Bratislava Zoo

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History

Though earlier attempts have been recorded, the first serious thoughts about establishing a zoo in Bratislava date to 1948, before Czechoslovakia became two countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia. At first, it was considered to build a Zoo in a part of the Bratislava Forest Park called Železná studnička, but experts regarded this location as unsuitable. Therefore a new alternative was suggested and accepted. And so Bratislava's Zoo was built in Mlynská dolina - a neighbourhood of the Karlova Ves borough. This site was regarded the best place to establish a zoo as a separate breeding and educational institution and to honour the importance of Bratislava as the capital of Slovakia. Better than the original idea to build a zoo corner within the area of the Park kultúry a oddychu (Park of Culture and Relaxation) on the Danube riverfront.

The realisation of the zoological garden began not before 1959 with a small nine hectare area for relatively undemanding animals that was opened to the public on 9 May 1960. As time progressed, the species population and diversity grew with the acreage of the area (currently the zoo spreads over 96 hectares of which 35 ha has been made available for exhibits). Bratislava Zoo soon gained fame among other Czechoslovak zoos despite many provisional solutions. The Zoo managed - as the first Czechoslovak zoo as well as the first European zoo - to successfully keep species such as the Asian black bear, leopard, jaguar, scimitar-horned oryx and barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) but especially the striped hyena. During this first decade of the Zoo's existence, they achieved to breed macaques, baboons, porcupines, coypus (Myocastor coypus), leopards, pumas and dingos. Moreover, as one of the first zoos in Europe, Bratislava Zoo successfully bred Eurasian lynx.

Already in the early days the Zoo developed educational activities with an advisory service. The Zoo's experts gave advice to zoological, husbandry and conservationists' clubs as well as breeders of small animals and amateur clubs for falconry for instance. In the 1970s, the zoo underwent a rapid expansion and modernisation. Precious species of rare and exotic animals such as giraffe, several species of antelope and deer, carnivore and primate along with a collection of parrots found a place at the Zoo grounds. The Zoo thus reached the most significant breeding successes at zoos in the former Czechoslovakia, involving first hand-rearing of Persian leopard and striped hyena.

However, from 1981 to 1985 the exhibits area was decreased by two thirds due to the construction of a municipal sewerage and a motorway junction. It disturbed everyday life in the Zoo, because no replacement was offered which necessitated animal relocation within the Zoo. One of the consequences was that a modern aviary with the largest collection of exotic birds in Czechoslovakia had to be demolished and the birds were sent to other zoos. The diminution was quite obvious for several years and the enclosures of wild Bactrian camel and kulan (Equus hemionus kulan) were visible from the main road all that time. Those animals were moved into the forest areas of the Zoo in 2003. The situation for the Zoo was extremely difficult as they had to give up breeding and preservation of many species and those which remained were often kept in inadequate conditions. The quality of the zoo declined more or less abruptly in the 1990s.

Nonetheless, Bratislava Zoo continued to contribute to the ex-situ conservation of the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) that has been declared extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Captive breeding of this species has led to an extraordinary international accomplishment of successful reintroduction of small populations in protected areas, as part of a broader initiative to save the Sahelo-Saharan antelopes, under the umbrella of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). In 1999 the Zoo augmented a scimitar-horned oryx population in a protected area in Tunesia with a male specimen.

A decision in 1995 led to a further reduction in size when in 2003 the construction of the D2 motorway access road to the Sitina Tunnel forced a relocation of the entrance gate. Subsequently, the zoo was closed to the public from December 2003, until the building of a new entrance, parking lot and noise barrier wall was finished.

During the virtual standstill in these two decades no new species arrived, while many carnivores and primates lived in poor conditions. Some species such as bears still lived in small concrete enclosures built in the 1960s. Although this period had clearly a strong influence on the Zoo's daily business a few signs of resilience could be noticed at the beginning of the 21^st century. As mentioned earlier, in 2002-2003 the new enclosure for Turkmenian kulans, Bactrian camels and Shetland pony was constructed in the forested part of the zoo, while other development plans of the Zoo were accepted by the Bratislava municipal government in 2004.

Henceforth, Zoo management began to search for their unique style and commenced building modern enclosures such as the rhinoceros enclosure, the Pavilion for big cats (leopards, jaguars, tigers and lions) that opened in 2006 and the Primate House for great apes (orangutan and chimpanzee) that was officially opened in spring 2010. The main attraction, however, both for Bratislava citizens as well as tourists became the DinoPark with its unique exposition of Mesozoic reptiles that opened its gates in 2004. At an area of nearly 3 ha the DinoPark features life-sized sculptures of dinosaurs that are animated during the summer season. It also features a 3D cinema, educational trails and a palaeontological playground with fake fossils for children. The yearly turnstile numbers jumped from 160,000 to approximately 300,000, instantaneously.

Besides taking part in EEP and ESB, exercising their commitment to conservation the Zoo has joined captive breeding programmes that support species reintroduction, which was an important step for a small Central European zoo. The Zoo has participated in the reintroduction of European bison to the National Park in Eastern Slovakia, and contributed to the scimitar-horned oryx population in the National Park Sidi Toui in Tunisia, with two female and one male specimens - an exceptional achievement considering the obstacles they encountered.

Despite all setbacks and financial problems, Bratislava Zoo is changing for the better, though slowly.

