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The obvious difference between the red panda and the giant panda: The first of them has a long furry tail, while the other one is completely missing this feature.

If somebody says that the red panda is a mysterious animal, I will agree. For instance, already for almost two centuries the proper classification of this carnivore has been debated. Today it is clear, that for sure it is not related to giant panda, but I will get to that later.

A digital recontruction of a humback whale trap feeding. Credit J. McCarthy

Monsters and weird creatures from ancient legends and old bestiaries often are not just pure figments of the imagination but tend to have their real prototypes. As it has recently transpired this is also true about the sea monster, referred to as hafgufa in Norse sagas and manuscripts. Nevertheless, its mystery has been...

Anastasia gave birth to the olive-green baby last Wednesday. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

The little De Brazza’s monkey was born at Prague Zoo in the early hours of last Wednesday. His mother, Anastasia, is an experienced female and the keepers say both are doing well. Visitors can watch the olive-green infant in one of the main exhibitions of Prague’s latest pavilion.

Ing. Josef Zelinka still in the rank of lieutenant colonel in his residence at Salvátorská Street 7. Source: Austrian Film Museum

Thirteen film reels with almost five hours of footage, which is extremely valuable for us in Prague Zoo as well as for military historians. After a complicated investigation we managed to find their author. It was Col. Eng. Josef Zelinka.

The author of the films was this Czechoslovak army officer. He was the mysterious "Mr. Zet" for us for a long time. Source: Collection of the Austrian Film Museum

I haven’t experienced such a well-attended press conference as on Thursday, February 23, in Prague Zoo, for a long time. We held it because of recently discovered films that captured our zoological garden in the early years of its existence. We wanted to identify the author of the films – an officer of the Czechoslovak Army...

Yesterday's weighing of female pangolin pup, who was born at the Prague Zoo on February 2. Photo: Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

I have written a lot about World Pangolin Day, which this year falls on this Saturday; and mostly these were sad texts on mass poaching of these amazing creatures and trafficking their scales. However, this time, of course, I dedicate my column to the Chinese pangolin female, which was born in Prague Zoo on Thursday, February 2....

Przewalski’s horses returned successfully to western and central Mongolia. The prepared project will focus at the east of the country. Photo: Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

Prague Zoo employees in cooperation with their Mongolian colleagues and partners have completed selection of the locality for the planned reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses to the east of Mongolia. After a long-lasting process, which included remote sensing methods as well as many visits to the selected localities and...

Detail of the original stone with petroglyphs. Photo: Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

Next to the Przewalski’s horse enclosure, there is a stone decorated with petroglyphs depicting ibexes and other creatures or objects. It is a replica of a real stone discovered by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo´s director, in 2022 in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in Mongolia, in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area...

Photo: David Rauch

I envied my Mongolian colleagues their traditional clothes: long, fur-lined daal and massive leather boots. We arrived to the very east of Mongolia, to Khalkhgol, in the “fourth nine” of the winter, that is in the harshest frosts. Night temperatures dropped to -40 °C and after the sunrise they slowly raised to -30, in the...

The baby pangolin born in Prague Zoo is a female. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

The baby Chinese pangolin, born in the early morning at Prague Zoo on Thursday, February 2, is a female. Flora Hsuan-Yi Lo, from Taipei Zoo, confirmed this using the photos sent to her.