escape to the tropics - brno zoo

the magazine for friends of the Brno ZooNo. 1

april 2019

Escape to the Tropics

AJ_obalka 1_2019_Sestava 1 2.5.2019 9:11 Stránka 1

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april 2019No. 1/19, volume XXIpublisher four times per yearMK ČR E 17723

Editor:Brno Zoo and Environmental Education Centre, semi-budgetary organizationU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech RepublicIČ: 00101451tel.: +420 546 432 311fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Publisher:Moravian Museum Zelný trh 6, 659 37 BrnoCzech RepublicIČO: 00094862

Editor’s office addresZoo Brno a stanice zájmových činností, p. o.redakce ZooreportuU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech Republictel.: +420 546 432 370fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Editorial board:Mgr. Jana Galová, Bc. Jana Hadová, MVDr. MartinHovorka, Ph.D. (Chairman of the Editorial Board), RNDr. BohumilKrál, CSc. (Expert Advisor), Ing. MiroslavaPiškulová, Bc. Eduard Stuchlík, Bc. MarekSláma (Editor) and Mgr. Michal Vaňáč(Lead Editor).

Emendation:Rosalind Miranda

Distribution:400 pcs in the English version1,600 pcs in the Czech version

The author of unmarked photos is Bc. EduardStuchlík, unsigned texts written by Bc. MarekSláma.

First page: Young green tree pythonPhoto by Mgr. Petr Šrámek

UNSALEABLE

the magazin for friends of the Brno Zoo

04 Escape to the TropicsIn Europe, you will find the Javan ferret-badger only at Brno Zoo

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14 Rescue StationThe swan family is together again

10 Escape to the TropicsThe jaguarundi kitten is growing up fast

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News from the zoo New additions

Escape to the TropicsArmadillos have great defensive equipment

Escape to the Tropics Rare and beautiful, such are pythons

and snake-necked turtles

Events at the zooSpring on Mniší hora brings entertainment

Centre for Environmental Education Hlídka prepares a varied program for the whole of spring

Protection of NatureKura Kura – We protect sea turtles in Indonesia

Year 2018 Brno Zoo experienced a record-breaking attendance

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Editorial s

Dear readers and friends of Brno Zoo,

In the pavilions, which are still heated,you can observe the life of the rainforestand its trees. Last year, a couple of Javanferret-badgers (Melogale orientalis) weretransferred to Brno. These animals livein the trees of the Indonesian forests.This pair is unique to Europe, being theonly couple of these rare animals to befound on the old continent, and they areright here, in the Tropical KingdomPavilion in Brno. They are soon to bemoved to the Tiger Rocks exposition.

In 2018, in the nearby Exotarium Pavil-ion, we had the second most valuablebreeding of young southern three-bandedarmadillo (Tolypeutes matacus). The samepavilion is inhabited by animals from thetropical areas of Australia and NewZealand, by many examples of the

Columbidae family, or by terrarium oraquarium animals from this area, e.g.green tree pythons (Morelia viridis) orRoti Island snake-necked turtles (Chelodinamccordii), which you cannot see elsewherein the Czech Republic. They are criticallyendangered by extinction, the last severallive in the wild, with less than three hun-dred in human care, and four young oneshave already hatched in Brno, and thereare more than 20 eggs still in our hatchery!Among the rare offspring is the youngjaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi).

You will also be invited to popularspring events organized by Brno Zoo.Do not miss Easter in the Zoo, Wel-coming Spring, or Magic Zoo!

We look at nature conservation froma tropical point of view. Brno Zoo helps

EDITORIAL

The beginning of the year broughtsub-zero temperatures and frequentsnow. There is nothing simpler thansitting down by the fireplace witha cup of tea or coffee while watchinga favourite movie or series. In thewinter, I spend much more time withmy pets – common leopard geckos(Eublepharis macularius). They havesummer practically all year round.Not that I envy them; but, while it’sraining outside, I dream of moving tothe hot desert. And in the zoo, youcan dream not only of the desert, butalso dream of the dense rainforestsof South America, Australia, or NewZealand.

to protect turtles in Indonesia, and isalso involved elsewhere in that region.You will learn an interesting story aboutthe rescue of endangered marine reptilesand also about the swans living wild insouthern Moravia who were returnedvery quickly to their parents thanks tothe workers from Jinačovice.

I wish you a gentle start and a longspring in the true sense of the word,with gradually blooming vegetation, andas I have said, pleasant reading by thefireplace, under the blanket, at the ter-rarium, or wherever your favourite placeis.

Bc. Marek SlámaZooreport Editor

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Javan Ferret-BadgersAre Inconspicuous In the pavilions of the Brno Zoo you can find several slightly overlookedanimals which would be a great shame not to notice. Here, before yourvery eyes, are animals that you cannot see elsewhere in Europe. This isexactly the case of the Javan ferret-badger (Melogale orientalis). An unob-trusive pair of these animals from the Mustelidae family arrived here lessthan half a year ago.

Typical features of Javan ferret-badgers include white stripes on the head and cheeks.

The breeding concept of Brno Zoodeals with evolutionary stages. Thus, inone part of the zoo, there are exhibitsof island fauna: At the Tiger Rockspavilion, visitors can see examples of is-land species from Indonesia. Amongthe mammals, there are Sumatrantigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) andPrevost’s squirrels (Callosciurus pre-vostii) that inhabit the islands ofCelebes, Borneo, and Sumatra, as wellas the Malay Peninsula. Island speciescan be quite different from land-basedspecies, often differing in size. An ex-ample of this can be seen from a com-parison between the Javan ferret-bad-ger and the European badger (Melesmeles).

