The first foal of the Převalský horse was born at the Prague Zoo on March 21, 1933. The founders of the breeding were the stallion Alki and the mare Minka. Source: Prague Zoo Archive
The female short-tailed pinecone has reached the age of six months and has switched from mother’s milk to adult food. Last week, therefore, the Prague Zoo declared the first born shellac in Europe to have been successfully bred. In connection with this historic success, there are many questions from the media and visitors, which can basically be summed up in one question: How is Šiška doing in the context of all the important breeding in the nearly century-long history of the Prague Zoo? We decided to provide an answer and compile ten of the most important ones.
Prague Zoo has been breeding cheetahs since 1933, the first cubs were reared in 1972. The female Brita proved to be an exemplary mother for the first time and gave birth to a total of 27 offspring over the years. Photo by Zdeněk Veselovský, Prague Zoo
“It was not a completely easy task, because in every similar list breeding, scientific, conservation and marketing points of view are necessarily mixed, but here I am presenting the result,” comments the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek, on the ranking. At the same time, he adds his wishes for the coming years: “And what awaits us next? What important breedings would we like for the future? I would like to bet on giant salamanders or barbels. However, historical achievements cannot be planned.”
In autumn, visitors to the Prague Zoo can also look forward to a photo exhibition dedicated to the most important breedings in the history of the Prague Zoo. It will also offer those interested the story behind each of these breeding successes.
Who doesn’t know the legendary Moja! The first baby gorilla born in the Czech and Slovak gardens today lives in Spain, but her daughter Duni is part of the gorilla group in Prague’s Dja Reserve – and if she succeeds, Moja will become a grandmother at the end of the year. Duni is currently pregnant. Source: Prague Zoo Archive
- 1933 Převalský’s horse – the first foal in the Prague Zoo
- 1937 Andean condor – second breeding in the world (first published)
- 1942 polar bear – Sněhulka – unique artificial breeding on a world scale (in 1947 Polarka – the first natural breeding in Czechoslovakia)
- 1972 cheetah – one of the first breedings in Europe
- 1989 Cape grebe – the first breeding in Czechoslovakia, the third in Europe
- 1998 crocodilian dracaena – the world’s first breeding
- 2004 lowland gorilla – Moja – the first breeding in the Czech Republic
- 2012 rusty-eared jay – the first breeding in world zoos
- 2012 Crowned turtle – the world’s first breeding and also the discovery of the method of reproduction
- 2023 short-tailed nuthatch – Šiška – the first breeding of nuthatch in Europe
The breeding of the female short-tailed pine nutcracker Cone is crucial not only because it was associated with a number of difficulties, but also because it is the first young of these unique scaly mammals bred in Europe. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo