Despite a difficult year due to the coronavirus, Brno Zoo had a record number of visitors in the summer and a higher interest in animal adoptions and experience programs, resulting in a huge increase in revenue compared to 2019. The zoo has also announced the first cub of the year, a wallaby joey! Photo credit: KB / BD.
Brno, Jan 23 (BD) – Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the zoo was closed to visitors for nearly four months last year. However, the zoo recorded the highest attendance in its history last summer, and growing interest in animal adoption and experience programs.
‘‘In 2020, Brno Zoo was visited by a total of 263,479 people, a decrease compared to 2019, when 331,298 came. However, in July, August and September alone, a total of 157,453 visitors came to the zoo,’’ said Brno Zoo’s Monika Brindzáková.
The number of adoptions increased significantly, from 518 adoptions in 2019, raising CZK 1,453,000, to 953 adoptions in 2020, raising a total of CZK 2,969,000. The average donation grew from CZK 2,704 to CZK 3,076. Experience programs also grew in popularity last year; proceeds last year were CZK 96,000 more than in 2019, even though the zoo was only open for eight months.
Among the most popular animals to be adopted were arctic wolves, meerkats and red pandas.
The First Cub of 2021 is Out and About: A Baby Wallaby
The yellow-footed rock-wallaby joey, born at the end of last year, is already out of its mother’s pouch and hopping around the enclosure. Brno Zoo is the only zoo in the Czech Republic which breeds this species. This small Australian marsupial (Petrogale xanthopus) is known for its unique colouring, and is considered “almost endangered” according to the IUCN Red List.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”293″ gal_title=”Brno Zoo wallaby Joey”]Photo credit: Brno Zoo Archive.
What Can Visitors Look Forward to in 2021?
Brno Zoo is preparing several new attractions this year. Visitors can look forward to new species in the coming months, including a reticulated giraffe to arrive in the Spring, a European moose, a Przewalski’s horse and an exhibition of common vipers. After negotiations with the Batu Secret Zoo in Indonesia, Brno Zoo will acquire a pair of Sumatran tigers in autumn, in exchange for two snow leopards.
Check out the animals!
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”294″ gal_title=”Zoo Brno BD photos”]Photo credit: Kim Bingel / BD.
