Hello, I guess this is a question in particular for Arek, who seems to have posted most of the recent photos of the zoo, but also for anyone else who has been there recently. We've been to Wrocław zoo a couple of times and will probably go again later this month. We also have the opportunity to do a trip to Katowice, and I was thinking that it would be a great idea to see the Silesian Zoological Garden while we are there. I was quite excited about this plan, but somebody said that it really wasn't worth the trip from Wrocław to Katowice just to see the zoo (this would be the main reason for the trip). Apparently it's old-fashioned and not one of the best in Poland. The photos I have seen actually make it look like quite a good zoo, with lots of different species and some really nice enclosures. The giraffe, rhino, addax, and zebra enclosures all look very good, and although the tiger enclosure looks small, it's definitely a huge improvement on that awful cage. The bear enclosures also look a bit small, but I'm comparing it with the Wrocław bear enclosure (we really like bears, hence the name!). I've seen bears in a much worse enclosure at Lisbon. I also like the look at the dinosaur valley. We visited Opole zoo, and I thought it was really quite good. Would Katowice be worth a visit if we thought that Opole was ok? The trip is going to cost us about 300 zł., so I don't want to visit if it's really awful, but if it's maybe somewhere between the quality of Opole and Wrocław then it will be worth the time and expense. We have to come in the middle of March. I know it would probably be better later in the year, but I don't know how that will fit in with the dates I can next be in Poland, and we also want to see some other zoos (e.g. Poznań), so that can be saved for later in the year too. We went to Wrocław zoo the same time of year last year and it was fine. We went to Opole in November and it was also ok. Thanks for any advice.
Never been therre but when I look at Zootierliste about their collection ( http://www.zootierliste.de/en/zoosmap.php?showzoo=10000884 ) I would surely go. Their bear-collection isn't very big ( 1 Asiatic black and 3 female Brown bears but they have quite a lot of species which are rarely kept in Europe and from some species they even are the only keeper in Europe ! Examples : Feline genet - only kept at 4 zoos in Europe Hildebrandt's francolin - only keeper in Europe and a lot of fish species like Ishmael's cichlid (the only one ) Fourspine cichlid ( only kept at 2 zoos - the other being in Russia ) Three-lined cichlid ( the only one ) Masked cichlid ( the only one ) Peacock slender cichlid ( the only one ) Yellow sand cichlid ( only kept at 2 European zoos - the other being Wroclaw ) Synodontis granulosus - a catfish species ( the only one ) So if you dicide to go, make sure you have your camera with you and take at least a lot of photos of the above mentioned species - please !
It's an interesting place to visit, but is by no means a great zoo - nowhere near the standard of Wroclaw or Opole. Kraków is a better bet, if it fits in - still not a first class zoo, but worth seeing (and a much nicer city too - I think even the Silesian Tourist Board would struggle to see Katowice). Further afield, Warsaw and Poznan are both excellent.
As Sooty Mangabey wrote Chorzów or Katowice (zoo is situated between these cities) or Silesian Zoo isn’t even half as good as Wrocław or Opole. Several years ago zoo has big financial trouble (there was even no money for animal food). Now financial situation is much better. Ms. Kopiec (director of the zoo) is economist so she can find money but some new projects are unsuccessful (for example location of tiger enclosure, squirrel monkey cage in former tiger cage) some quite good (giraffe house and paddock). Zoo has big opportunities of development – one-third of zoo territory (about 16 ha) is undeveloped. Bear enclosures are quite big. Asian black bear enclosure (only one bear left) was divided into two parts. The second is for one older brown bear who was in conflict with two other bears. Brown bear enclosure is big but only concrete without ground to dig. In my opinion this zoo is worth a visit.
