In the Jihlava Zoo, a tropical pavilion for reptiles has begun construction

Jihlava - Workers have begun constructing a large tropical pavilion in the Jihlava Zoo, which will be primarily dedicated to reptiles. This is the final part of a European project called Zoo of Five Continents, with total costs around 135 million crowns. The pavilion, reminiscent of a jungle, will be the largest and most expensive of the new structures. It is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The public should be able to visit it in 2015, said the zoo director Eliška Kubíková today to ČTK. According to city data, approximately two-thirds of the planned investments have been completed in the zoo so far.
According to the director, the newly opened exhibits have received a good response. "Visitor numbers at other similar facilities have generally decreased this year, while ours has slightly increased. We attribute this to the public's response to our new exhibits and attractions," she stated. In July alone, 69,600 people passed through the zoo gates, a record number for this month in its more than fifty-year history.
The reptile pavilion, featuring a flowing river, massive tree trunks, and a waterfall, will create the impression of a rainforest. It will house, for example, three species of large crocodiles. "There will also be a part of a plane wreck overgrown with vegetation," architect Jaroslav Huňáček revealed. The skin of the reptiles will be echoed by the building's cloak covered in brass plates.
Construction of exhibits representing five continents began two years ago. Since this spring, visitors can explore the new Australian Farm. This was followed by the opening of the African Savanna exhibit, which allowed the zoo to introduce giraffe breeding. The stables for hoofed animals with enclosures and the hyena exhibit, where the first female spotted hyena is settling in, are also complete. "The exhibit of African primates, i.e., monkeys, is finished and already fully operational," added the director to the list.
In the lower part of the area, workers are currently completing the Asia exhibit, which will also house gibbons, the zoo's emblematic animals. According to Huňáček, construction in these areas has been complicated due to problematic subsoil. The aviaries are still missing in this pavilion, so the gibbons are temporarily living in the African exhibit.