Prague Zoo opens 94th season with laying of foundation stone for Arctic Pavilion

Prague Zoo officially kicked off its 94th season on Saturday with the laying of the foundation stone for its new Arctic exhibit complex, with zoo director Miroslav Bobek and Prague city officials in attendance. The new pavilion will feature three enclosures for polar bears, as well as two additional enclosures for harbour seals. The project, which is expected to cost CZK 775 million, should be completed in about three years.

The Arctic Pavilion aims to improve the bears' living conditions and support ongoing breeding efforts. Prague Zoo has been breeding the species since 1932, and ten years later, it became the first zoo in the world to successfully achieve artificial breeding of polar bears.

As part of the season’s opening, the zoo also introduced the critically endangered tree lobster, a giant stick insect.