I´ve just found out about this zoo, it seems that it got its Zoo licence last summer and there is not a single review or picture on ZooChat.. How is that possible?! Has anybody been there? Any thoughts? I have one possitive thing for start - they have an English version of their website. Tábor-V?trovy ZOO - Zoologická zahrada Tábor - V?trovy, a.s.
Been there. it is quite small, but very nice. Loved the bears and wolves living together and their interactions. Sadly they have bad financial problems and it is possible that the garden will be closed soon.
Nice place, but I might be biased, my schoolmate works there. http://www.zootabor-vetrovy.cz/userfiles/MF_Lenka.jpg this is from a magazine article where the photographer takes pictures of animals in zoos and their zookeepers, seeking the pairs with physical similarity quite a funny article with some good matches
So the zoo is now closed for the public, many employees left, several animals were sold. They have no money.
According to an article in today's Mlada Fronta (a big Czech newspaper), creditors demand the animals to be killed and their furs to be sold. This is luckily not legal here.
So, is it still open? Or is it closed, and due to re-open? Either way, is this a zoo that you would recommend?
The deal is a fresh news in todays newspapers, so surely not open yet. It was very nice small zoo a year ago when I was there, but I have no idea how bad is the effect of the recent problems - I know that most employees left and some animals were sold. However the article http://budejovice.idnes.cz/evzen-ko....aspx?c=A150421_2157045_budejovice-zpravy_jkr (czech) is quite optimistic, the buyer says he does not expect to make money from the deal and puts the animals first.
the homepage of the zoo says it will take some time to reopen (no specified date) (and thanks to all who provided the free food for the animals in the troubled times)
European Bison released into the wild: An European Bison named Tabor has been released in a newly created reserve near Rokykan. He is intended to breed with some females already there. Here is the complete article (It is in Czech): Tábor odjede z Tábora pryč. Vlastní stádo si založí jinde - Novinky.cz
The reserve and area Rokycany is in mid Bohemia province in Czech Republic. The male was born and bred in Tabor- and the 3 females originate from the Milovice reserve to set up a new herd in Czech Republic. If my interpretations are fully correct: the Tabor zoo herd started 4 years ago with 5 individuals from Germany and Poland and has grown with the addition of 4 newborns. Tabor was incidentally the first calf born in 2017 at Tabor Zoo!
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
0,1 Carpathian lynx arrived from a private facility in Slovakia 2 European bison born in October and November 2020. 3 emu chicks hatched in January In March/April 2021, zoo will send 3 European bison females to be released to wild reserves. 2 will go to reserve in Milovice (CZE) and the 3rd one will go to either Valle del Bisonte (Spain) or Stara Planina (Serbia)
On April 1st, two bison females were released in Milovice wild reserve. The third female is now confirmed to go to Serbia, date yet to be specified (May or some month in autumn, depending on paperwork being done)
To call it wild reserve is sort of deception (not from you, I know that it´s a widely used and accepted name for it). It is a coralled place. I think around 40 hectares. Bigger than nomal zoo places, but still a captivity, with fences, keepers and vet care. Unfortunatelly, it seems we have no plans for real wild wisents in our country. Do you think there might still be some escaped bisons near Český Rudolec roaming free? I have never seen news that all of them were recaptured in 2019.
According to last edition of European Bison Pedigree Book at the end of 2019 in Milovice are 6,18 wisents pure Białowieża line.
With the latest two arrivals from Tábor, it should be 29 animals (but I don't know what the sex ratio is)