This year we will open an exhibit ti-tled “They Live With Us” at the lowerpart of the zoo, where the Europeanbadger will be presented. Due to theclose proximity of the two types ofbadger, curious visitors will find thatJavan ferret-badgers are significantlysmaller. They live in branches of treesand shrubs, which is not possible forthe European badger, which digs bur-rows and lives on the ground.

Javan ferret-badgers live on the is-lands of Bali and Java. There, they arerelatively common and are often synan-thropic. (In other words, they live close

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Tree life. Panji and Candra can often be spottedhanging out on tree branches.


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to people.) For the inhabitants of In-donesia, it is very surprising that Czechzoologists regard this animal as a breed-ing jewel. Likewise, we in Europe findit bizarre that animals that are com-monly bred here, such as Barbary sheep(Ammotragus lervia) or North Ameri-can beaver (Castor canadensis), aretreasures for the Indonesians. In returnfor these two species (specifically forfour Barbary sheep and one NorthAmerican beaver), we received the fer-ret-badgers Candra and Panji.

In the wild, they are omnivores, eat-ing both plants and animals. The ratiobetween these food componentschanges only when some fruits ripen.The female, Candra, has a calm nature,and we can confidently label them asquiet, happy animals.

A New HomeAt the airport in Prague, the processingof documents necessary for the transferof animals has been greatly expanded,

so our zoologists provided food (theirfavourite, bananas) for them to replen-ish their energy after their long flight.The male approached the banana withdistrust, barely sniffing at it. The femalegrabbed it and began to squeeze it. Onthe way to Brno, she slowly ate it all.When they arrived and were quaran-tined, the male, Panji, immediately hidand fell asleep. Candra, on the otherhand, sniffed the food dish, settleddown, and contentedly started eating.When she was satisfied, she fell asleep,so we knew that she would not haveany problem getting used to her newenvironment. Fortunately, even Panji,who apparently just needed a rest, wastaking his food the next day and ac-tively studying his new home.

These animals are not too picky, eat-ing almost anything. Because of this,we monitor the amount of food so theydo not fatten too much. Each day theyreceive both plant and animal ingredi-ents, and the animal portion of the feedis changed daily.

They spent several months in quar-antine. All our new animals must passthrough this department until the re-sults of various veterinary tests areavailable. These range from parasitol-ogy to bacteriology and virology, in-cluding an overall health check. In par-asitology, our couple had a mysteriousspecimen in their faeces with coccidiapresent, which are parasites inhabitingthe digestive tract of animals. The vetsand zoologists investigating this havebeen unable to place these pests ina particular taxon; so they let themproceed through other phases of thelife cycle, but they still do not matchany known species from this group ofparasites. Research continues, but ef-forts have begun to describe a newspecies of these parasites.

Javan ferret-badgers rest in treebranches during the day. Just look upa bit higher than you normally wouldso you don’t miss this European rar-ity, which is here right before youreyes!

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The larger of the two species, the bighairy armadillo, inhabits the exhibit inthe middle of the Exotarium Pavilion.They are fast diggers, using their strongclaws together with a specializedbreathing device. In the wild, theyspend most of their lives digging in thesoil looking for worms and other un-derground invertebrates, as well as forsmaller vertebrates. In the wintermonths, they also supplement their dietwith various tubers and other nourish-ing underground parts of plants.

They build their own dens, the exitsof which are always interestingly ori-ented with the direction of the wind, byexcavating dirt or digging under thickvegetation. The home lair can be com-

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Fauna of the South American tropics are represented in Brno Zoo bya very old group of mammals: armadillos. They are part of the superorderXenarthra, which may sound like a contradiction, because armadilloshave many tiny teeth. However, this term does not refer to the lack ofteeth, but to their small differentiation. In recent years, southern three-banded armadillos (Tolypeutes matacus) and big hairy armadillos (Cha-etophractus villosus) have been living on Mniší hora. Both couples haveoffspring, and are very engaging for visitors if they are seen during theactive part of the day.

Ancient Armadillos are Armoured with Keratose Plates

Big hairy armadillos cannot curl into a ball, but the defensive function of the skin on their noseand back is obvious.

plex, with multiple chambers and emer-gency exits. They can quickly dig a tem-porary shelter, which is shallow and hasa protective or food storage function.When a predator attacks an armadillo,he quickly leaves the hole in which helies and turns the fixed plate of horn hewears on his back toward the attacker.

In the wild, they inhabit the centraland southern parts of South Americaexcept for Patagonia. They enjoymostly open and partially open habi-tats. They are able to adapt and live inthe countryside, especially in smallerwoods. In recent years, they have beenintensely hunted, their main enemybeing farmers. However, the wild pop-ulation was able to respond stronglyand has effectively overcome thisthreat. The big hairy armadillo is theless affected species.

No armadillos have a perfect defensivestrategy. Only two species of armadilloare able to curl into a ball. Big hairy ar-madillos cannot. Southern three-bandedarmadillos and Brazilian three-bandedarmadillos (Tolypeutes tricinctus) cancreate an impenetrable protection ina second by curling into a ball, the south-ern three-banded armadillo’s being analmost perfect sphere. This discouragesany predator. How can they do that? Ontheir backs, the creased plates of the cor-neous skin are connected with a flexibleskin. They can fully devote themselves tocollecting food, which in the wild iscomprised almost exclusively of insects,curling when touched or shocked.

