Brno’s Lion Cubs 2_2018_web.pdf · the fact that Lolek was born in Gdansk, while Kivu was born in Portugal and came to Brno Zoo from Ústí nad Labem. After they sized one another

the magazine for friends of the Brno ZooNo. 2

august 2018

Brno’s Lion Cubs

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Content

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august 2018No. 2/18, volume XXpublisher four times per yearMK ČR E 17723

Editor:Brno Zoo and Environmental Education Centre, semi-budgetary organizationU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech RepublicIČ: 00101451tel.: +420 546 432 311fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Publisher:Moravian Museum Zelný trh 6, 659 37 BrnoCzech RepublicIČO: 00094862

Editor’s office addresZoo Brno a stanice zájmových činností, p. o.redakce ZooreportuU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech Republictel.: +420 546 432 370fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Editorial board:Ing. et Mgr. Lenka Blažejovská, Mgr. JanaGalová (children’s supplement), Bc. JanaHadová, MVDr. Martin Hovorka, Ph.D. (chairmanof editorial board), doc. MVDr. Jiří Klimeš, CSc.,RNDr. Bohumil Král, CSc. (specialist reader),Ing. Miroslava Piškulová, Bc. Eduard Stuchlík(editor manager), doc. Ing. Josef Suchomel,Ph.D., Mgr. Michal Vaňáč.

Emendation:Rosalind Miranda

Distribution:400 pcs in the English version1,600 pcs in the Czech version

The author of non-attributed texts and photos is:Bc. Eduard Stuchlík

First page: Brno Lion Cubs (Panthera leobleyenberghi) Anoona a Akashinga. Photo by Eduard Stuchlík

UNSALEABLE

the magazin for friends of the Brno Zoo

www.zoobrno.cz ZooReport 19

‘For the second year, the Eurasian ho-opoes returned to the same artificialnesting cavity. This couple even raisedfive young birds. Every repeated naturalnesting of the hoopoe in one place ona longer timescale is a huge success,’ saidzoologist Petr Šrámek.

The Eurasian hoopoe is a strict mi-gratory bird, which spends winter inAfrica. On its several hundred-kilome-tre long migration route, it encountersmany dangers, including temperaturefluctuations, limited food sources, therisk of predation, as well as unlawfulkilling by people, which typically hap-pens not only in Italy, Malta, but alsoCyprus, Lebanon and in other Mediter-ranean countries.

Small birds are caught in nets or onsticky traps, while the larger ones or

those migrating in flocks are shotdown together. In some countries, thebirds are killed and used in the prepa-ration of traditional dishes, and else-where, they killed as a sport. Everyyear, thousands of birds die on theirjourney from Africa to Europe andnever return back.

‘Traditional endangered bird speciesinclude, for example, European TurtleDoves and Common Quails, whose sys-tematic shooting has led to a sharp de-cline in wildlife populations. In addi-tion, orioles, bee-eaters, cuckoos,rollers, buntings and larger species in-clude birds of prey, cranes, or pelicansare also killed. Social network sitescarry photos of dozens of harvested shotbirds; hunters show them off as tro-phies. According to Birdlife Interna-

tional, in the Mediterranean, about 25million birds perish every year,’ said PetrSuvorov, the Curator of Bird-Breedingat Brno Zoo.

The project to protect the Eurasianhoopoe was launched by Brno Zoo twoyears ago. Its aim is to strengthen thepopulation of this species by ensuringthe management of food sites and in-creasing the number of nesting oppor-tunities. The Eurasian hoopoe inhabitsthe open countryside, pastures andmeadows with occasional groups ofgrown trees or even thin forests thatgive them the necessary cavities fornesting.

Through field monitoring, we haveselected five areas where we haveplaced special nesting boxes. We alsomonitor these areas closely. In these lo-cations, a total of 15 nesting birdschecked in twice during the season thatthe boxes were placed. Last year, onecouple raised four young birds. Thisyear the same couple returned to thesame nesting box and raised five youngbirds.

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Helping Hoopoes.A Special Box Hiding a TreasureThe project for the protection of Eurasian hoopoes in southern Moravia, whichwas started by Brno Zoo two years ago, has been a great success. This year, too,a couple of hoopoes have nestled in one of the boxes and have given birth toyoung ones. The breeding is very valuable because these particular birds havemanaged to escape all the traps in the Mediterranean region and came back hereto strengthen their own population.

A hoopoe in an open landscape. Photo: Petr Suvorov

04 Young AnimalsThe Story of Brno Zoo’s Lion Cubs

14 EAZA CampaignChildren Sang for Songbirds

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16 Station for Handicapped AnimalsAnnual Activities

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17 SEV HlídkaNew Clubs for Children

16 Anoona and AkashingaLion Cubs Must Not Be Missed

19 Nature Protection Helping Hoopoes

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Kura KuraOne Crown from the Entrance Fee

Unique FishArchers of the Fish World Master a Special Way of Hunting

African VillageBlesboks Have Joined the Giraffesand Zebras

New in the ExotariumMudskippers Use both their Gills and Skin to Breathe


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Editorial s

The other section of the magazine fo-cuses on new events at the Exotarium.One of the aquariums is home toa unique species of fish that hunts byspitting out jets of water. Bandedarcherfish are very interesting crea-tures, and we will give you more detailsand explain exactly what is specialabout them. They inhabit the exposi-tion with the mudskippers. Mudskip-pers attract attention primarily becausethey can spend long hours outside theaquatic environment. Pectoral fins con-nected to their body by strong musclesallow them to move on land, and theycan also jump with the aid of their tail.

