From Przewalski's horse to Edwards's pheasant: Prague Zoo at the cutting edge of wildlife protection
On a bend of the river Vltava, in the district of Troja, lies one of the biggest attractions of the Czech capital: Prague Zoo. It was founded in 1931 with a mission to educate the public and protect nature, and Prague Zoo today continues to fulfil both those principles.
This spring, the zoo publicised its extensive set of conservation projects in 2025, which see its experts helping wildlife across the world, from Australia to Azerbaijan. Danny Bate went to speak to two members of the team making that happen.
On a sunny spring day, I spoke to one key figure at the zoo, someone who is at the centre of a great deal of zoological work: Jaroslav Šimek, Prague Zoo's Deputy Director of Zoology, in charge of the zoological department.
“I started in the zoo something like twenty-two years ago, but in a different position. I started as a curator of hoofstock, hoofed mammals, among others, the white Przewalski's horse, which is now the top priority regarding conservation at Prague Zoo. From 2010, when the new director came to his position, Mr. Bobek, soon after I was asked to take over this position of the deputy director for zoology.”
With so many animals, so many projects and so many members of the Prague Zoo, it was no surprise that Dr. Šimek couldn’t really describe a typical day for him:
“We have something like 700 species. The zoological department has over 100 people. All the time something is going on. So most of my duties are related and limited to the office, but as much as possible, I'm trying to go to the field, to the zoo. But I'm rarely able to say what a typical day is.”
"I'm rarely able to say what a typical day is"
Prague Zoo has a wide range of conservation projects either completed or currently underway, protecting both familiar and unfamiliar species. Some of the star animals include gorillas and pangolins, as well as the gharial, a critically endangered and unique crocodilian species found in India. The Egyptian vulture, the smallest of the four vulture species fofund in Europe, has also been supported through the fieldwork and breeding programme of Prague Zoo.
“I've been personally involved in the project related to the Przewalski's horse, which is called Return of the Wild Hoses. Thanks to this, I was maybe nine times in Mongolia, with most of the transports, bringing the horses to the southwestern part of Mongolia, to the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area, but also at some other opportunities as well. This is for me the top project. I also visited and somehow was incorporated into the conservation project that related to Indian gharials in the Chambal River.”
The effort to increase the numbers and genetic diversity of the endangered Przewalski's horse is very much a flagship project of Prague Zoo. The zoo’s close relationship with the animal goes back to the 1950s, and in 1997, it joined the ongoing reintroduction efforts in Mongolia. Since 2011, its yearly transportation of the captive-bred wild horses has required a major operation, with the Czech Army getting involved too:
“When we started bringing the horses from Europe, basically from Prague to Mongolia, it was at a time when this population on the Great Gobi B suffered a strong decline in the population that was already there. It was caused by the very severe winter. In the Mongolian language, it's called ‘dzud’. This means a long winter, when, most importantly, the high snow covers the horses, and also, of course, the domestic livestock. They cannot get through the snow to the food. They are starving to death. It is also very often connected with very low temperatures. But if it's not enough snow and the temperature is low, the horses can survive. They are very well adapted to this.
“So, after this population crash, the project started, and the director of Prague Zoo, Mr. Bobek, came up with the idea that army planes could be used for this specific project. He was able to negotiate this, and in 2011, the first four horses were on board and flying to Mongolia.”
When I went along to Prague Zoo and spoke to Dr. Šimek, it was a gloriously sunny day, and the park was full of families and school parties having a great time. On such days, it’s difficult to imagine the dark days of 2002, when its riverside location meant that the zoo was devastated by that year’s floods. 134 animals died as a result, with some keepers braving the waters to put their precious charges out of their misery personally.
In the aftermath, public and state support helped to put Prague Zoo back on its feet. Today, the zoo is flourishing. It welcomes almost 1.5 million visitors each year, competing with Prague Castle alone for ‘most-visited Czech attraction’. Speaking to any member of the current zoo team also makes it clear how dedicated and enthusiastic they are about nature. For one example, Antonín Vaidl, in charge of the zoo’s feathered friends, obviously holds what is for him the best job in the world:
“I'm the curator of birds and this year it's a little anniversary for me: I've now been working here thirty years. I started work as a bird keeper and incubator attendant, and from 2002 as an assistant curator, and from 2008 as a bird curator. So I'm responsible for all the collections of birds here, which includes almost 300 bird species. It's one of the largest bird collections in European zoos, and also the breeding results are some of the best ones, because we breed about 100 bird species every year. So, I'm responsible for the breeding stock, the bird collection of thirty birds or almost 2,000 individuals, and also my keepers and head keepers. It's a team of twenty-four people.”