Southern three-banded armadilloslive in western Brazil, eastern Argentina,Paraguay, and Bolivia in open and par-

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Detail of a young southern three-banded armadillo. Photo Michal Vaňáč


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Jana Moravcová takes care of both species ofarmadillo at Brno Zoo. Here she is picturedwith a southern three-banded armadillo.

Photo: Petr Šrámek

Young big hairy armadillos grow very fast andsoon reach the size of their mothers.

tially open biotopes such as pampas orpampas crossings in forests. Their strongclaws serve primarily to break downanthills. The sense of smell of most ar-madillo species is so sensitive that itrecords the presence of invertebrates upto half a meter below the surface.

In the Exotarium Pavilion, you cansee the young female southern three-banded armadillo Júlia, who has twicebeen a mother. Her first cub was bornon July 20th, 2017, a male we namedBaboo. Just after he had grown to adultsize, he went to reinforce breeding in thezoo in the capital of Latvia, Riga. Thesecond cub, Che, also male, was born onOctober 6th, 2018, and is still growing.At present, Che and his mother occupythe aforementioned exposure, but in theweeks to come they will be moved to theTropical Kingdom Pavilion. The fatherof both cubs, Ricardo, modifies the ex-posure depending on whether it isa good mating season.

The main threat to armadillos in gen-eral is that they are hunted for meat,trading, and subsequent illegal breedingas pets. The big hairy armadillo isthreatened by being hunted for the pro-

duction of traditional charango folkmusic instruments, amongst otherthings. In the folk culture of the SouthAmerican continent, these instrumentsare believed to be a form of liberation ofthe soul of the armadillos who, all theirlives, wish to be charming and singingwildlife creatures. The Bolivian folk tale,“About the Armadillo Who Learned toSing,” can be read in the children’s ap-pendix. But the greatest demand for thismusical instrument is created by touristswho buy it as a souvenir to bring home.

An important risk to the southernthree-banded armadillo is the destructionof its habitat: shrubs and grasslands. Inaddition, armadillos are threatened by theurbanization of the environment. Theconstruction of new roads increases therisk of a collision with a moving car.When vehicles are near, sensing the vibra-tions, the armadillo, which can only seepoorly, curls up immediately. In nature,the vibration of the soil means the arrivalof a predator or an earthquake, both ofwhich are life threatening for armadillos.

At Brno Zoo, on July 13th, 2016, onecub was born, a male who subsequentlywas sent to Pilsen Zoo.

In this pavilion, we can meet all classes ofvertebrates, such as fish, amphibians, rep-tiles, birds, and mammals. Which of theseis your favourite? t

I cannot answer this; The breeder mustknow the demands of each individual an-imal, whether a group is closer to him/heror not. But if I had to choose a favourite,I would focus on a group of mammalsand birds. I know we should talk aboutarmadillos, so I can’t miss them out. Theyare definitely one of the favourites of allthe breeders in our pavilion. It is easy tohandle them and, of course, just look atthem: It’s clear to everyone that they be-long among the favourites.

For example, with the nine-banded armadillo(Dasypus novemctincus), there are knowncases of claws so strong that they are evenable to damage low quality concrete. Are

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these species of armadillos in Brno? Whatare the differences in the breeding of thesetwo species of armadillos? t

You would be surprised, but althoughthe big hairy armadillo is smaller thanthe nine-banded armadillo, it can alsodamage concrete even if it is not of infe-rior quality. Therefore, big hairy ar-madillos must be in a concreted exposi-tion in the middle of the pavilion. Whenhandled, they also produce a typical un-pleasant odour, and they have a ten-dency to become obese. The southernthree-banded armadillo has a greaterfeeding rate than other species of ar-madillos, such as the giant armadillo(Priodontes maximus), which eats ants.

In which species of armadillo are the off-spring more complex or perhaps morevaluable? t

I cannot say in which species the breedsare more complex or more valuable. AtBrno Zoo, two juvenile southern three-banded armadillos were raised, bothmales, and one male big hairy ar-madillo. The last juvenile southernthree-banded armadillo was gaining al-most 100 grams a week at the time of itsfastest growth. Today (January 17th,2019) he weighs exactly one kilogram.

Armadillos are favourites of breedersAs for the armadillos in the Exotarium Pavilion, Ing. Jana Moravcová takes care of them. Herarrival at Brno Zoo dates back to 2012. After studying at Mendel University, she applied fora breeder position and, more than one year later, the job was hers. She learned about mon-keys at the Tropical Kingdom, but spent most of her seven years in the Exotarium Pavilion.


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On the contrary, the pythons are usu-ally resting in the branches of trees.Their exhibit is shared with spottedblue-eyes (Pseudomugil gertrudae) andempire gudgeons (Hypseleotris com-pressa). These fish can be seen mainlyin the lower part of the terrarium. Allthese species are found in tropical areasat the northern tip of Australia andaround nearby Indonesian islands.

Green tree pythons are distinctlycoloured in youth and adulthood. Forpredators attacking by ambush, this isa seemingly unfavourable strategy. Asit happens, the first appearance deceives.When a female of this species lays eggs,she stays with them during the wholetime of incubation, heating them withher muscle tremors. After hatching,youngsters have a conspicuous brightyellow-to-red colour with brown spots.This works as mimicry, a colouringwhich makes the python better hiddenin its native environment.