And there is more! Recently, wemade significant contributions towardsthe Silent Forest campaign, which waslaunched by the European Associationof Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). Ourefforts were well supported by the stu-dents of the Faculty of Business andEconomics of Mendel University inBrno, and we thank them once again.

Every ZooReport contains updatesfrom SEV Hlídka and the Station for

Handicapped Animals in Jinačovice,and this issue is no exception. Thistime we will tell you not only about theanimals that were saved last year by thestation workers, but also about SEVHlídka’s future plans.

We are very pleased with our rescueefforts for sea turtles in Indonesia. Asyou may know, a year ago we openeda rescue centre on Nusa Penida Is-land. In this issue, we will introduceyou to the individual turtles we havehelped. We firmly believe that theirnumbers will increase in the future.

In addition to helping abroad, weare also dedicated to the protection ofanimals in the Czech Republic. Onpage 19, you will learn about our ef-forts to strengthen the population of

EDITORIAL

Eurasian hoopoes in southernMoravia. This year we were lucky, andfound chicks in a special nesting box.

To all the supporters of Brno Zoo,I wish you a pleasant read and a greatrest of the summer!

Mgr. Michal VaňáčHead of External Relations

Dear Readers,

This summer issue of ZooReportfocuses on two topics. In the lastissue, we spoke about our new-born lion cubs. This time we willfocus on what happened beforetheir successful breeding, and howmuch work the zoo staff put in sothat all the zoo visitors could enjoywatching these little rascals.

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Choosing the right breeding couple is abig experiment, and it is preceded by agreat deal of work, countless emails,phone calls, a lot of travel, and, last butnot least, good luck, which was on BrnoZoo’s side this time.

Neither of the lions complained aboutthe fact that Lolek was born in Gdansk,while Kivu was born in Portugal andcame to Brno Zoo from Ústí nad Labem.After they sized one another up by snif-fing through the contact grid and thenclarified their respective positions, wecould see that their mutual sympathy cle-arly outweighed their awkwardness.

“The coupling of big cats is a very riskybusiness,” explained Dorothea Gremli-cová, the curator of mammalian breeding.“Although Kivu and Lolek behavedexactly as expected, we were not sure ifeverything was going well. Soon afterbeing put together, the couple mated. Themating of lions is very intense, continuingfor several days. Even though the courts-hip was successful, we were still far fromwinning. It was Kivu’s first experience

with childbirth and child care: She had tolearn everything. However, it was extre-mely satisfying to know that Kivu andLolek had successfully mated and thatthey could have cubs.”

The first breeding of lion cubs is gene-rally difficult and often unsuccessful, butthe females have no option other than tolearn to become good mothers all bythemselves. Therefore, the keepers didnot interfere with the breeding, but pro-vided the lioness with the most suitableconditions and gave her the peace andquiet she needed to concentrate on heryoungsters. Kivu turned out to be a greatmother. The cubs were born on Decem-ber 29, 2017, the first one at 19:53, and

Young Animals

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The Story of Brno’s Lion CubsDuring these months last year in Brno Zoo, we were gearing up fora big event: the arrival of two lions.

Photo: Eduard Stuchlík


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the second at 23:55. From the first mo-ment, Kivu began to care for them verycarefully, and she has not stopped.

Lolek was not left out. At first, the ani-mal care staff left the cubs only with theirmother. The entire family met a few weekslater. “Even wild lions behave similarly, thefemales giving birth in dense forest coverand introducing them when they’re

first veterinary examination. The suppor-ters of Brno Zoo chose a beautiful namefor the female cub – Anoona, which inShona (one of the Zimbabwean nativelanguages) means “God Sees.” The personwho named the male cub was its godfa-ther, the successful former tennis playerRadek Štěpánek. He chose the nameAkashing.

“It means brave and, at the same time,it is the name of a special female anti-poaching unit. I hope my godson willprove to be a brave lion and that he willdo well. Being his godfather is a great ho-nour to me because the lion is the beastthat has accompanied me throughout mycareer,” said Štěpánek.

By the way, we are very lucky to havelion cubs at Monk’s mountain after a 25-year-long wait. And, as you know fromZooReport’s previous issue, this was de-finitely not the only good news at the endof last year. About a month before the lioncubs were born, cubs were born to ourCeylon leopards, marking the end of 17years of waiting.

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ready,” said Gremlicová. When Kivu wasreunited with Lolek, she made it clear thather priority was to protect her youngsters.As it turned out, Lolek had no troublewith this, and soon accepted the cubs evenwhen they decided to convert the tassel atthe end of his tail into their favourite toy.

The sex of Kivu’s cubs – one male andone female – was determined during the



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Anoona and Akashinga


A small hill in the uppermost part of theenclosure near the entrance of the Afri-can Village has become the lions’ favou-rite resting place. The curious cubs some-times come up to the fencing to take

a closer look at the enthusiastic visitors,from whom they are separated by a “noman’s land.” This is a one-metre-wide areaadjacent to the exposure which is inacces-sible to visitors. Once, when someone ac-

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Since mid-April this year, the lion cubs have been walking about in the exposition enc-losure along with their mother, Kivu. Their father, Lolek, is always somewhere nearby.Thus, visitors to the zoo have often been able to catch the entire lion family together.