Mr. Vaidl’s avian affections began at an early age, and continue to change and develop today:
“I've been a private bird keeper and breeder since my childhood. It suddenly happened when I was ten. I remember the day, because I was telling my father that I had a dog, fish and some hamsters, but something is still missing. He introduced me to his friend, a parrot breeder. So, this was the start. Then afterwards I studied at veterinary high school. Birds have been in my heart all my life.
“For forty years now, I have had birds at home, including some small passerines and some small birds of prey. Now I have mostly parrots and also I have some hornbills and owls. As I've been working for thirty years in Prague Zoo, it's changing my interest for different groups. For two or three years, I've been interested in cranes, then pheasants, then hornbills or penguins. Now I'm in the mode of owls; owls are interesting for me now.”
"I'm in the mode of owls; owls are interesting for me now"
I posed to him the same question as before: is there ever a typical day for Prague Zoo’s curator of birds?
“I would like to visit all the sections with birds. Now it's much easier because we also have the WhatsApp group with the different keepers and different sections. So, I have the information immediately if we need to collect the eggs, or if there are injured birds or something like that. I start at seven o'clock, and I'm responsible for all breeding, for when we put the nest boxes in or prepare some nesting platforms or materials. I'm responsible for transfers, where the birds will go, and if we are looking for some new ones. So, I communicate with other zoos and other colleagues, and also with private breeders.
“I'm responsible for in-situ projects. We mentioned today the Edwards's pheasant, or Vietnamese pheasant. Also the Egyptian Vulture or Brazilian Merganser. We also work in Bhutan with the white-bellied heron or in Indonesia with the passerine, so I'm in touch with the people from different places. It's very important sometimes just to help them with some advice, such as in Mauritius now with how to keep echo parakeets.
“So, in the morning I always have something planned to do, but because we are working with live animals, they sometimes change the plan, because it's necessary to help or to start some breeding. My day is very, very varied.”
Edwards's pheasant is one of the star in-situ projects in this year’s set. This small bird, of around 60 cm in height, with blue-black feathers and a red face, is native to the forests of Vietnam. What’s so special about it? And what role does Prague play in the life of the species?
“It's not such a typical pheasant, because it's completely blue with a nice red face. It was imported from Vietnam by Jean Delacour to Paris de Claire and Chateau de Claire in France. Last year was the anniversary of 100 years after the first arrival in Europe. Unfortunately, this is endemic to Vietnam, where now probably it's extinct in the wild. It's critically endangered, probably extinct in the wild, because nobody knows about this bird in the wild since 1990.
“The pheasant was quite new also a hundred years ago for captive breeding. The breeding of pheasants was very popular in that time and many zoos started as a pheasantry. Then they changed to become complete zoos. It was really castles that started to breed the pheasants. I found some very old letters from former directors. They asked in Vienna, for example in the 1930s or 40s, to get this pheasant also for the breeding staff of Prague Zoo. We finally got them in 1949. In 1977 we started to breed them.
“To be honest it's not so difficult to breed the population in captivity; it's quite large and also it's well represented in private hands in private facilities. Now we are also working together with the World Pheasant Association. It's an organisation established in the UK fifty years ago. This year will be the anniversary of this organisation.
“In cooperation with them, we also started some activities in Vietnam to send these birds, because we have the population well represented now in Europe. We’re starting with some work to send them back to Vietnam. The first step was to build the breeding aviaries in Vietnam. We did this in Central Vietnam. It was supported by many zoos, the World Pheasant Association and private breeders.
“It's good work by all enthusiasts together, and now this year, it's a big year. We are sending the birds to the breeding centre and there are eight aviaries now. We are planning to send eight breeding pairs there and start with the breeding, and hopefully in the future or near future to start with reintroduction. Hopefully we will see this emblematic pheasant back in the wild.
Finally, I was curious to ask whether Prague Zoo is normal or exceptional in the number of its ongoing conservation projects. Is Prague Zoo a leader in this regard?
“Definitely this is not normal. I think among zoos, it's mainly the work of the director, because the director supports the project. Also we feel here that to reintroduce birds or to help animals in the wild is one of the main goals for the zoos, not just captive breeding.
“I think Prague Zoo is something like a bridge between captive breeding and reintroduction projects. This is what I mean. It's very important. But this will not be possible without the support of the director, of course.”
"Prague Zoo is something like a bridge between captive breeding and reintroduction projects"
Speaking to people at Prague Zoo, it’s clear what an asset it is for Czechia. As well as bringing the richness of the natural world to Prague, it in turn connects the Czech capital to nature across the globe, many species of which will live and thrive through the efforts and expertise of the zoo’s staff.
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