Young snakes make their first trip inlife at the edge of woods and semi-open habitats, where they hunt insectsand small vertebrates, especially skinks(family Scincidae). In these places, theiryellowish-brown camouflage is a sig-nificant advantage, because there ismore dead vegetation than in the treebranches, due to drier conditions. Atabout one to two years of life, youngsnakes start to be tinted with green

shades, and their hunting habits arechanging. Young pythons migrate tothe forest, specifically to trees, wrappingtheir entire bodies around the headand the axis of a branch. In this position,they sleep and rest most of their lives.When the pythons in our terrariumbegin to crawl along the branches, ourbreeders know that the last feeding hasbeen digested, and they prepare a newmouse for the snakes’ next meal.

In nature, usually only once in sev-eral weeks do they climb out of thetrees to feed. In shrubs and lower veg-etation, they lie in wait to ambushtheir prey, which they quickly biteand strangle.

In South America, to which we arededicating a large part of this ZooReportmagazine, there is a snake very similarto the green tree python, with like de-mands on the environment, ways ofhunting, and looks. This snake is the

emerald tree boa (Corralus caninus),with which pythons are often confused.The main differences between the twoare that the adult emerald tree boa haswhite dots on its body, and also morevisible thermo-resceptive holes in itslower lip scales. This is an example ofconvergent evolution, where ecologicallyand morphologically similar animalsdevelop in similar environments but atdifferent, historically separate, parts ofthe Earth.

Threatened by humansIn the second part of the ExotariumPavilion, also in a tank, is one of themost precious and most endangered

In nature, we can find many fantastic-looking animals that have unbe-lievable features, shapes, or colours. Among these extraordinary animalsare the green tree python (Morelia viridis) and the Roti Island snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordii), both of which you can see in the Ex-otarium Pavilion. Snake-necked turtles inhabit the Indonesian island ofRoti. Because of the very limited area of occurrence and the associatedsmall number of individuals, they are a critically endangered species.They have a distinctly long neck and are very active.

New Reptiles can be Foundin the Exotarium Pavilion

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The colour of the young green tree python be-gins to change.

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animals alive on our planet. This is theRoti Island snake-necked turtle, whichcan live both in water and on land. Inthe wild, their number is estimated tobe in the order of only some dozens ofindividuals; and in zoos all over theworld, there are fewer than 300. Ourbiggest achievement is the successfulbreeding of four young from the end oflast summer. In the Czech Republic,these turtles can be seen only in BrnoZoo. There is also one kept by PragueZoo. Overall, this breeding is histori-cally the first in the UCSZOO (Unionof Czech and Slovak Zoos).

Roti Island snake-necked turtles in-habit only a few locations on the islandof Roti, which is north of Australia.They feed on invertebrates and smallvertebrates. Their long neck playsa significant role in hunting. They hidein the mud under stones or in vegeta-tion and wait for prey to appear. Assoon as it comes into close proximity,the turtle shoots out its neck andsnatches it into its sharp jaws. They canalso orient themselves very well spa-tially, and are good at estimating dis-tance. Having a long neck carries one

disadvantage, namely the inability topull it into its carapace, only being ableto fold it beneath the front protrusionof the plastron (the upper part of theshell).

As a new species, Roti Island snake-necked turtles were described only in2000 on the basis of genetic and geo-graphical differentiation from NewGuinea snake-necked turtles (Chelod-ina novaeguineae), which are residentsof central Papua New Guinea. Immedi-ately afterwards, they were classified asa critically endangered species. Withconstant pressure from pet hunters andsmugglers, their population size is de-

Two females and one male are now shown inone of the exhibits of the Exotarium Pavilion. t

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These little snakes are not active animals, butthey are also interesting on account of the po-sition in which they relax. The adults are co-loured green.

creasing, which can lead to their rapideradication in nature. Domestic breed-ing undertaken because of a demandfor pets can result in the disappearanceof an animal species. This would not bethe first time this has happened. It mustnot be forgotten that most recently cap-tured individuals can suffer from stress,lack of water, or damage to the cara-pace, and can die. This is not only dueto the amateur approach of hunters but,above all, a total lack of interest in na-ture conservation by local authorities.The main demand, not only for thisrare species, stems from North Amer-ica and Europe.

Following their arrival in Brno, threesnake-necked turtles lived in the back-ground of the Tropical Kingdom pavil-ion, where one of the females laid eggsat the end of the summer. Of the foureggs, after a four-month incubation attemperatures around 30°C, the youngwere hatched. Their gender is still un-known; it can be reliably determined inadulthood by the shape and length ofthe tail, and the overall size and shapeof the carapace. Our young turtles liveaway from the zoo's visitor access ina tank that simulates typical conditionsof their natural environment, with lushvegetation and small stones underwhich they can hide.


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A skilled climber with a long body and a long tail lives secretly in the wild. Inthe Brno pavilion of monkeys, it’s worthwhile to spend some time carefully ob-serving the jaguarundis (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), of which there are nowtwo in the exhibit – a mother and son. The breeding of this animal in zoos isthe exception rather than the rule, and this small forest cat is kept by only fourCzech institutions – the zoos in Děčín, Prague, Ostrava, and Brno – with nineanimals in total. This is why Czech zoologists decided to exchange males withdifferent breeders. Their hopes were realised by the Brno couple – female Fionaand male Chaco – when Fiona gave birth to a kitten on November 18 last year,just after the arrival of a new Ostrava male.

Our Jaguarundi Kittenis Growing Up Fast

First veterinary inspection of little Conkon. Photo: Michal Vaňáč

2013) and three at Brno Zoo (twins2015, one 2018). That is why the deci-sion was made to exchange males,which, hopefully, will bring the expectedrevival of the breed. So a male from Os-trava Zoo arrived in Brno in the au-tumn, but Fiona was already pregnant.