The Lion Cubs Must Not BeMissed. Anoona and Akashingin the outdoor exposition

The fruit tree broken by the storm is the lions’ favourite hiding and resting place. Photo: Eduard Stuchlík

cidentally stepped into this area, Kivu im-mediately began to defend her youngstersand sharply attacked the fencing.

The lions, of course, use the entire enc-losure and explore its various hideaways.They seem to prefer a place that looks likean artificial decoration but is actuallya spot that had been damaged by StormHerwart. Last October, that storm de-stroyed more than a million cubic metresof trees in the Czech Republic, especiallyin spruce monoculture. A fruit tree in thenew unfinished lion enclosure becamea victim of the storm. Along with thischerry tree, oaks and elms were part of theoriginal forest cover on Monk’s Mountain.The storm snapped this tree’s half-metre-thick trunk at a height of about one anda half metres above the ground, and itscrown fell to the earth. However, thecrown’s connection with its root systemmust not have been completely severedbecause the fallen half was blooming inthe spring and sprouting new leaves. It islike a thicket that the lions use as a hidingplace. And the youngsters walk on the bighorizontal trunk, which allows thema better view of the surroundings.

This June, when the leopard twins, whohad been born in our zoo in November2017, were already nearly as big as theirparents, the lioness Kivu was still beingaccompanied by her playful growing cubs.

Bc. Eduard Stuchlík

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The broken trunk of the tree allows the lion cubs to walk on it. Photo: Eduard Stuchlík

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African Village


Our male blesboks, Makalo and Mel,who are half-brothers, having differentmothers but the same father, arrived inAugust 2016 from Liberec Zoo, wherethey were born in January 2015. The fe-male, Amali, born in June 2014 inMagdeburg Zoo, Germany, arrived inBrno last September from the Germansafari park Hodenhagen.

Blesboks (Bovidae artiodactyls sub-family Alcelaphinae) are one of twosubspecies of bonteboks (Damaliscuspygargus). They typically stand 85–100 cm high, with a body length of 140–160 cm. Males can weigh up to 80 kg(females are lighter), and their lifespancan reach 17 years. Females give birthto a single calf per breeding season.Both sexes have horns which are lyre-shaped, clearly ringed, and slightlycurved. A male’s horns can grow to50 cm. Their body is brown witha lighter coloured saddle on the backand a significant white blaze on the face.Their legs are brown with a white patchbehind the top part of the front legs.

Blesboks were originally found in theopen veldts or plains of South Africaand Lesotho. The altitude of the SouthAfrican Central Plate is generally be-tween 1,200 and 1,800 metres. The localbiotope, with a subtropical to moderateclimate, is covered with grasses, and

a woody cover can occupy a maximumof 10% of the area. Relatively frequentfires there are caused by lightning strik-ing dry vegetation. Blesboks eat shortgrasses, favouring the newly growngrass that appears after a burn.

The daily activity of these antelopestypically has two peaks – in the morn-ing and in the evening. They last out themidday heat in a standing position withthe axis of its body oriented north-south, and its head toward the sun andinclined to the ground. The males formterritories marked with heaps of dungand secretions from supra-glandularglands. Mature males face down othermales in displays and occasionally com-bat. Within their territory, males matewith multiple females. A typical herdwill have about 20 members, and con-

sists of these females and their calves,although the harem of one male cansometimes have up to 25 females. Ifthere are adequate grazing opportuni-ties available in the territory, the malecan remain there all year round.

The subspecies bontebok (Damalis-cus pygargus pygargus) developed ina different environment in the low-lying coastal areas south of CapeMountain, in the southernmost part ofthe continent. These bonteboks used toeat the fynbos vegetation known for its

The Safari multicultural enclosure, which is part of the African village, isdominated by large-hoofed animals such as the reticulated giraffe (Gi-raffa camelopardalis reticulata) and Chapman’s zebra (Equus quaggachapmani). Visitors to Brno Zoo, however, can now also see a new spe-cies of antelope there, the blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi).

A New Kind of Antelope Has Settledin the Safari Enclosure

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The rows of large boulders, which cannot becrossed by the hoofed animals, give the bles-boks space for quiet grazing.


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African Village

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exceptional degree of biodiversity. Thenearest distance between the bound-aries where the two subspecies couldoriginally be found is approximately300 km. The fate of bonteboks was sim-ilar to that of blesboks after white set-tlers arrived in South Africa: Duringthe 19th century, European immigrantskilled these antelopes almost to extinc-tion, as they were a popular quarry forhunters because of their meat and skin.

Fortunately, some farmers under-stood the economic potential of thespecies and began to farm them. In the20th century, when wildlife reserveswere created in South Africa, severaldozens of wild bontebok were protectedthere. As they were also protected infarms and national parks, the specieshas proliferated and spread outside itsoriginal habitat to, for example,Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.The vast majority of blesboks currentlylive on farms and in national parks,with current estimated blesbok num-bers varying from 77,000 to 240,000.

Blesboks provide delicious meat, theirskin is valuable, and game parks offertrophy hunting packages. Farmers alsosell live blesboks for grazing or farming.For this reason, farmers created naturalcolour variant breeds (white or yellow).Blesboks have become a model animalthat has been saved because of its eco-nomic value. This does bring new risksand new threats, though. The newbreeds have led to a decline in geneticdiversity; and, more importantly, farm-ers have crossbred blesboks with bonte-

The herd of Chapman’s zebras is walkingaround the lake in the Safari enclosure. In thebackground are a couple of blesboks.


