Weonly have a brief review of this zoo. Can you help us? Ideally you won’t be an
employee of this zoo (but if you are, then please admit your interest). You need to be
interested in wildlife and conservation, objective, able to approach the zoo with a
critical and constructive eye … and of course willing and able to write and submit your
review to us. We can’t promise to publish your review. But we’ll try to publish all
that seems to us to be well written and researched, accurate, and presented in the spirit
of The Good Zoo Guide Online.
There is so much to see in Prague, that the causal visitor
soon gets caught up in a heap of guide books and maps, and with so much of the old city
accessible by foot, the tendency towards blisters and weary legs is virtually inevitable.
But don’t let this put you off adding one day to your itinerary to visit the zoo. Yes it
will mean more walking – and yes this will be quite demanding (Prague is large for a city
zoo and there are hills to climb). But the experience of Prague Zoo, all but forgotten by
most of the city guides, and shunned by almost all the tourists, is nonetheless one that
will stay with you for a long time.
We got there by foot and by a process of direction and misdirection, but you would be
better advised to seek out a taxi – or a bus. The zoo is two or three kilometers from the
city centre, up in a river gorge where the escarpment climbs steeply away from the river,
and the zoo occupies the lush river valley, the rocky cliff faces, and the rolling meadows
at the summit making this a stunning vista for a city zoo. The cable car to help
visitors up the slope was not operational when we visited.
The walk around the zoo is complex, and the map is less helpful that it might be, but
there is a lot to see here. It’s a traditional collection, of course, so you’ll expect the
penguins and sealions, the lions, tigers, and elephants, and you won’t be disappointed.
But you might not expect Markhor, and Ibex – superbly held in mountain enclosures that
could scarcely be better designed for them. The grazers at the top of the hill are
magnificent. And the views are spectacular.
We didn’t take notes, and I’m writing from memory, so for that reason I hesitate to
single out any one species, or any one exhibit for either particular praise or censure.
There were enclosures that looked very time-expired, but nothing that was squalid or
depressing; and the entrance fee was so low, and the crowds so small, that you leave
wondering how ever such a zoo can survive in the new go-geting capitalist world that is
modern Prague. And yet there are splendid signs that the zoo is developing, with new
enclosures everywhere and a clear spirit of enthusiasm for the animals and for the
collection.
So do yourself a favour, and do the zoo a favour. Visit Prague Zoo. You won’t be
disappointed.