Pregnancy is hardly observable in thesecats. They usually have one kitten, whichis small relative to their body size, andtherefore its movements are not visiblefrom the outside. Expectant mothers hidein a cavity in a tree or in an abandonednest, and give birth there. They are veryaggressive against any intruders in thewild, and it’s the same when they are inhuman care. It was only thanks to this be-haviour that the breeder suspected thata kitten had been born, which was soonconfirmed. Fiona defended her kitten,and kept it under her close supervision.

The kitten is growing quickly: Itweighed about 150 grams at birth, andin January it was already 530 grams.We could only find the exact weightduring the first veterinary inspection.After vaccination, we released the kit-ten back to his mother, already havingnamed him Conkon.

Breeder Mariana Hubíková, who hasbeen working in monkey pavilions formore than ten years, talks about smalljaguarundi cats with great enthusiasm.“They are beautiful but very shy ani-mals. The female Fiona, mother of thekitten, is especially averse to contact.As soon as she sees me, she starts tohiss and protects her young. In thecharacter of the little Conkon, how-ever, youthful curiosity and fearless-ness predominate. When his mom isnot looking, I can get him out and atleast visually check him,” says Mariana.“Conkon is a permanent surprise forme. In January, about a week after theinspection, he began to hiss at me likehis mother. Her genes will show in himsoon,” Mariana said with a smile.

The small jaguarundi feline lives inSouth American forests, has an elon-gated long-tailed body, and is, perhapssurprisingly, the closest relation tocougars (Puma concolor) and cheetahs(Acinonyx jubatus). It lives on the forestfloor and mostly feeds on small verte-brates or birds’ eggs, tending to huntmainly on the ground.

The Czech Republic ranks among themost important breeders of these smallanimals. Now there are jaguarundi keptin 19 institutions in Europe, totalling 45

individuals. However, litters of offspringcan be counted on the fingers of onehand. For the last decade, two kittenshave been raised at Prague Zoo (2011,


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Events at the zoo


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From Easter Friday, April 19th throughEaster Monday, April 22nd, visitors cannot only visit some exotic animals, butcan also participate in genuine holidayactivities. For children, there will be anEaster egg hunt to search for the 1,000eggs which will be hidden throughoutthe zoo. And a spring cleansing awaitsthe sheep when, after a long winter, wewill rid them of their wool.

Mniší hora will be transformed intoa Magic Zoo for one day, April 28th.Games with magical themes, musicalperformances, and a barbecue are allwaiting for you if the weather is good.There’s nothing to worry about, all thewitches in our zoo are nice and friendly,so don’t expect any horror!

Also amongst the spring activities is“Science Day,” this year with the theme,“Save Yourself!” Students from the Sec-ondary School of Chemistry will intro-duce children and adults to the most en-dangered animals and habitats. Theywill show and describe how extinct an-imal species looked: You will see, for ex-ample, a life-size woolly rhinoceros(Coelodonta antiquitatis). What do weneed to do to save what we have left be-hind? Is it better to try, or do nothing?Are we witnessing the beginning of thesixth mass extinction? You’ll find out onWednesday 1st May.

Easter decorations in Kamchatka house. Photo: Michal Vaňáč

This spring, you can find events for families with children that support Moraviantraditions, fun days for children, and school competitions. In short, anyone lookingfor a spring program at Zoo Brno will find something.

Spring at the Zoo Will Include Entertainment, Traditions, and Knowledge

For events with an interesting programfor children, you can first look forwardto “Spring Welcoming.” On Saturday,March 23rd, we traditionally overthrowMorana and decorate the Easter tree.Bidding farewell to winter is symbolisedby the sacrifice of a straw dummy ofMorana, which represents winter. It isoverthrown in the zoo by having thechildren bombard it with paper balls.Traditionally, it is thrown into the riverand carried away by the stream. Deco-rating an Easter tree is a way of welcom-ing spring, symbolizing the diversityand beauty of re-emerging life.

Then, on April 2nd, schoolchildren’sbrains will be worked hard. Educationalstaff prepare for them a popular or-

nithological competition, “Birds’ Dayfor Schools.” Pupils of the second levelof elementary schools and the corre-sponding grades of the multi-yeargrammar schools can take part. Thethorny issues will deal with the protec-tion of bird species and will also be re-lated to the EAZA Campaign, “SilentForest,” which focuses on the bird faunaof Southeast Asia.

On Tuesday, April 16th, pupils of thesame age may dive into the mysteries ofzoology in an unusual way: They willpractice their knowledge of nature inEnglish and compare it with otherschools. The event is organized by zooeducators and students of GrammarSchool Slovanské náměstí Brno.


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The Centre for Environmental Education


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Tradition belongs to modern society as well

A couple of days after the beginning ofspring, March 22nd, come to visit Brno!Even though you would not expect it ina big city, nature is also awakening here.Birds are slowly returning from warmerareas and, in the evenings, you cansometimes see bats flying. We're ready towelcome spring with symbolic plush an-imals: Children can sing to them, playOrff instruments, and make small deco-rations for their home such as smallwooden rabbits and other natural items;and, with their parents, they can deco-rate a flower pot, which will last throughEaster as an ornament. To make childrenaware of how fragile nature is, especiallyin the city, they can become little carpen-ters by constructing bird boxes froma kit. Through their manual work, theywill come to realise how much natureprotection is needed in the city, and thatit is not even very difficult to help in this.Throughout the program, quizzes will beprepared for the inquisitive children;and, for the smallest ones, we have“spring unlocking” with a special key.

