So today I visited this zoo for the first time...what can be said about it?
Well, certainly for its short history, the zoo has been through a lot. Many issues of the former almost destroyed, but fortunately(?) the zoo was saved. Other than owner being a millionaire, the zoo is no different from other Czech private zoos. Exhibit quality ranges from bad to very good, species collection is somewhat standard with some rarer stuff here and there...
After entering, most people heads first to the left around two now empty exhibits and exhibit for
crab-eating macaque, male group is housed in decently sized and equipped exhibit. This is the case for pretty much the whole zoo (and some of the other Czech private zoos and sometimes even the non-private to be fair) so I cover it here so I don't have to mention it again - the on-show indoor housing for most of the animals are sub-par at best. In the case of macaques, there is hardly any climbing equipment present. There is also small separation exhibit housing the youngest male (available for sale, for quite a few months now). Next to it is a nice small summer exhibit for
Testudo horsfieldii and
T. hermanni boettgeri, offering tortoises plenty of sunlight, but also hiding opportunities.
Next is a group of summer bird aviaries housing 3
macaw species (Blue and Yellow, Scarlet, Red and Green),
budgerigars,
Eurasian jay and
Moluccan cockatoo. Zoo also holds 6 species from the
Aratinga genus (arguably one of their biggest assets) but those are not on-show. All aviaries are decently sized, allowing the birds fly a bit. There was a bunch of brown rats, running around in one of the aviaries, but I suppose they really shouldn't be there
(This was actually, as far as I remember, the first time I saw them in some exhibit like this, I am more used to mice or cockroaches)
Farm area is quite standard as in every other zoo - guinea pigs, hens, vietnamese pigs, a bunch of different goats in petting area, ouessant sheep,...you know the drill by now
however, pair of
Cachena cattle is a nice addition and sort of "oddity."
Area around zoo's restaurant showcases the visitor friendly species -
coatis,
brown capuchins and
Patagonian mara.
From those, we get to more bird species in this case more water bounded.
Red-crowned cranes have a nice netted exhibit, with dense planting, two ponds (albeit one of those hardly accessible) connected through the stream. During my visit, the animals (one still sub-adult) were separated. I would probably add only some better cover from unpleasant weather, but otherwise the exhibit looks good. Next is a
Waterfowl aviary - holding mix of waterfowl from all around the world (at least they are signed), through the dense vegetation I was only able to spot
Bar-headed goose and
Barnacle goose. On the opposite of the aviary, there is
racoon exhibit.
Turning right around the restaurant/staff area, you get to more hoofstock exhibits, the central part of zoo is whole made into huge exhibit for
Fallow deer and
Red deer. On the other side, hidden a bit are exhibits for
Llama and 4 more sheep breeds. Next to it are two paddocks for
Bactrian camel, all these exhibits are basically equipped and decently sized.
Next to camels, the "path" is slightly raised offering a view into
Arctic wolf enclosure. The exhibit as it is now is very bare, but once the plants grow a bit it will look much better. On the other side of the wolf exhibit, the path is again slightly raise, to allow visitors better look at
Emu and
Albino red-necked wallaby. From this platform of sorts, you can see as well zoo's breeding center for
European bison, located outside of the zoo itself and not being really accessible more closely.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, there is very bare
American black bear exhibit, with shade being very scarce in this exhibit the animals spend most of my visit in the only shaded part closely to their indoors. While black bears got the shorter end of the stick, their European brown cousins ended up with what is the best exhibit in the zoo and next in the line of great bear exhibits in Czechia.
Brown bears, live in a big forest valley, previously they lived here together with the arctic wolves. In close proximity of these exhibits are also exhibits for 2 groups of
wild boars and
Carpathian lynx.
Exhibit for
Amur tiger is one of the weirdest I saw. The forested part is connected with completely open meadow, with no planting or equipment whatsoever. Also, one of the separation exhibits for the tiger lies directly in a separation paddock for deers, with no visual barrier, but I assume they are not stupid enough to place these animals in such a close contact at the same time.
Around the tigers and deer's separation paddock, we get back to the main deer exhibit. Here are six aviaries for owls (
Snowy, Tawny, Great grey, Eurasian eagle, Long-eared) and
Common raven. These aviaries look like their best is long past them, and are a way too small for my liking, maybe apart from the one for ravens, but only so-so.
From owls, you get up the hill, along the
European bison on-show paddock which seems like it is usually used for separating animals before transport or after arrival, to the carnivore cages.
Meerkats have a basic sandy exhibit and then there is a row of cages holding
Puma,
Fossa and generic
Lion. No, you didn't misread, this zoo really holds a single male fossa. His exhibit is one of the better in the zoo with loads of climbing opportunities, but, as mentioned above, just very average and not pleasantly looking indoor cage. And that is all that can be said about exhibits.
As you probably noticed there is no aquarium/terrarium exhibit yet apart from those few tortoises. The major development for the zoo now is building a Bird house so they could display the birds all year long.
In the whole zoo there is a strong accent on planting, there are loads of bushes and treens planted everywhere not only in the exhibits.
The major weak point of the zoo are paths (only dirt/gravel sometimes not even that and people just going as they like through one big lawn) and facilities. The only "normal" bathroom is located in the restaurant
"I think" as a restaurant is the only part of the zoo I didn't set my foot in. However, there are a good few portable toilets spread throughout the zoo and the one I used was clean and recently emptied so lucky me
Obviously I didn't check every single one.
All in all, Tabor is another now average Czech private zoo with loads of potential and it is only on them if they fulfill it.
Photos will be available here in coming minutes:
Tábor Zoo - ZooChat
quite a funny article with some good matches 
):