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A couple of blesboks, with the female on theright. The corners of the male’s horns are stron-ger and more clearly ringed.


boks so much that about a third of theblesbok population has been crossbred.The danger of these crossbreeds escap-ing into the reservations remains. Thespecies has been saved, but the geneticfuture of the original irreplaceable sub-species is uncertain.



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Unique Fish


The genus Toxotes includes sevenspecies, all of which are capable ofshooting a concentrated stream of wateron their prey. These fish, equipped withseveral unique adaptations, predomi-nantly feed on insects present in the veg-etation above the water surface. Using athin stream of water sprayed out of theirmouth, they reach small prey at exactlythe distance of 1.5 m. The insects thenfall onto the water surface, where theycan then be caught by the archerfish. Thefish can also catch nearby prey by jump-ing to a height of up to 30 cm. However,jumping is more energy intensive, so

archerfish prefer to knock them downwith sprayed water. Although differentkinds of insects comprise up to 90% oftheir food, archerfish are omnivores.They also eat parts of plants, such asbuds that have fallen on the water sur-face; and they hunt within the water aswell, eating small fish or crustaceans.

Two cavities are involved in the for-mation of the concentrated stream ofwater, the gills and the mouth. Bandedarcherfish collect water through their gillslits; the opercula then close quickly,pressurizing the water along the formedtube. The jet of water is shot by raising

the tongue, which grows from the lowerjaw, against the roof of the mouth toform an elongated groove which termi-nates in a small aperture. The pres-surised water in the groove has an effectsimilar to a rifle barrel or a syringe.

When the archerfish spots its prey, it ap-proaches it as closely as possible andpushes its mouth slightly above the surfaceof the water so the “shot” does not have toovercome water resistance. Before shoot-ing, the fish assumes the optimal body po-sition to hit the prey, as the body axis of thefish and the sprayed water stream alwayshave the same angle (about 30°).

This hunting technique is also relatedto vision adaptation. Archerfish havelarge eyes which, unlike many otherfishes, are positioned for binocular vi-sion. This enables them to render a two-dimensional image into a three-dimen-sional one, enabling them to betterperceive their surroundings and estimatethe size and distance of the prey. The spe-cific curvature of the ophthalmic lenslends the ability to focus the object fromthe water to the air at a certain angle soas to eliminate the refraction of lightpassing through the two optical environ-ments. A large part of the retina is re-served for the treatment of such stimuli,and adult archerfish usually succeed in

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The banded archerfish (Toxotes jaculatrix), a medium-sized fish from the Asian trop-ics, was previously bred in Brno Zoo for a short period of time. Now they are kept ina newly modified tank that is only partially filled with water. A mangrove trunk abovethe water surface helps demonstrate the special hunting method used by archerfish,which are also known as the archers of the fish world, as they are able to shoot witha high degree of accuracy. (The ancient Greek word toxotes means “archer”.)

Archers of the Fish WorldHave Mastered a SpecialWay of Hunting


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Unique Fish


hitting their target on the first attempt.Archerfish live and hunt in groups, andyoungsters learn the art of accurateshooting by watching older individuals.

The body of the banded archerfish isgenerally silver-white with four or fivebroad black triangular bars present on thedorsal side. They can reach a maximumlength of 40 cm, though individuals in anaquarium tend to be smaller, only up to25 cm. It is very difficult to distinguishmales from females. The natural biotopeof the banded archerfish is in shallowshoals, mostly with mangrove estuaries,in the area between India and the PacificIslands and northern Australia. However,they can also be seen in the open sea orin inland rivers, lakes, and irrigationcanals, since they can live in brackish, sea,and sweet water. Water with mild salinityis recommended for breeding. They huntmostly during high tide, when the ele-vated sea level can take them closer to theinsects on surrounding branches.

In Asia, archerfish are sometimes con-sumed by humans. It is rare to breed thisfish in captivity, so the market is gener-ally supplied by fisheries in SoutheastAsia and by imports from nature. Thenumbers of wild populations are notknown. We do not even know the extentto which they are affected by fishing. TheWorld Organization for Conservation ofNature (IUCN) classifies the banded

archerfish as less vulnerable (LC cate-gory).

The tank in our zoo also hosts seven-spot archerfish (Toxotes chatareus),which cohabitate with our bandedarcherfish. Among the Czech and SlovakZoos, Brno Zoo is the only one with thisspecies. The archerfish aquarium in theExotarium pavilion also contains dryland, where a group of fish that spendmuch of their time out of the water, theAtlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmusbarbarus), can be found.


A popular biotope of archerfish is around theroots of mangrove.t

The body axis and sprayed water stream al-ways have the same angle of about 30°.

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p The archerfish shooting crickets which are climbing the mangrove trunk.


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New in the Exotarium


Three individuals, two males and one fe-male, live in the Exotarium pavilion to-gether with the previously described archer-fish. Artificial dry land was installed in thearcherfish aquarium for the mudskippers.

