 Mountain anoas, the
tiniest wild buffalos of the world are the first inhabitants to be
seen in the ZOO . They live on Sulawesi Island (Indonesia) and
belong to the most endangered species on earth. No
information exist about the number of individuals living in the wild.
The animals you are watching belong to theEuropean group consisting of
ten individuals only. Besides Dìèín ZOO and their habitat
you can see them only in Krefeld ZOO in Germany from where these
males and one female have come (born in 1993, 1994, 1995 respectively).
The pair living in our ZOO was baptised by the
Indonesian ambassador in the Czech Republic himself. The male is called Basso and
the female is Noni. They have living in the ZOO since 1997. |
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Behind the anoa enclosures there beginsa Bear´s Trail and at the end of it
you will meet real grizzly bears
that have lived in the ZOO since 1983. The male is
Siegfried and the female is called Helga, and they were born in
Leipzig in 1983 and 1982 respectively. Their beautiful enclosure was
built in 1995 - 1997 and occupies an area of 1,000 square metres. To
some extent it reminds a mountain scenery where these third largest
bears of the world live in the wild. When watching them, please do
not lift up the children on the railing and do not lean over
it!
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 The bears
are admirable and strong beasts of prey, but Persian leopards are in no case less
beautiful. Bilbi - the male was born in the ZOO in Dvùr Králové in
1987 while female Thalia was imported from Münster (Germany) in
1987. In the wild these wonderful cats pay for their
extraordinary elegance, and are on the edge of extinction now. |
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 Behind the
facilities of big predators there awaits a surprise, particularly
for children. Our Children’s ZOO is a territory
where one can forget that feeding and petting animals is prohibited. You can give a cuddle to the tiniest sheep
in the world (Ouessant breed imported from France) or dwarfed
Cameroon goats. Please offer them granules from the vending machine, and
save the local grass and branches of trees that we keep so
carefully. |
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 In front of
our Children´s ZOO there is an enclosure of one of the rarest
species living in our ZOO - the babirusa
(wild South-Eastern Asiapig from Sulawesi). It is a
kind of wild pig that utterly differs from any other relative
species. A characteristic feature that we see in the boar - canines
(eye-teeth) that grow through the upper jaw cannot be seen in any
other species. Nevertheless the canines are not used in fighting, it
is just their „sign of power“. These animals are becoming scarce
in the wild, and in European ZOOs only 80 babirusas can be
seen. Caspar - the male (1995) was born in Krefeld (Germany),
and female Uta (1993) saw the light of the world in
Saint Martin la Plaine (France) . This pair was the first babirusas
ever imported to a ZOO in the Czech Republic. Their kid
weighed slightly over 0.5 kg and the size was not much over
20 cm. The European ZOOs as a whole report about 10
newborn animals of this unique species in total per year. |
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 While watching babirusas, behind your neck
there are cats, that can catch
fish. Yes, it is no mistake, they really can do it, and they are able to
pass this skill to their kittens if bred in captivity. The only problem
is a lack of opportunity to meet enough suitable living fish.
But from time to time they can train and show the speed of their
fore paws. |
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 Leaving the
fishing cats behind, we walk uphill to the pheasants´ exposition.
The birds of pheasant family are generally known and favourite
creatures particularly due to their wonderfully coloured plumage
seen in most pheasant cocks. Pheasant hens, e.g. those of rare
Edwards´ pheasant, are
inconspicuously brownish coloured not to be noticed by their enemies
during brooding and hatching period. In spite of their alertness
their population in the wild is decreasing, and that is why we
consider them very rare inhabitants of our ZOO. An exception among
pheasants with different colouring of males and females is the
whiteeared pheasant. Both cocks and hens of this robust bird are boasting of their whitish colouring.
Also their cohabitation in pairs is a feature quite unusual in pheasants. |
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 Besides the pheasants an aviary with the
noisiest birds you can imagine waits for youdue to their piercing
voices. In case of danger the seriema
reliably warns the others but they themselves rely on
the velocity of their long legs. But they are no timid fellows,
ready to quickly defeat smaller snakes and even swallow them. |
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 The next stop will be at the smallest and the
most numerous inhabitants of our ZOO. Ants
surely deserve our care and attention. They remove a lots
of harmful insects from the forest, and take part in the preservation
of healthy environment. |
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 A used to be abode of our grizzly bears is now,
after a proper renovation, inhabited by other tenants - a community
of prairie dogs and
North American tree
porcupines. The studious prairie dog digs large
underground cities formed by the labyrinths of corridors and
chambers. At the same time they do not neglect to keep guard on the surface. The guards warn the others by producing
barking sounds from which the name of these animals has been
derived. On the other hand, such a North American tree
porcupine does not try to escape when meeting an enemy. Its
short and awkward legs would not help it much. These animals employ
other tactic. They protect themselves by accurately targeted hits of their
prickly tail. Released prickles then painfully thrust enemy’s muzzle of paw,
and because the tips then swell with blood it is difficult to
remove them . |
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 We still
remain with the fauna of American continent but let us move down to
the South. It is an opportunity for those who want to see the
biggest rodent without travelling to Amazon river basin.
