Visitor Reviews

This review submitted by NIELS JOHS LEGARTH IVERSEN,
October 2000

The Bratislava zoo is somewhat west of the Castle that dominates the skyline of the capital of new country Slovakia. You can follow Botanicka until Parkovisko, then upwards for a kilometer or so, or you can take bus 26, 44 or 102 (or 31, 39 to the back entrance). This zoo is clearly in a transitional state: there is an old part close to the road. This part is cramped, old fashioned and not too appealing. Further back (away from the road, uphill) there is a big forested area (close to 100 hectar) with a few large enclosures with a limited number of animals. Clearly this is designed as the place where future developments will take place, but when I visited the zoo in 1999 it seemed that the majority of the animals still inhabited the old section. Even the system of roads in this section seems unfinished. When you enter the zoo you pass the toilets, the kiosk ('bufet') and arrive at the watussi cattle. Right on you see the old zoo. To your right there is a bird lake. There is a short blind path at its left, leading to a concentration of bird cages. To its right, almost behind you there is a path leading past wild boar, snow leopards, skunks, ponies, kulan to the muflons, wisents and barasinga deer. Here the path ends. Alternatively continue to the chimpanzees, from here follow the long path up to the back entrance area, where you find geographically motived section: a section with white rhinos, antilopes, hyenas and other African animals, another with Australien kangaroos and rehas, a third with nandus and llamas from South America. You might expect to find a path the short way over to the wisents and muflons, but no, you are a human and not a bird, so you have to walk all the way back to the old zoo to get to the other long blind alley. That is not too smart. Hopefully somebody in the zoo management will take pity in us poor human wanderers.