Magazine
The smallest zoo in the Czech Republic has announced the birth of the smallest deer in the world - a barking Muntjak! Climbing into a 15 metre long crocodile's jaws is easier than it may sound. And "WANTED" for graffity art! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
The town of Tabor recently witnessed a most unusual spectacle: the police were chasing two black goats who had escaped from their owner. The goats were seen in different parts of the city centre and after getting several calls from the public the police decided that the goats must be for real. Two officers went out in search of the animals and found them butting their heads against the glass doors of the local Labour Office, fascinated by their reflected image. One of the goats allowed itself to be chained to a nearby post but the other put up a fight and had to be overpowered /by three police officers!/ and tied up until the vet arrived.
Chronic snorers now have the chance to visit a newly established sleep laboratory in the town of Liberec and hopefully obtain a cure. The patient must spend a night in the lab where he's connected to various apparatus which record his breathing and analyze the reasons behind the chronic snoring. Some patients are then advised to undergo minor surgery, others are given a special mask to use at home. According to the head of the lab most patients return home happy because many of them have not benefited from quality sleep for years. Most of the sleep lab's patients are men who get sent there by their wives, female clients show up less often.
Pavel Hudecek has set a somewhat bizarre record. He roller-skated across the Czech Republic -from its southern to its northern border - covering a distance of over 300 km while pushing a pram with his 9 months old twin daughters. "I wanted to set a record and I wanted my twins to do it with me" Pavel told journalists, adding that he'd planned the trip soon after their birth. The cross- country journey took the 39 year old real estate agent ten days, covering on average 40 kilometres a day. The twins - Judith and Agatha - are reported to have taken it all "in their stride" since Mom was always within reach -in an accompanying car - so as to take care of nappies and feedings. Maybe she deserves some attention for setting a record of her own!
Jiri Halouzka comes from a family of woodcarvers that have created a private gallery of some 200 wooden animals. Many of his carvings have ended up in zoos and are extremely popular with children because they are made to be climbed all over and enjoyed. His latest piece is a huge crocodile made from an ancient tree trunk, which he hopes will get him into the Guinness Book of Records. The animal is 15 metres long and weighs all of nine tons. And as, the woodcarver was happy to demonstrate in person - an adult can fit into his mouth -clamped between a set of awesome dentures.
The smallest zoo in the Czech Republic - in the town of Chleby near Nymburk -has proudly announced the birth of a new addition to the family: the smallest deer in the world which at a mature age measures around 16 inches. Reeves Muntjaks, Chinese Muntjaks or the "barking deer" as they are known due to the sharp barking sound they make when alarmed, are a small species of deer native to China and Taiwan. The males develop small two or three inch antlers and inch long tusk-like upper teeth which are used both for fighting and defence. Although this may sound ferocious the animals are very visitor-friendly and the zoo allows children to come into their pen and give them a pat in exchange for some tender shoots or leaves.
Roman Franta is known as the "beetle" painter and his atelier is covered with bugs and beetles of various shapes and colours. Hundreds of carefully painted brightly coloured beetles make up a single portrait or scene. Perhaps the most well known of his portraits are those of ex-president Havel and President Klaus - both made up of red beetles. Franta says he did them simultaneously, thereby using the same type of beetle. "I had portraits of them hanging in my atelier, he says. And it suddenly seemed like a nice challenge. There they were - both presidents, both wearing a dark suit with a red tie, both named Vaclav and both with a surname five letters long. So I gave them the same beetle as well," he laughs. Although beetles are his favourite basic theme - he also makes paintings and collages out of TV sets, radios, snakes or exotic fruit.
