Prague Zoo in May: Animals Taking in the Sun and Longer Opening Hours
07. 05. 2024
This week the Dja Reserve’s eight-member gorilla troop ventured outside for the first time, taking both newborns with them. Giraffes, zebras and antelopes are now grazing outdoors in the large African enclosure, hippos are taking turns at sunbathing and swimming in the pool and the elephants are enjoying their first mud bath of the spring. Both lions and tigers have also come out of their pavilions and a number of bird species from all over the grounds are nesting. With the warm weather and increasingly late sunsets, Prague Zoo has extended its opening hours until 7 pm, – this is a month earlier than usual!
Surya, a female Sumatran tiger, enjoying the current temperatures in the outdoor enclosure of the Feline and Reptile Pavilion in the zoo’s lower grounds. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Jaroslav Šimek, Prague Zoo’s, zoological deputy gave this advice, “With the current daytime temperatures reaching 20 oC, visitors will be able to see the vast majority of Prague Zoo’s animals outside during the day. Because of the sensitive newborns, the western lowland gorillas in the Dja Reserve have a slightly different regime. So people have the best chance of observing them grazing on fresh grass between ten o’clock and two o’clock”.
Prague Zoo is open from 9 am to 7 pm. Do you want to save time and money with an e-ticket or to know which day or entrance to the zoo is the least busy? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our tips for visiting Prague Zoo.
Duni, a female western lowland gorilla in the Dja Reserve’s outdoor enclosure with her daughter Mobi, who turned four months old on May 1. Photo Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo
Elephant cows Tamara (left foreground) and Lakuna (right background) enjoying a mud bath in the grassy enclosure at Elephant Valley. You can catch the female herd in the morning. Indian elephants take these baths as part of their skincare, protecting it from the sun, insects and moisturizing it as well as helping them cool down - elephants lack sweat glands on most of their bodies. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Both hippos - Maruška (right) and Tchéco (left) – take to the water every day and can be seen by visitors as they swim. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
The Tasmanian subspecies of the common wombat finds spring temperatures in the mid-20s to be just perfect, so there’s a good chance you’ll catch them in their enclosure: preferably around 2pm. Pictured here is Cooper, the male. Photo Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo
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