The mudskippers are interesting prima-rily because they can spend long hoursoutside the aquatic environment. Theirpectoral fins, which are connected to theirbody by strong muscles, allow them tomove on land, and they can also jump withthe help of their tail. They have large, close-

set, movable eyes well adapted to visionboth in water and air, with rotating orbitswhich allow good orientation. They canoften be seen with their body immersed inmuddy water, out of which their eyes pro-trude. They primarily use their gills tobreathe, but have other modes of breath-ing, as well. When moving on land, theycan absorb oxygen from the air throughtheir skin! An important adaptation intheir respiratory system is their enlargedgill chambers, which retain a bubble of air

before the mudskippers climb out onto theland. This prevents their gills from dryingout. These unusual adaptations haveevolved as a result of fluctuations in waterlevels during low and high tides.

Atlantic mudskippers grow up to a lengthof 25 cm. Their elongated bodies are slightlycompressed on the sides and cylindrical atthe front. They can be grey-blue or brownishin colour, with a speckled pattern. Sexual di-morphism is difficult to distinguish. Mud-skippers have a lifespan of about 8 years.They lay eggs at depths of up to 1 meter, andthe entrance of the egg-laying chambers al-lows air to be stored inside. Breeding mud-skippers in captivity is difficult. The largestand probably most successful breeder isBurgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands,where they are kept in a special pavilion foranimals living in mangroves.

These fish are found in brackish wateralong the West African coast from Senegalto Angola. They particularly favour shallowestuaries with thick mangrove vegetation. Athigh tide, they live in the brackish water; butat low tide, they sink to the muddy bottomor move to rocky roots of the mangrove, orto stones or sand. Both in water and on land,they hunt insect larvae, small fry, and smallcrustaceans.


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The genus Periophthalmus, belonging to the Gobiidae family, contains 18species, and its habitat includes coasts with mangroves in the tropics of Africa,Asia, and Australia; but the only species which inhabits the Atlantic shores ofAfrica is the Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus). Life at the interfaceof two different environments – water and land – is typical for Atlantic mud-skippers. These fish are unique not only because of their special anatomical fea-tures but also their unusual behaviour.

Mudskippers AlsoUse Their Skin toBreathe

Atlantic mudskippers have elongated bodies slightly compressed on the sidesand cylindrical at the front. They can be grey-blue or brownish in colour, witha speckled pattern. Photo: Eduard Stuchlík

Strong dorsal fins allow the mudskippers to move on land. Photo: Eduard Stuchlík


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Convenience for Our Visitors


“Visitors will no longer have to walk back thefew hundred yards from Kníničky to themain entrance. They can now buy their tick-ets in the parking area and enter the zoo rightacross the road near Beringie,” explainedMartin Hovorka, Brno Zoo’s director.

The temporary cash register is located ina wooden sales stand which previously had

been the office of the Brno University ofTechnology (BUT). After purchasing thetickets, visitors just have to cross OndrováStreet and walk to the seasonal entrance,which is located at the gas station near therear of Brno Zoo. There are two turnstilesplus a gate for visitors with prams. From thatentrance, there is a paved path and a woodenfootbridge leading to the polar fox exhibits.

At the temporary ticket register, bothbasic entrance tickets and transferable tick-ets can be purchased, but we also acceptnon-transferable tickets. Payment can bemade only in cash.

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ZADARAX?

We Have a New Seasonal Entry Point“It is a temporary but comfortable en-

trance,” added Hovorka. “We hope to easethe load on the main cash registers and, atthe same time, access to Brno Zoo will bemore convenient and faster for all our vis-itors.”

The seasonal entrance is open every dayuntil the end of August, on weekends inSeptember, and on public holidays. Ticketscan be bought from 9 am to 5 pm.

Since Monday 2 July 2018, Brno Zoohas had a new seasonal entry pointat the Kníničky parking area. We ope-ned this entrance mainly because it ismore convenient for visitors.


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EAZA Campaign


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The awareness campaign launched by the European Association of Zoos and Aquar-iums (EAZA) has highlighted the decline and extinction of bird species in the tropicalrainforests of Southeast Asia. The campaign is titled “Silent Forest – Asian SongbirdCrisis.” As in previous EAZA campaigns, Czech Zoological Gardens have also beeninvolved by, among other things, organising a singing competition,. At Brno Zoo,the competition culminated during the Earth Day celebrations on 21 April 2018.

When Children Sangfor Songbirds

Every day, a vast number of songbirds dis-appear from the forests of Southeast Asia,as they are a profitable poaching com-modity. The high demand affects hun-dreds of bird species and millions of indi-viduals annually in the region. The mostwanted among the birds have already dis-appeared from many places and are onthe verge of extinction. The crisis in thatpart of the world is deeply rooted in thetradition of keeping songbirds as pets.The more songbirds a local person keeps,the greater is the prestige he or she ac-quires in their neighbourhood. And it isnot just about keeping them as pets. Themassive decline of songbirds can also beattributed to their involvement in popularsinging competitions, through whichmany families have the opportunity tomake extra money. The breeding of birdshas thus been transformed into a sportwhich supports a massive industry thatencourages not only poachers and ven-dors but also the producers and suppliersof cages, food, and accessories. Althoughthere are many legal bird breeders in In-donesia, there are still alarming numbersof poachers and traffickers who deal in il-legal wildlife, including songbirds. Manyof the birds, sadly, do not survive for morethan a few days in the small cages inwhich they are kept after being captured.

The Czech Zoological Gardens, whichorganised children’s literary and art com-petitions during previous EAZA cam-paigns, held a singing competition thistime. The rules of the competition werequite strict. Pupils had to write Czechlyrics to match a melody composed atChester Zoo in the UK for this campaign.They also had to practice the song, recordtheir joint efforts, and share it. The organ-isers of the South Moravian round of thecompetition (students of the Faculty ofBusiness and Economics at Mendel Uni-versity together with Brno Zoo) were cu-rious about how many brave childrencould handle this challenging task.

