Jihlava Zoo: A trip across five continents
Jihlava Zoo, officially recognized as a zoological garden since 1982, is nestled in the picturesque valley of the Jihlávka River, not far from the city center. The grounds feature wooded slopes, rocky outcrops, meadows, and water features, creating a rich and varied environment for its 260 animal species, including many endangered ones. The zoo specializes in felines, primates, and reptiles.
The zoo's early history goes back to 1957 when Oldřich Vávra, a member of the Jihlava city council responsible for culture, came up with the idea of founding a small animal park for children to enjoy. He teamed up with Jindřich Weiss, a local nature and animal lover who contributed his own collection of pheasants and parrots. Over time, the modest project grew, turning into a proper zoo as the organizers acquired other animals including dingoes, jackals, yaks, deer, and Carpathian bears. Many were acquired in quirky ways, like a porcupine gifted after Weiss helped capture it when it escaped from the Ústí nad Labem Zoo. As the menagerie grew, so did the need for facilities. By 1960 the zoo had transformed from a makeshift refuge for randomly acquired animals into a proper zoo, overcoming resistance from some locals, a devastating 1985 flood, and post-1989 economic uncertainty. The zoo’s spokeswoman Simona Kubičková says the zoo has come a long way.
“From the very beginning, we’ve been here in the valley of the Jihlávka River, close to the city center. The zoo was founded in 1957, and its beginnings were very modest —just a few animals, cared for by three employees. Nowadays, we care for around 1,500 animals across more than 260 species. We’re actually the most visited site in the entire Vysočina Region, with over 350,000 visitors annually.”
In 1994, Jihlava Zoo joined the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), gaining international recognition. A decade later, the zoo entered a phase of ambitious development. New pavilions emerged, such as the Hacienda Escondido and Malay Medan, a state-of-the-art exhibit for sun bears. The biggest leap came in 2011 with the launch of the “Zoo of Five Continents,” a 135 million CZK project co-funded by the EU. This added major exhibits like the Australian Farm, African Savannah, Asian Exhibit, and a new Reptile Pavilion.
Now home to around 1,500 animals from 260 species, the zoo boasts the largest collection of clawed monkeys (Marmosets and Tamarins) in the Czech Republic and is one of the few to keep venomous snakes. It cares for 32 IUCN-listed endangered species, including Sumatran tigers, Persian and snow leopards, ocelots, various primates, turtles, and the Malayan sun bear. Since 2016, it has also kept Iberian wolves. Seventeen species are on the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).
Simona Kubičková says the zoo is proud of all its breeding projects, but paradoxically some of the rarest and most endangered breeds it is helping to save are the least “visible”.
“The rarest are usually the ones people don’t know about, or simply overlook. People always head for the tigers and bears — or the “cute” furry animals with big eyes –they are what we call the “crowd-pleasers”. But often, the truly rare ones are inconspicuous. For us, it’s definitely the babirusa from Sulawesi, which we’re the only zoo in the Czech Republic to keep. Then we have cloud rats, Malagasy giant rats, and slow lorises, which are also very rare. We also hold the largest collection of Marmosets in the country. And we specialize in feline species — we have quite a few of those as well.”
The zoo has worked hard to strike a balance between being animal-friendly and visitor-friendly, but at the end of the day, the welfare of the animals always has to come first. In earlier years, the Marmosets and Tamarins were allowed to roam freely though the zoo’s wooded areas, but a lack of discipline on the part of some visitors ended that practice.
“That was a program we ran for years. Sadly, visitors didn’t respect the rule that the animals must not be fed. After the third Tamarin died, we had to return them to their enclosures and they can no longer roam freely among visitors. It’s a shame because it gave people a different perspective on the animals. But people kept feeding them, even when we posted warnings about how dangerous feeding them can be. These animals are far too valuable for us to place them at risk.”
Some of the animals that the zoo is helping to save are heavily trafficked or poached –like the Gerrard’s skink.
“We received ours within a trade program from another zoo. It’s one of the newest residents in our tropical pavilion. But it’s not just skinks — lots of animals are trafficked. Gibbons, for example. The original male we had in our breeding program came from Vietnam. He and others were kept in tiny cages and sold as pets or for illegal breeding. Some were seized and eventually ended up here. Other victims of trafficking who ended up here include slow lorises, reptiles, parrots. Even the Malayan bears known as sun bears, which are captured for their bile, wrongly believed to have medicinal properties. We have a Sumatran tiger, a critically endangered species — they too are often poached because of the mistaken belief in traditional Asian medicine that every part of a tiger has healing powers. Trafficking endangers many species.”
Lubomíra Ševčíková is in charge of the zoo’s crocodile pavilion
“The Dwarf Crocodile is the smallest crocodile species in existence, it’s not an alligator, as some might think. According to available sources, it grows to about 150 to 170 centimeters in length. One of our crocodiles must have missed that memo and grew to over 2 meters 10 cm — which earned it a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Dwarf Crocodiles been with us for about 40 years. Actually we were the first in the world to start breeding them. Today, though, these crocodiles are successfully bred not just by us, but by several other zoos as well. In the wild, they remain rare and are considered an endangered species. They’re listed in CITES Appendix I — meaning they’re among the most strictly protected animals.”
The zoo also offers late evening tours with a zoologist who points out different “night” animals and their nocturnal activities. Many visitors would pass them by unnoticed without a proper explanation.
Marek Dohnal is the caretaker of nocturnal mammals:
“Probably the most interesting animals we have are the giant Malagasy rats. They are an endangered species, and we’re proud to have them here in our zoo, especially because they’re thriving in our care. It’s like an oversized rat — or a big rabbit. It has a rat’s tail and rabbit-like ears. We have 14 of them here. They’re endemic to the island of Madagascar — that’s the only place you’ll find them in the wild. We’ve had them for about eight years now. The trouble is, people often don’t even stop at their enclosure. They’re active and lively, but visitors just glance over and say, ‘Oh, a big mouse,’ and move on. And yet, this is an endangered species. As far as I know, there are only thirteen zoos that breed them. Altogether there are only 56 individuals in captivity — and we have 14 of them.”
Like many zoos around the world, Jihlava Zoo invites visitors to sponsor an animal and help finance its care. Simona Kubičková explains how the “adopt an animal” program works:
“We offer animal adoptions. The cheapest start at 1,000 CZK per year, the most expensive — involving big animals —can reach 20,000 CZK. Adoption doesn’t mean you get to take the animal home, we still get that question sometimes. It’s purely symbolic: your money goes toward the animal’s care. Some animals have many sponsors — capybaras are incredibly popular. Others have fewer. We also have QR codes on enclosures so people can send any amount starting from 50 crowns. And we’ve created something called ‘adoption puzzles’ — for people who want to contribute but can’t afford 20,000 CZK to sponsor a tiger or giraffe. Each puzzle piece costs 200 CZK, and helps co-sponsor a given animal for a year.”
Jihlava Zoo organizes many special events – mainly targeted to children. However, for devoted animal lovers it is even willing to organize a wedding ceremony.
“Yes, that’s possible — and some couples take advantage of it. It’s not hugely popular, but weddings do take place here. However, we can only host the wedding ceremony proper. So couples get married here, take a few photos, and move somewhere else for the celebration. You do have to be a bit of an exhibitionist — because the zoo remains open to the public, and visitors walk by during the ceremony. That’s not for everyone. But some animal lovers really enjoy tying the knot in this setting.”
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