A wonderful report, even though the length of it was surely only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure that you'll post longer reports of the dozen zoos that you visited and I eagerly look forward to your thoughts...and maybe a review in the fall issue of Zoo Grapevine? I'm a little stunned that you have declared Prague as "very possibly - probably - the best zoo in Europe" as you've been such a long-time staunch supporter of the two Berlin behemoths. It sounds as if you had a great trip and the quality of zoos in the Czech. Rep. seems markedly better than the shoddy football team that failed badly at Euro 2016.
So, to respond to a few specific points raised above.... Yes, this was open - and the tree hyraxes were very visible - thanks for the tip! (without it I might have missed the exhibit, as it has a very inauspicious entrance, and at first glance I did not realise it was open to the public). Also in the little nocturnal section were Garnett's galago, African brush-tailed porcupine, African rock python, some fish.... All quite pleasantly done, but nothing earth-shattering, display-wise. Thank you very much for this tip - I was always probably going to Hluboka, but your enthusiasm made it a definite, and I would say it was one of the highlights of the trip - a superb small-medium sized zoo, on a par with, say, Rheine. Very interesting - and, again, a real highlight! I presume the bear in the older cage, near the entrance, is a generic "Brown bear", and is seeing out its day in that accommodation? Even open, it looked very closed - when I initially drove past I assumed it was not open to the public, but, fortunately I tried the door - and it was! As I mentioned above, as a visitor experience it has its limitations! They were in there - and looking magnificent (in a wonderful aviary!). Would have been quite easy to miss, though. In other mongoose news: Prague's slender mongooses are no longer on show in the small exhibit near the sealions; Chaco mara in there instead. Not sure whether the mongooses have moved elsewhere, or died, or are off-show. Thank you to those who offered wisdom, especially the Czech-based contributors: HOMIN96, Cockroach, Jakub, and the indefatigable Jana: you are all very lucky to live in a country with such fine zoos (and with such a healthy appreciation of the wonders of fried cheese!).
Most of the zoos I visited on this trip are fairly well represented in the gallery, but Dvorec isn't, so I have now posted some pictures of Dvorec Zoo in the "Czech Republic - other" gallery. Its dubious charms will, I hope, be apparent! http://www.zoochat.com/689/entrance-gate-dvorec-zoo-453649/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/zoo-map-dvorec-zoo-453650/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/wolves-dvorec-zoo-453653/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/black-backed-jackal-dvorec-zoo-453644/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/general-view-dvorec-zoo-453645/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/baboon-cage-dvorec-zoo-453652/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/gibbon-cage-dvorec-zoo-453651/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/cobra-house-dvorec-zoo-453647/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/cobra-vivarium-dvorec-zoo-453648/ http://www.zoochat.com/689/snouted-cobra-dvorec-zoo-453646/
I will not be posting a large number of pictures from Prague Zoo - it is already pretty well represented in the gallery - but I have posted a couple of pictures of a steppe agama, Trapelus sanguinolentus, eating one of its cage-mates - a very interesting species, and very interesting behaviour! http://www.zoochat.com/416/steppe-agama-eating-cage-mate-1-a-454303/ http://www.zoochat.com/416/steppe-agama-eating-cage-mate-2-a-454304/#post973048
Ostrava Zoo already has a well-stocked gallery - thanks in large part to the efforts of Laughing Dove - but I thought it might be interesting to include some pictures of the new chimpanzee house - the "Evolution Pavilion" - opened earlier this year (and pretty good!). http://www.zoochat.com/774/chimpanzee-house-july-2016-a-454721/ http://www.zoochat.com/774/chimpanzee-house-july-2016-a-454720/ http://www.zoochat.com/774/chimpanzee-house-july-2016-a-454719/
I have posted a few photos of the (brilliant) Zlin Zoo in the gallery: http://www.zoochat.com/417/geladas-zlin-zoo-july-2016-a-458346/ http://www.zoochat.com/417/black-legged-seriema-zlin-zoo-july-458345/ http://www.zoochat.com/417/gambian-mongoose-zlin-zoo-july-2016-a-458344/
The gallery does not have very many up-to-date pictures of the outstandingly good Hluboka Zoo (or Ohrada Zoo as it is also known - I'm not sure which name is more correct). I have thus uploaded a handful: http://www.zoochat.com/836/souslik-enclosure-july-2016-a-458849/ http://www.zoochat.com/836/lemur-island-july-2016-a-458850/ http://www.zoochat.com/836/himalayan-brown-bear-july-2016-a-458848/ http://www.zoochat.com/836/common-whitethroat-july-2016-a-458847/ http://www.zoochat.com/836/mhorr-gazelles-july-2016-a-458846/ Of all the Czech zoos I visited last month, this was the one by which I was most (pleasantly) surprised, and to which I would most like to return. The recently-developed area in which a wide range of Palearctic species are displayed is really very well done, while the emphasis on some less-frequently seen bird species is very refreshing.