In the whole South Moravian region,only three singing teams managed to ac-complish this, but their work was extraor-dinary. The participants were thirdgraders from an elementary school inBabice nad Svitavou, sixth graders froman elementary school on Vejrostova Streetin Brno, and 7th graders from an elemen-tary school in Slovanské nám. in Brno.The ceremonial announcement of the re-sults of the singing competition and theaward ceremony took place at Brno Zooon the occasion of their Earth Day cele-brations.

One of the critically endangered birds in Southeast Asia, the Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi),is bred in Brno Zoo.


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EAZA Campaign


“I was surprised by how much couragethe children had. They were not afraid ofspeaking into the microphone in front ofthe audience and of answering questionsfrom our camerawomen, VeronikaMatějková and Tereza Fogašová,” saidPetr Miklošík, a student of the Faculty ofBusiness and Economics at Mendel Uni-versity, who added: “From my point ofview, I enjoyed the organisation of thesinging competition. It was a very valu-able experience for me.” The afternoonprogram of our Earth Day celebrationswas supported by more students of theFaculty of Business and Economics atMendel University. They created fourcheckpoints along the competition path:at Tiger Rocks, the Haida Indian Cabin,the African Village, and the TropicalKingdom Pavilion. At each point, thechildren had to fulfil various tasks, foreach of which they received a stamp. Theyhad to pass at least three of the fourcheckpoints to be rewarded at the end.“The tasks were divided according to thechildren’s age so that no child felt that heor she could not manage them; or, in con-trast, that they were too easy or boring,”explained Martin Kutálek.

At the first checkpoint, the childrencompeted in a pairing game, colouredpictures of endangered Southeast Asiansongbirds, painted pictures, and separatedwaste. “ll this may seem banal, but lots ofparents were given useful informationabout waste separation,” adds Kutálková,further explaining: “For example, rolls of

toilet paper really belong to mixed wastelike medicine packaging or egg cartons.”At the second checkpoint, the childrenhad to crawl through a rope web withoutjingling the attached bells, or transport anegg on a spoon safely back into a nest. Thethird checkpoint, in the African Village,tested the senses: The children had to findout which animal was hidden in the boxusing only touch. The contestants alsoidentified animal pugmarks or matchedanimals with the correct continents. Themost interesting activity was the distinc-tion of animal sounds. The children hadno problem identifying the sounds made

Photo: Jana Galová.

Photo: Jana Kratochvílová.

by a lion or eagle; but, surprisingly, theyfound it difficult to identify those madeby sheep and goats. At the last check-point, the children could make theirown animal masks, which they thor-oughly enjoyed.

It was a pleasure to see the happysmiling faces of the children who hadbeen enriched by the experience whenthey were awarded the prizes, which in-cluded sweets, colouring books, puzzles,blocks, caps, and T-shirts. The weatherwas warm and the sun was shining al-most like it does in the summer. BrnoZoo welcomed 4,450 visitors on 21April 2018, and 220 children success-fully completed the competition.

We would like to thank the enthusi-astic contestants and their teachers, whosent us beautiful videos. We hope thatin-school and after-school singing shallcontinue, as will our forests.

EAZA aims to raise money for sixrescue projects in Southeast Asia, whichinvolve field surveys and the building ofrescue centres for the most endangeredspecies of songbirds. The general publicmay also join these rescue projects. Partof the campaign includes collectingbinoculars which will then be distrib-uted through educational programs tochildren in Asia to help them developan interest in the environment and itsprotection. People can drop off their old(but functional) binoculars at their localzoo. For more information, please visit:www.silentforest.eu

Students of PEF MENDELU


16

Station for Handicapped Animals

“In 2017, we provided assistance in 266cases involving 314 individuals belongingto 46 species of animals. The number of an-imals we received stabilised last year. Mostlywe received mammals, especially Europeanhedgehogs and common noctules, andbirds such as common blackbirds, commonkestrels and song thrushes. The station also

received nine specially protected species,one-third of which were bats,” explainedRadek Ficek, the head of the rescue station.

The animals, both youngsters and injuredones, are treated in Jinačovice mainly in threeways. About 15% are captured animals, ofwhich a tenth are weak. “About 50% of theanimals are later released, and most of the

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The Station for Handicapped Animals in Jinačovice has completed threeand a half years of its renewed existence. Its employees were busythroughout last year, rescuing and helping a total of 314 animals.

A Year in the Station forHandicapped Animals

The coal tit is another kind of small singer ac-cepted in the station. It was easily captured, asit was sitting on the ground. The bird was veryfrail, but soon after the biggest frost passed,we could let it go.t

This is how the burnt hedgehog recovered. He's still staying with us inJinačovice.

rest unfortunately die or must be put down.A small number are transferred to the careof another establishment, and about 5% ofthe animals stayed at the station until 2018,”added Ficek.

Work in a rescue station is not just aboutanimal care or capture. A large part of itconsists of educational activities and events.For example, the employees gave lectures atBrno Zoo during the spring and summercamps. An important event in 2017 wasfirefighter training for bat handling andcapture. And because the media is a part ofthe educational work, we broadcast our ac-tivity on the Czech TV show Sama doma.