Capybaras
- gentle vegetarians, good swimmers and divers
are really the biggest rodents of the world. The ZOO
in Dìèín is number one in the Czech Republic in their
captive breeding. The first Capybara ever born in our country was
born in 1988 right here in this ZOO. 
The mara or Patagonian hare - another guinea
pig’s relative transfers us into the scorched plains of Patagonia.
Their big eyes are protected by long eye lashes against hot sun and
sand, skinny legs with little hoofs are suitable for digging burrows
in which their offspring then come into the world. We then have to
follow our last South American rodents to the jungle. With their
colour changing surface and shape of their body, the agouti is well
adapted to the life in a dense vegetation. Their strong hind legs
make them as swift as our hares. The agouti likes various kinds of
fruit which they carefully bury into the soil. Another South
American in this enclosure - a relative of the waterfowls - is
called crested screamer. In
spite of its robust body the crested screamer is a good swimmer and ready flyer.
Crested screamers are gentle and friendly creatures but when attacked they defend themselves
skilfully using two spurs located at the elbow of their
wings.
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 The South
American fauna is not far from the racoonenclosure. These little
bear-like animals with a black
mask over their eyes are famous for „washing“ various
things that fall into their possession, including food and their offsprings. They
often find their food on river banks, and must clear it of mud, etc.
It is probably the reason of their typical behaviour that gave rise
to their name in Czech language (washing bear). The racoons are excellent in climbing
, and when endangered,they can put on death to deceive the
other party. |
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| After you
have left racoons you will delight in varied colours of our parrots
- lories. Wonderfully coloured lories
feed on a
strange stuff. No nuts or seeds but the nectar from
blossoms or fruit juice that they collect by means of their
brush-like tongue. Therefore in captivity they often relish soft fruit,
stewed fruit, fruity baby food, and syrup or pudding. |
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 On a small pond with ducks there are goldeneyes coursing, particularly known as perfect divers.
During a mating season the drake shows off its elegant black and white array but in summer both
sexes are inconspicuously brown and white. As they nest in hollow
trees the ducklings have no other choice than, soon after being
hatched, take the plunge into the world headfirst down, often from
a height of several meters. |
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 Ducks
neighbours - black storks -
are far from being as gregarious as their white relatives. They do
not long to make nests close
to humans at all. If you are lucky, you can spot
them in remote areas of the Elbe Sandstone Rocks, they live in
seclusion in forest or in rocky ravines. There is
also no beak clapping usual in the white stork while these black birds
communicate by hissing. |
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 In front of
the water birds kingdom you are carefully watched by owls. One of
the most beautiful, the snowy owl
has a purely practical reason for its miraculously
dazzling white plumage. It lives in lands of
permanent snow and ice where the white colouring is the
only one inconspicuous. They have to try to hunt down as many small
rodents as possible because the quantity of food regulates the number
of their offspring. |
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Next to the owls there dwells a pair of wild cats called jaguarundi. Though they
may not look friendly, they say that South American Indians were
able to tame them and keep them as domestic cats. Unlike other
cats the jaguarundi does not mind water. It is
a good swimmer, and that is why it is sometimes called „the otter-cat“.
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| While you
may still admire those strange
jungle cats your children already watch monkeys - their favourite animals.
These restless black mangabeys with their typical crest have a characteristic
way of communication: in the twilight of African
jungle the movement of their lightly coloured eye lids can provide signals
for other members of the community. |
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| Other rare
monkeys with similar crest are ebony-like Sulawesi crested macaques
from the heart of Sulawesi Island. Unlike the above mentioned
jaguarundi, they have just the opposite part of
the body markedly coloured. Their hip tubercles become swollen particularly
in mating period. The plate with EEP letters next to the information
board about the species (as well as with several other animals) means that
our ZOO is involved in European Endangered Species Breeding Programme of
this species. These programmes link European ZOOs, and concentrate their
efforts on the conservation and breeding of some particularly endangered
species. |
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| The
black-cheeked guenon belongs to the jolliest representatives of
their kind. They are all the time in motion -
always very active and lively creatures. They store in their
highly developed buccal bags, like in pockets, everything they are interested
in and cannot scrutinise and consume immediately. Be aware that feeding and passing any
objects to the monkeys in the ZOO is strictly prohibited. Please
have this in mind, and help us to protect both yourself and
the health of our animals . |
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 The llama
has originated as a result of the domestication of
wild guanacos. Their relatives, the graceful vicuna have had much
worse experience with people. These animals have been nearly
eradicated because of their finest warming wool in the world. Today,
due a strict preservation, they are again growing in numbers.