(Source: website Bratislava Zoo; International studbook scimitar-horned oryx, 2016; CMS Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna; Wikipedia)

Visit(s)

2016

Author: Karol Mišovic

Bratislava Zoo is located just west of the City centre on a broken terrain that provides adequate conditions for keeping and breeding local and exotic animals from various habitats around the world. The Zoo has been attracting more tourists since opening a very popular Dinopark in 2004, but the stagnation in modernising the Zoo's facilities since the 1990s still determines the overall undesirable impression. The process of upgrading and replacing of the old enclosures has been quite slow, and many of them are still inadequate with old corroded lattice or wire mesh fencing. Similarly, the compounds for primates (Barbary macaque, hamadryas baboon and red-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae)) are disgraceful reminders of the socialist period. The visitors can hardly see them through the small openings of the wire mesh fence.

On the other hand, the Zoo had several modern structures and enclosures built over the last decade. The buildings are in aesthetic alignment to current architecture trends and respect both the comfort and the demands for keeping and breeding the animals housed there. The first such building is the pavilion for big cats, opened in 2006. It has four separate spacious enclosures. The building itself forms the rear wall for the cats' outdoor enclosures and is made of wood and artificial rocks, while towards the visitors, the glass barrier has its foundation in artificial rock. The building complex comprises two separate pavilions accessible to the visitors. One is dedicated to Sri Lankan leopards and jaguars and the other for South African lions also called Kruger park lions (Panthera leo krugeri) and white Bengal tigers. The quality of the conditions in which the animals are kept manifests in the breeding track record of the carnivore species, which are good except for the lions. Bratislava Zoo became one of the most successful zoological facility for breeding big cats among Czech and Slovak zoos. The only negative point of the pavilion is the mural painting that represents the big cats' natural habitat. Unfortunately, it has been painted in a very naïve style, unlike for example excellent illusive paintings in the pavilion for jaguars in Salzburg Zoo.

Further adoption of modern zoo trends here in Bratislava can be seen at the great apes' pavilion, opened in spring 2010. It replaced the administrative building of the Zoo director and is now the centre of the zoo. It has two ground floors and a glass dome on top, and it provides excellent living conditions for its inhabitants. However, the size of the dome is its disadvantage, as the family of common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and three Sumatran orangutans are the only species that can be found in the oversized building. The architects admitted their inspiration came from the pavilion in the Frankfurt Zoo. As the visual similarity is apparent, it is somewhat surprising that the pavilion in Frankfurt is smaller, though comfortably houses three species of great apes (gorilla, orangutan and bonobo) and several other species of African primates. As Bratislava Zoo is in persistent fiscal deficits, which slows down the modernisation process, the megalomaniacal structure for only two primate species is too excessive and money-consuming, in my opinion. Not mentioning that the modern appearance is in sharp contrast to the shabbiness of the surroundings.

A disadvantage of the Zoo is its size, especially its spaciousness, as you have to go from one enclosure to another covering for instance hundred metres without anything special catching your attention. Access to the summit of the hill the Zoo is built on is quite challenging as you have to walk uphill on a concrete pavement and this might get hard especially in the summer. The enclosures for Kafue flats lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) and nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) are the only attractions along the way to the top of the hill. While after arriving there, you'll be disappointed by quite ugly compounds for lamas, Przewalsky horses, bat-eared foxes, wolves, striped-hyenas, several ratites (common ostriches, emus and greater rhea), and Australian fauna enclosed by a high fence. The animals usually hide from the sun, so the visitors can rarely see them well. The centre of attention on top of the hill is also situated in the centre of the circular route along the exhibits, the enclosure for two southern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum). The Zoo has tried to breed this endangered pachyderm, but several artificial insemination procedures proved unsuccessful. When descending again, you either take the same route towards the great apes' pavilion, or you make a much steeper descend following a somewhat rough forest path towards the Dinopark, the main attraction for all the children visiting the Zoo.

The Zoo has a large area at its disposal, but the areas with exhibits are either in clusters or dead ends without relations. The route on the other side of the Dinopark, the footpath in the densely forested northern parts of the premises, shows a similarly wide range of enclosures with significant gaps between them. Here you can find animals typical for Euroasian fauna, among them wild Bactrian camels, wild boars, European bison, kulans (Equus hemionus kulan) or Eurasian lynx. This part of the zoo is the most peaceful and delightful thanks to the forest and its spaciousness, but at the same time, it's also the least entertaining part. Not many visitors make it to this point of the Zoo grounds, perhaps because the European bison, wild boars and deer often hide and can be spotted just occasionally. From here you descend to the centre of the zoo again, with the great apes' pavilion, when making your way to the exit.

The overall aesthetic impression of the zoo I would value as rather low. Horticulture is concentrated only within the focal areas of the zoo (the surroundings of the pavilions of big cats, great apes and the enclosure of the red pandas), while the fences are rusty, the vegetation untended and the compounds look messy due to the many shrubs and bushes. Except for the pavilion of the great apes, the carnivores and two exotariums visitors have no shelter in case of bad weather. Also, the lack of a unifying style of the exhibits is a huge disappointment. Each enclosure is different and from a different period and style. The service for visitors is also inadequate. There is no restaurant and only very few restrooms. The seriousness of the communication strategy of the Zoo could be questioned because the font style used for the majority of information panels is Comic Sans.

The Zoo has exotic species on display that are unique to Slovakia such as giraffes, white rhinoceros, pygmy hippopotamus or chimpanzee. They are attractive for all age categories of visitors, but the overall impression of the whole area is one of lack of unity and comfort. The lack of financial resources is apparent and unfortunately determines the appearance of the Zoo. The management of the Zoo regularly calls upon the public to donate money for specific improvement targets such as the modernisation of the wolves' enclosure. The overall architectural style of the Zoo reflects two historical eras; the socialist period and the present-day aesthetics but none of them is dominant, and therefore the impression remains incongruent. The stagnation of development of Bratislava Zoo is apparently a long-lasting problem.