In the month of April, when theweather is better, children can go on a tripto a one-day suburban camp to see theirfavourite horses. The trip to the ranch inIvanovice will be held on Saturday, April13th. Schoolchildren will be able to visit thesaddlery workshop and stables, and willfind out how complicated it is to care forthese beautiful animals. When they trygrooming, they will see that cleaninga horse stable is hard work. As a reward

Educational workers of the Environmental Education Centre Hlídka 4 in the parkunder the dominating feature of Brno, Špilberk Castle, are preparing a seriesof events for the public and school groups. During the spring months, togetherwith your children, you can go back in time to find out how our ancestors pre-served their traditions, whether for spring or for the Easter holidays.

In the Park Below Špilberk,Spring is Welcomed with a Wide Range of Activities

Playing Orff instruments strengthens creativity in children, and they can try this on Hlídka.


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The Centre for Environmental Education


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At Children’s Day on Kraví hora, children always enjoy the activities.

A fair trade breakfast is enhanced by the environment of the Hlídka gardens in the city centre.

keen minds of young ecologists andnatural scientists. This is the first roundof a nationwide competition for schoolteams, “Golden Leaf.” The Centre forEnvironmental Education Hlídka isalso part of the organization of the 47th

year of the competition under the aus-pices of the Czech Union of NatureConservation. School teams can signup until the end of March. Six-memberteams will go through the zoo, wherethey will be given challenging tasks andquestions at several sites on various sci-ence topics, including geology and me-teorology. The best of them will go tothe regional round of this competition,which will be held in Hodonín.How does a fair trade breakfast taste?You can find out on Saturday May 11th!In cooperation with the non-profit or-ganization, “Na Zemi,” we are prepar-ing a picnic where you can also get ac-quainted with the animal inhabitants ofHlídka. On that day, you will learn notonly about turtle Majda or chameleonLeon, but also about how dishonestlybig corporations sometimes treat farm-ers in developing countries. It is pre-cisely thanks to the purchase of FairTrade products, which are somewhatmore expensive, yet still affordable, thatwe can all help small farmers to attaindignified living conditions. Fair Tradefocuses not only on fair conditions forgrowers, but also on adhering to sus-tainable development.

for their inquisitiveness and listening, theywill get a ride around the area. Then, inthe afternoon, if the weather is good, therewill be a camp fire where they can playand sing while sausages are being cooked.

On Green Thursday, we are preparingdemonstrative examples of Easter cus-toms from both Moravia and Bohemiafor children of all ages. A full day pro-gram will be available: Girls and boyswill colour eggs with a natural dye,namely onion peel. There will also be anEaster ornament in the shape of a circle,symbolising the birth of life; while therods, ribbons, and eggs used to decorateit represent growing life and the awak-ening of nature in spring with whichEaster is inherently connected. We'll in-troduce you to some widespread cus-toms, and maybe you will learn somecustoms with which you are not yet fa-miliar.

Ecology ahead!

For the past several years, Hlídka hasbeen cooperating with the environ-mental organization Lipka, which or-ganizes Earth Day on Kraví hora. Thelocations of various non-profit organi-zations with activities for adults andchildren, some with small refreshmentsor competitions, are spread all over theslope of Kraví hora from the planetar-ium to the square Náměstí míru. Chil-dren will be able to perform a variety

of tasks or take part in physical activi-ties, receiving a small reward for theirparticipation. In previous years, visitorshave dealt with topics such as “Wildlifebehind Windows,” or “We Cannot Livewithout Ground,” or “We Cheer ForFauna.” Do not miss this already tradi-tional and popular event! Environmen-tal enthusiasts and nature advocates arelooking forward to seeing you on April27th at Kraví hora from 10 am to 6 pm.In the same period, on May 3rd, there isanother interesting opportunity for the


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Rescue Station


sThe Jinačovice Wildlife Rescue Station receives a large number of passer-ines (birds) or small mammals every year. Among the rarely representedgroups there are, of course, predators, one of which you read about inthe previous issue, and big birds. In September last year, thanks to theconscious intervention of passing drivers and police officers in Brno, twoyoung mute swans (Cygnus olor) arrived in Jinačovice. They were appar-ently found after one of their first flying attempts ended in an emergencylanding on the road.

The Return of Two SwansRanks Among the Successesat Jinačovice

The male (in the foreground) and the female happily disappear with all their cygnets.

Superstitious people believe that Fridaythe thirteenth is an unfortunate date, butfor these young swans it was ThursdaySeptember 13th last year. On the busyroad at the shopping centre in Ivanovice,Brno, passing drivers saw two unusuallycoloured swans. They therefore reportedthis phenomenon to the MetropolitanPolice, who urgently summoned the an-imal rescue. Arriving members of Pet

Emergency Brno rescue service saw thebirds in “young clothes,” as this colorationof plumage is called. Fortunately, thewhole situation happened in the morningwhen the traffic was light. The police cap-tured the birds with help from the animalrescuers. They then transported them toour rescue station in Jinačovice.

The frightened and vulnerableyoungsters surrendered themselves to

the care of the rescuers. This behaviouris totally atypical, indicating eithera disease or, as in this case, a high de-gree of stress caused by the new, unnat-ural, hostile environment in which theyoungsters found themselves on theroad. If youngsters try to fly and thewind blows them elsewhere, the degreeof stress is not at all surprising; hence,their reaction.