Nevertheless they are still considered rare species which are
scarcely to see even in ZOOs. |
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 To meet the Rocky
Mountains goat you should travel to the snowy summits of the Rocky Mountains. Thanks
to their warming thick white hairs they are well
adapted to the harsh climate in the mountains. Also the special
structure of their hooves which after each jump-down stick to
the surface as small suckers help them to survive in such
dangerous rocky terrain. |
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 The last stop on our ZOO trail is devoted to
inconspicuous and modest helpers of the man - to the Hutsul horse
and donkey. Hutsul horses
belong to primitive, tough and resistant races of horses from the
South East Europe. Donkeys were domesticated in North African
regions. Both
animal species have been good servants of people for
ages - they carried load and riders, pulled carts, and
people utilised their meat and skin. Now our Hutsul horses and donkeys
are used mainly by children: they ride them on various occasions in the
ZOO or in the town, and the members of the rider’s club learn
on them how to care for animals. |
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 We finish our tour in children’s
playground. Here you can try a Survival Game - on the trail
you can enter the spirit of endangered species and try to survive,
i.e. to reach the goal after overcoming all the risks of the
life in wilderness. Younger children will surely enjoy creeping through a construction of
a wooden castle or the see-saws and wooden animals. These
were made by the students of the Institute of Art
and Design from Ústí nad Labem, within the framework of our
traditional Colourful Week - open air art and design workshop. |
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| If you are
lucky enough (or informed in advance) you will visit the ZOO during
any of our regular entertaining and educational programmes for young
and older children that take place in local amphitheatre. If
you acquire during any of these events or on the ZOO
trail at least a bit of understanding that the protection and breeding
of animals in ZOOs is an integral part of the world-wide nature conservation
which you can also take part in (in the form of
a so called adoption of animals) our effort was not vain attempt.
MAP OF OUR ZOO
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1. Bear's trail
2. Children zoo –
guinea pigs
3. Bears
4. Wallabies
5. Birds
House
6. Leopards – EEP, R
7. Children zoo – sheep,
goats
8. Squirrels
9. Fishing cats – EEP, R
10.
Babirusas – EEP, R
11. Pheasants- EEP, R
12.
Seriemas
13. Hog deers and White-napped cranes – EEP
14.
Children zoo –rabbits, guinea pigs
15. Racoons
16. South
America fauna – capybaras, agoutis
17. North America fauna
– porcupines, prairie dogs
 18. The Czech-Saxon
Switzerland Exhibit – lynx – CZ
19. – dtto– Wild cat – CZ
20. dtto – fox –
CZ
21. dtto – grouse
birds – CZ
22. dtto – marten
carnivores
23. dtto – marten carnivores
24. dtto – marten
carnivores
25. dtto –
storks
26. dtto – minks – EEP, CZ
27. dtto –amphibians
and reptiles– CZ
28. dtto – songbirds
| 29. dtto –
pigs
30. dtto – raven birds, owls – CZ
31. dtto –birds of prey– CZ
32. dtto –owls– CZ
33. dtto –owls–
CZ
34. dtto –wolves– CZ
35.
dtto – roe deer, rabbits
36. dtto –chamois
37. Mountain ungulates – vicunas –
EEP
38. Mountain ungulates – chamois
39. Mountain
ungulates – lama glama
40. South America fauna –cavies,
screamers, capybaras, agoutis
41. Hutia-Conga – R
42.
Margay – EEP, R
43. Jaguarundi
44. Owls– CZ
45. South
America fauna – clawed monkeys
46. Waterfowl – CZ
47.
Life at water – black storks, night-herons – CZ, ESB
48.
Monkeys – EEP, ESB, R
49. Donkeys
50. Huculs
51.
Mountain anoa– EEP
52. The Survival game
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EEP
– species registered in European endangered program
ESB – species watched within the European studbook
R – species registered in the Red Data
Book of endangered species IUCN
CZ – species protected
by the Czech Republic laws
Service
for visitors – important spots and objects:
AEntrance – Exit, Box office,
Souvenirs shop, Information office
B Administrative building – the
ZOO management, Information office
C Zoologist, Enlightenment and education, Information
office
D Refreshment room ”U kamzíka” (At a
Chamois)
E Sweetshop ”U medvìda” (At a
Bear)
F Toilets
G Children Area and Wood
Theatre
H Riding Hall
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