Giant Salamanders in Prague

Giant Salamanders, photo: Tomáš Adamec, Prague Zoo

Nowhere else in the world you can admire these amphibians in such an unrivalled environment. In the pavilion, designed in cooperation with the curator of reptiles and amphibians of Prague Zoo Petr Velenský, the Salamanders are presented in five tanks, creating a cascade, which fulfils their need to travel up the stream, when they are to reproduce. At the same moment it enables the visitors to see the animals from the very different angles. The pavilion offers two light regimes - daylight (between 9 am and noon) and night (in the afternoon), when the Salamanders are more lively.

The most important and the biggest inhabitant of the pavilion is Karlo, the male, coming as a guest from Karlesruhe, where a new facility is being built for him. The other two adult salamanders will stay in Prague permanently – Šmíca, the female, and Natali, the male. They measure 105 and 134 cm. Besides them you can see several young, which have about half a meter.

The Giant Salamanders became an inspiration for Karel Čapek, one of the greatest Czech writers, to write his famous novel War with the Newts. Therefore the pavilion is also a tribute to this magnificent artist. At the opportunity of the opening, Prague Zoo also published a new edition of War with the Newts. Some parts of this world famous novel you can hear in the pavilion - and also in English.