We need to determine the health ofeach incoming animal by comparing itwith similar creatures. We found thatthese two had been very well cared forby their parents, and their health wasoptimal. Immediately afterwards, wetried to determine from which pondthe birds originally came. The waters ofBrno reservoir and Srpek Pond nearKuřim were considered. We also


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Rescue Station


thought of several ponds in Brno-Jehnice.

After a quick visit, we found onlycouples with more youngsters in Kuřimand the dam, so the loss of two young-sters would have been unlikely. InJehnice, as we went around the thirdpond, we were slowly losing faith infinding the swan family when, sud-denly, a swan couple with one young-ster appeared in the distance. We werestill not sure whether this could bewhat we were looking for, but we hadhope. We quickly put the youngsters incrates and brought them to the pond todiscover if this was the correct pondand the correct family.

When the old male swan, who wasswimming on the pond, noticed us, helooked on suspiciously and watched usclosely. The moment we pulled openthe crate and he heard the joyful whis-tle as the cygnets began to call theirparents, it was clear! The male an-swered the young greetings and swamtowards us. Bingo! It was the correctswan family!

The youngsters shot out of the ship-ping boxes and, after a touching wel-come, the whole family calmed downand swam to the farthest end of thatlocal pond.

Not all stories from our rescue sta-tion have happy endings, but this is oneof those that motivates people to keepworking, because nothing is more valu-able than saving such beautiful birds.

Those few hours resulted in the sur-vival of these two swans.

We are very grateful to all those in-volved for not being indifferent to thefate of these wild birds. They were ina very vulnerable situation, and we areglad we were able to rescue some of ourfauna.

Mute swan (Cygnus olor): What is it and what threatens it?

Swans are among the great Anseri-formes, alongside ducks and geese. Itis predominantly a non-migratoryspecies, which means that it winters inthe Czech Republic, though part of thepopulation flies to warmer areas. They

Father quickly arrives, intending to defend his young.

The cygnets were completely disoriented, so we let them rest for a while in the quarantine prem-ises in Jinačovice.

spend most of their time on water-ways. On land, they move awkwardlyowing to their great weight and rela-tively short limbs. You can see swansindividually, in couples, or as familygroups of parents and cygnets. Onefamily is regularly seen on the SvratkaRiver, in the section between theKníničský and Bystrcký bridges. Theycollect food both on and below thewater surface, filtering it from the liq-uid through their beaks in the charac-teristic way of Anseriformes.

Their nest is made of reeds in thick-ets near the water. Males are very ag-gressive at nesting time, especiallywhen defending their nesting territory.The male does not differ distinctlyfrom the female, the only differencebeing the heavily observable bulge onthe beak with which the males are dec-orated. In flight, swans can be recog-nised by their typical hissing sound andthe unusually large size of their wings.

The most common cause of swanhospitalisation in rescue stations is wingwounds, which are mainly caused bytheir crashing into high-voltage lines.Secondly, fishing hooks can get stuck intheir beaks, or they can swallow themwhile searching for food. Often, too,these majestic birds are poisoned byfood given by ignorant people.

MVDr. Radek FicekSimona Blahoňovská

Rescue station for wildlife at Brno Zoo, Jinačovice


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Protection of Nature

In nearly two years, we rescued andreleased 30 sea turtles back into thesea. The majority of these were greensea turtles (Chelonia mydas, an endan-gered species) and olive ridley sea tur-tles (Lepidochelys olivacea, a vulnera-ble species). Hawksbill sea turtles(Eretmochelys imbricata) are very rare,and are one of the critically endan-gered species of global fauna.

The whole project, named KuraKura, first started in 2007. It took tenyears for a successful outcome, namelythe opening of a rescue centre in Toy-

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Turtles in Indonesia areSupported by the CentreFounded with the Helpof Brno Zoo

This year's first patient was a young olive rid-ley sea turtle, which we named Sade. Shecame to us after being rescued from the blackmarket in Bali. Photo: Elisa Janatat

apakeh Village on Nusa Penida Islandon May 9th, 2017. This long durationis not surprising, given the communi-cation necessary with local authoritiesand the meeting of stringent rules forturtle protection. In eight outdoorpools, turtles can recover from tu-mour surgery or the removal of plas-tics from their bodies. Local workersalso receive turtles that have been res-cued from illegal exportation, andallow them to recover from the condi-tions in which they had to suffer. Oncethe turtles arrive, parasites are also re-moved, which improves their healthand increases the chances of theirlonger survival. In order to whet theirappetites, these patients receive theirfood in perforated dead coral. It’sa way of enriching their free time andmaintaining their natural behaviourso that they can eventually be re-turned to the sea.

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We celebrated the beginning of the year byreturning three turtles into the wild.

Photo: Elisa Janata

www.facebook.com/KuraKura.Penida

Turtles are one of the oldest terrestrial vertebrates. Sea turtles, for example,live in an aquatic environment, although their eggs have to be laid on land.The centre for the rescue and rehabilitation of turtles was created after tenyears of effort with the help of donations organised by Brno Zoo and also withfinancial help from the City of Brno. The centre also includes facilities for teach-ing. It is 11,380 km from the South Moravian metropolis.


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News from the zoo


You probably won’t recognise thenames of these first three animals, asthey are what they are called in theirhomelands and also by professionalbiologists in the Czech language.

The Siberian weasel is a small animalfrom cold regions in northern Asia. Itis golden-yellow. Another of the fewcreatures of this colour is the yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula),which lives much further south and isnot so often hunted for its fur, unlikethe Siberian weasel.

