In the Ohrada Zoo, new pavilions will begin to be built for 45 million

Hluboká nad Vltavou (Českobudějovicko) - A new construction of additional pavilions will begin this year at the Ohrada Zoo in Hluboká nad Vltavou for nearly 45 million crowns. Exhibits of large predators, fauna from mountainous regions, steppes, and South Bohemian wetlands, along with aviaries for birds of prey, will be completed next year. The EU will contribute approximately 32 million crowns to the project, said the garden's director Vladimír Pokorný today to ČTK.
    "Tigers, bears, eagles, and other animals will have new accommodations in the area between the existing aviaries and the restaurant building. Essentially, this will cover the last available space, completing the premises according to the approved concept," he specified.
    Construction work should impact visitor routes less than the pavilions completed last year. Nearby at the entrance, an African village featuring typical round huts with dense thatched roofs was established in September. Among others, ring-tailed lemurs, desert cats, land tortoises, antelopes have made their new home there, and Nile crocodiles will also be added.
    Next to the African village, the second, South American pavilion was also completed. The new exhibits occupied a relatively significant part of the old section of the garden, which previously housed mouflons and small carnivores and had an old pond. Demolitions preceded the construction.
    Last year, construction work and weather negatively affected the zoo's attendance. Although it still ranks among the most attractive tourist destinations in the South Bohemia region, the number of people visiting the zoo has been declining for several years. Last year, 195,998 paying visitors passed through its gates, which is 25,593 fewer than the previous year. A more significant drop was recorded in 2008, with a year-on-year decrease of more than 42,000. The director believes that there will be a turnaround for the better next year. The new, architecturally successful exhibits could attract more visitors.