Another opportunity to share our workwith the public was a travelling exhibitionof the SEV Hlídka in Špilberk called ‘Sto-ries of the Animals in the Station forHandicapped Animals.’ ‘We designed 15panels with texts in story form of individ-ual animals that had arrived at the station.These specific cases presented simple so-lutions to common problem situations.The stories were accompanied by photo-graphs, and contained tips to the public onwhat to do for the animals if they comeacross a similar situation. The exhibitionwas created with the financial assistance ofthe Ministry of the Environment of theCzech Republic,’ said Ficek.

This European hedgehog was brought here by two people from Slavkov.They found it at night on their way home from work. That day, their ne-ighbours had burned plant waste in the garden. At least one third of thehedgehog’s spines had been burnt. It was provided with medication, andit was able to take in food very slowly. If you are also planning to cleanyour garden, first look into the piles of leaves or shrubs to make surethere is no animal there. It takes only a few seconds to prevent such ter-rible events.



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SEV Hlídka


Educational programmes for schoolsare conducted in the morning; and inthe afternoons and on some weekends,other visitors are drawn to our widerange of educational events. Among themost popular are Harvest-Home(Dožínky), Potato Party (Bram-boriáda), Bringing Nature to Sleep (Us-pávání přírody), Advent, Christmas orEaster workshops, Blindman’s Holiday

(Černá hodinka), and a Shrovetide cel-ebration.

In this new school year, we plan to ex-pand our range of interest clubs to includechildren from five to twelve years of age.What can they choose from? The RolničkaClub is for children who like theatre,music, poetry, and singing. Older childrencan also work as actors in a fairy tale skitto be performed for friends and parents.

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SEV Hlídka, which is a part of Brno Zoo, has gained many satisfied visitors anda permanent clientele during the three years of its operation. We offer not onlyentertainment and relaxation for children and their parents at our maternitycentre, but also organise a variety of out-of-school and educational events.

Children can hone their artistic skills. Photo: SEV Hlídka

Children’s Clubs at Špilberk.Come and join SEV Hlídka

LETNÍVÝPRODEJ

Všechny slevy na

www.DATART.cz

Anyone interested in nature, whowants to know as much about it as possi-ble and wishes to care for animals, is wel-come to join in the nature-friendly club,Lišáček. There are plenty of games andactivities, visits to the zoo, and a numberof animals to care for at Hlídka: Majdaand Zajda Turtles, Leon Chameleon, Al-adin Agama, and several rabbits.

The Sedmikráska Club is perfect forcraft-loving children. We will introducethem to various art techniques so thatthey can make beautiful items from ce-ramics, beads, and natural materials.

The Pokustón Club is where childrencan experiment and learn – by trial andobservation – about the mysteries ofnatural sciences.

Those who have a sweet tooth willenjoy the Culinary Club, led by a profes-sional pastry cook. Children will learnto prepare savoury and sweet delicaciesthat look great and taste even better.

The last club is Svišti. Children partic-ipating in this club can look forward tosolving puzzles, playing board and out-door games, participating in treasurehunts, and enjoying other adventures.

SEV Hlídka is the environmental edu-cation centre at Brno Zoo located in anewly reconstructed building which ear-lier housed the magazine in ŠpilberkPark. The target group of the centre ismainly pre-school and early-school-agechildren, but our educational events arealso intended for the general public. Ourvisitors appreciate the beautiful sur-roundings of the historic building, ourfriendly and helpful staff, and our widerange of activities for children and adults.Come and see for yourself. More infor-mation is available on www.sevhlidka.cz.


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Kura Kura

www.facebook.com/KuraKura.Penida

One crown from the entrance fee paidby each visitor to the zoo will be givento this project, the main activity ofwhich is caring for wounded turtles orthose confiscated from smugglers. Themoney will be used to finance the op-erating expenses and building ofa training centre and accommodationfacilities for vets and property man-agers.

The rescue centre has been operatingsince 9 May 2017. In recent months,we’ve been able to save several turtles.One example is a Pacific ridley sea tur-tle (Lepidochelys olivacea) who wasnamed Rose by the vets. She is aboutone year old, and she was sent to ourcentre with inflamed nostrils whichwere full of pus, and a swollen head. Anexamination showed that she was suf-fering from a severe infection. Wecleaned her nostrils and regularly ad-ministered the necessary medication.Rose is now better, has a great appetite,and is recovering well.

We also saved and released a greensea turtle (Chelonia mydas) namedImma. She had a big fishing hook stuckin her mouth. We had to pull it outgently, and treat the wound by disin-fecting and rinsing it regularly. Afterabout two weeks of care, she was re-turned to the sea on the east coast ofBali, where she had been found.

The implementation of “Project KuraKura – Save the Turtles” took ten years,with Brno Zoo expanding the Euro-pean Association of Zoos and Aquari-ums (EAZA) campaign “Shellshock,”which was an initiative of Europeanzoos to help avert turtle extinction.

In 2017, a total of 308,112 visitorscame to Brno Zoo; and in the first sixmonths of 2018, we have had 168,988visitors.

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One Crown from the Entrance Fee Helps Rescue Turtles in Indonesia

The fishing hook was stuck in Imma’s mouth. Photo: Matteo Oliveri

Rose after the initial treatment.Photo: Eliza Jinata

Rose’s nostrils were full of pus (pictured beforethe treatment). Photo: Eliza Jinata

A detailed examination of the turtle which ourvets had named Imma. Photo: Matteo Oliveri

The international Kura Kura project, which allows Brno Zoo to rescuesea turtles in Indonesia, has received additional funding. The operationof the rehabilitation centre on Nusa Penida Island received support bythe “One Crown from the Entrance Fee” campaign.


