not one of the candidates.

The problem is political. Czechia has been ditching China and copying up to Taiwan. Hence the pangolin import, so don't think China would be in any hurry to send pandas over to Prague...
 
The problem is political. Czechia has been ditching China and copying up to Taiwan. Hence the pangolin import, so don't think China would be in any hurry to send pandas over to Prague...
Interesting, I never put two and two together when I read here that the panda plans were cancelled and pangolin announced.
 
What about giant pandas rumors?

There will be no giant pandas in Prague. The reason is political like lintworm mentioned. I don´t think politics belongs on Zoochat but you would need to understand relationship between mainland China and Czech republic to understand the story.

After velvet revolution in 1989, our first president was Václav Havel. A former political dissident who kept very firm moral stance on dictatorships and unsavory people. He had great influence on Czech public. Many local towns for example put Tibetan flag annually now for 30 years to show support to oppressed populations and in wake of frequent meetings of Havel with dalailama in Prague. He also disliked Putin from first moment and made sure to never meet him personally during his career. Havel´s quote "Russia has a problem that it doesnt know itself where it begins and where it ends" shows its full wisdom.only now. After Havel´s end of political career and death, we voted progressively less and less moral presidents. When Zeman finally became our president, many stupidly overlooked that his campaign was financed by Russian money (his main advisor Nejedlý is CEO of local Lukoil branch, aka state oil company of Russia), Zeman is basically our Schröder, just less charmant. This has started a U-turn of our foreign policy towards Russia and China. And sort of a symbol of this new era, Prague city and Peking city signed cooperation agreement where Prague announced that Taiwan is just a province of China (which we refused to say for decades due to legacy of Havel). And China was suddenly willing to send us Giant pandas as a reward. But then, few years later, political climate started to change again in Czechia. First we got new Prague major Hřib who is from Pirate party, who himself has studied medicine in Taiwan and he urged Peking to change cooperation document to delete the sentence about Taiwan. Peking refused, Hřib unilateraly cancelled this cooperation, Peking started tantrum and retalitated by series of economic and cultural bans. During next meeting of Zeman with Xi, when Zeman was expected to formally ask for pandas and receive them as a political gesture from Xi, Zeman got snubbed and humiliated, no pandas for you. The final nail was national elections of last fall when we got new government and PM. Former PM was a populist oligarch who snugged to Zeman for political advantages and though him to China and Russia for money. The new governmental coalition ignores Zeman who lost all his power. This is also seen in our unusually firm official position on Ukraine and Taiwan. Chance to ever get Giant Pandas for Prague is less than zero.
 
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While diplomatic/political reasons are at first, I could see more contras -
Time and money. at this moment I think, pandas wouldn´t be in Prague before the end of decade - there must be new exhibit for them, and since it is in place of polar bears, that can´t be build before they receive new paddock (construction didn´t start yet)
Then there are more visitors - while in zoo itself it shouldn´t be big problem, parking lots and road to zoo can be already some days overcrowded... (or is it better now?)
 
Then there are more visitors - while in zoo itself it shouldn´t be big problem, parking lots and road to zoo can be already some days overcrowded... (or is it better now?)

Still the same, unfortunately.
 
So waiting for the cable car and hoping, it would be build and help somehow :D
Does anyone know which exhibits the cable car would be based around? Having visited Cabarceno a few weeks ago I’d love to visit another zoo that had one, albeit in a more traditional zoo environment!
 
Does anyone know which exhibits the cable car would be based around? Having visited Cabarceno a few weeks ago I’d love to visit another zoo that had one, albeit in a more traditional zoo environment!
Oh, sorry, this is city stuff, not the zoo (it is planned to connect shores of Vltava river and it should be located outside of zoo areal. However, when finished (IF finished :D), in combination with new entrance in western part of zoo, there will be alternative to current access to zoo, which would be nice.
However, there is already cab right in zoo, but it don´t go through any paddock (well, it pass over one of big aviaries, or quite close to it)
 
Both Greater and Chilean flamingos have only 3 chicks and breeding season is over.

Hutias have 3 youngs. Sichuan goral has 1 young.

Mhorr gazella is signed near giraffe house but I failed to see any animal during weekend.

Giant tortoise house is closed due to repairs/modernisation.

The temporary tarantula spider exhibit in Gočár house is small but neat. Over 20 species (more like 30) presented in individual tanks. Basically all individuals well visible. It even has a passionate spider breeder who engages visitors and answers all questions regarding tarantula species or individuals on show.

And the zoo director prepairs public for ticket price hikes. Not only is Czech inflation approaching 20%. Energy and natural gas prices soared. The zoo pays 5 times more for gas (used for heating) and 3 times more for electricity than last year the same time. Next price negotiations with suppliers of the zoo will be in winter and might be even more brutal (thanks Russia).
 
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