Siberian weasels, along with corsacfoxes, inhabit the Beringia exhibit,which features fauna of the cold areasin the northern hemisphere with anemphasis on the regions around theBering Strait. This is where a landbridge between Alaska and Siberia ex-isted during the last ice age, enablinganimal migration to take place.

Due to the natural occurrence of cor-sac foxes, their location in the zoo willbe in the planned future part of the zoowhich will be dedicated to Himalayanmountain fauna. Corsac foxes aresmall, with a distinctively furry coat.They live in Central Asia, especially incold deserts and semi-deserts.

In the aquarium collection, there hasbeen a rapid increase of both speciesand individuals in recent years. Twoshort-tail nurse sharks have acclima-tised and will inhabit one of the marineaquariums of the Tropical KingdomPavilion.

In the other pavilion that focuses onthe tropical fauna of our planet, the Ex-otarium, lives the barramundi, which isan Asian sea bass. Rare inhabitants willbe the Queensland lungfish (Neocera-todus forsteri), which belongs toa unique group of fish that can survive

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During this year, you can look forward to seeing new species of animalsfrom both cold and tropical areas in the zoo. Siberian weasels (Mustelasibirica), corsac foxes (Vulpes corsac), and barramundi (Scleropages le-ichardtii) will enhance the collections in various parts of the zoo. Forthe first time ever in the history of Mniší hora, sharks will be here, specif-ically the short-tail nurse shark (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum).

Barramundis have supplemented the collection of Australian fauna in the Exotarium Pavilion.

New Animals in the Zooout of water under dry conditions.Among the other inhabitants of thispavilion is the galah (Eolophus rose-icapilla), an Australian bird which isone of two species of cockatoos whichwe keep. It can be identified by the pinkcap on its head.

Another Australian animal we keepis an interesting marsupial, the com-mon brushtail possum (Trichosurusvulpecula). They live on the forest floorin the south of the Australian continentand on nearby islands. They are resist-ant to the cold, and their size is un-usual, as they can weigh up to fourkilograms.

The galah is one of the interestingly colouredcockatoo species. q


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Year 2018


“The last most successful year was2008, until now. It was just when weintroduced the first offspring of polarbear Cora – Bill and Tom. We valueeach visitor who comes. At the sametime, the growing interest in Brno Zoocommits us to continue the promisedexpansion of the whole area, includingreconstruction and the construction ofnew exhibits,” said Martin Hovorka,the Director of Brno Zoo.

“We know from feedback from vi-sitors that last year’s lion cubs (bornat the end of 2017) were the most in-teresting for them. We also under-stand the importance of the new ex-hibits we completed in recent years.A significant factor influencing visi-tor traffic was weather. This helpedus especially in spring, but in sum-mer, mainly in August, the heat cau-sed below-average visitor traffic,” saidHovorka.

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Brno Zoo Experienceda Record Year

The April weather attracted visitors to the zoo.Ring-tailed lemurs also enjoyed the sunnydays.

Photo: Michal Vaňáč

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Another attraction was the Ceylon leopard’stwins.

One of the hits for last year’s visitors were the lion cubs, Anoona and Akashinga.

In 2018, we welcomed a total of 330,118 people to Brno Zoo, the mostsince 1997, when we began keeping an accurate record of all visitors.April was the month with the most visitors (56,021), and was also thefourth best month since 1997. More than 52,000 people arrived in July,though the number of visitors dropped significantly in August, when only41,000 people visited us, almost 12,000 fewer than in 2017.


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Content


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april 2019No. 1/19, volume XXIpublisher four times per yearMK ČR E 17723

Editor:Brno Zoo and Environmental Education Centre, semi-budgetary organizationU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech RepublicIČ: 00101451tel.: +420 546 432 311fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Publisher:Moravian Museum Zelný trh 6, 659 37 BrnoCzech RepublicIČO: 00094862

Editor’s office addresZoo Brno a stanice zájmových činností, p. o.redakce ZooreportuU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech Republictel.: +420 546 432 370fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Editorial board:Mgr. Jana Galová, Bc. Jana Hadová, MVDr. MartinHovorka, Ph.D. (Chairman of the Editorial Board), RNDr. BohumilKrál, CSc. (Expert Advisor), Ing. MiroslavaPiškulová, Bc. Eduard Stuchlík, Bc. MarekSláma (Editor) and Mgr. Michal Vaňáč(Lead Editor).

Emendation:Rosalind Miranda

Distribution:400 pcs in the English version1,600 pcs in the Czech version

The author of unmarked photos is Bc. EduardStuchlík, unsigned texts written by Bc. MarekSláma.

First page: Young green tree pythonPhoto by Mgr. Petr Šrámek

UNSALEABLE

the magazin for friends of the Brno Zoo

04 Escape to the TropicsIn Europe, you will find the Javan ferret-badger only at Brno Zoo

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08

14 Rescue StationThe swan family is together again

10 Escape to the TropicsThe jaguarundi kitten is growing up fast

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News from the zoo New additions

Escape to the TropicsArmadillos have great defensive equipment

Escape to the Tropics Rare and beautiful, such are pythons

and snake-necked turtles

Events at the zooSpring on Mniší hora brings entertainment

Centre for Environmental Education Hlídka prepares a varied program for the whole of spring

Protection of NatureKura Kura – We protect sea turtles in Indonesia

Year 2018 Brno Zoo experienced a record-breaking attendance

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april 2019



escape to the tropics - brno zoo

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