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Content


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august 2018No. 2/18, volume XXpublisher four times per yearMK ČR E 17723

Editor:Brno Zoo and Environmental Education Centre, semi-budgetary organizationU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech RepublicIČ: 00101451tel.: +420 546 432 311fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Publisher:Moravian Museum Zelný trh 6, 659 37 BrnoCzech RepublicIČO: 00094862

Editor’s office addresZoo Brno a stanice zájmových činností, p. o.redakce ZooreportuU Zoologické zahrady 46, 635 00 Brno,Czech Republictel.: +420 546 432 370fax: +420 546 210 000e-mail: [email protected]

Editorial board:Ing. et Mgr. Lenka Blažejovská, Mgr. JanaGalová (children’s supplement), Bc. JanaHadová, MVDr. Martin Hovorka, Ph.D. (chairmanof editorial board), doc. MVDr. Jiří Klimeš, CSc.,RNDr. Bohumil Král, CSc. (specialist reader),Ing. Miroslava Piškulová, Bc. Eduard Stuchlík(editor manager), doc. Ing. Josef Suchomel,Ph.D., Mgr. Michal Vaňáč.

Emendation:Rosalind Miranda

Distribution:400 pcs in the English version1,600 pcs in the Czech version

The author of non-attributed texts and photos is:Bc. Eduard Stuchlík

First page: Brno Lion Cubs (Panthera leobleyenberghi) Anoona a Akashinga. Photo by Eduard Stuchlík

UNSALEABLE

the magazin for friends of the Brno Zoo

www.zoobrno.cz ZooReport 19

‘For the second year, the Eurasian ho-opoes returned to the same artificialnesting cavity. This couple even raisedfive young birds. Every repeated naturalnesting of the hoopoe in one place ona longer timescale is a huge success,’ saidzoologist Petr Šrámek.

The Eurasian hoopoe is a strict mi-gratory bird, which spends winter inAfrica. On its several hundred-kilome-tre long migration route, it encountersmany dangers, including temperaturefluctuations, limited food sources, therisk of predation, as well as unlawfulkilling by people, which typically hap-pens not only in Italy, Malta, but alsoCyprus, Lebanon and in other Mediter-ranean countries.

Small birds are caught in nets or onsticky traps, while the larger ones or

those migrating in flocks are shotdown together. In some countries, thebirds are killed and used in the prepa-ration of traditional dishes, and else-where, they killed as a sport. Everyyear, thousands of birds die on theirjourney from Africa to Europe andnever return back.

‘Traditional endangered bird speciesinclude, for example, European TurtleDoves and Common Quails, whose sys-tematic shooting has led to a sharp de-cline in wildlife populations. In addi-tion, orioles, bee-eaters, cuckoos,rollers, buntings and larger species in-clude birds of prey, cranes, or pelicansare also killed. Social network sitescarry photos of dozens of harvested shotbirds; hunters show them off as tro-phies. According to Birdlife Interna-

tional, in the Mediterranean, about 25million birds perish every year,’ said PetrSuvorov, the Curator of Bird-Breedingat Brno Zoo.

The project to protect the Eurasianhoopoe was launched by Brno Zoo twoyears ago. Its aim is to strengthen thepopulation of this species by ensuringthe management of food sites and in-creasing the number of nesting oppor-tunities. The Eurasian hoopoe inhabitsthe open countryside, pastures andmeadows with occasional groups ofgrown trees or even thin forests thatgive them the necessary cavities fornesting.

Through field monitoring, we haveselected five areas where we haveplaced special nesting boxes. We alsomonitor these areas closely. In these lo-cations, a total of 15 nesting birdschecked in twice during the season thatthe boxes were placed. Last year, onecouple raised four young birds. Thisyear the same couple returned to thesame nesting box and raised five youngbirds.

Nature Protection s

Helping Hoopoes.A Special Box Hiding a TreasureThe project for the protection of Eurasian hoopoes in southern Moravia, whichwas started by Brno Zoo two years ago, has been a great success. This year, too,a couple of hoopoes have nestled in one of the boxes and have given birth toyoung ones. The breeding is very valuable because these particular birds havemanaged to escape all the traps in the Mediterranean region and came back hereto strengthen their own population.

A hoopoe in an open landscape. Photo: Petr Suvorov

04 Young AnimalsThe Story of Brno Zoo’s Lion Cubs

14 EAZA CampaignChildren Sang for Songbirds

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16 Station for Handicapped AnimalsAnnual Activities

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17 SEV HlídkaNew Clubs for Children

16 Anoona and AkashingaLion Cubs Must Not Be Missed

19 Nature Protection Helping Hoopoes

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Kura KuraOne Crown from the Entrance Fee

Unique FishArchers of the Fish World Master a Special Way of Hunting

African VillageBlesboks Have Joined the Giraffesand Zebras

New in the ExotariumMudskippers Use both their Gills and Skin to Breathe


the magazine for friends of the Brno ZooNo. 2

august 2018

Brno’s Lion Cubs


Documents

Brno’s Lion Cubs 2_2018_web.pdf · the fact that Lolek was born in Gdansk, while Kivu was born in Portugal and came to Brno Zoo from Ústí nad Labem. After they sized one another