The largest new pavilion in the Jihlava Zoo will be completed in July

Jihlava - At the Jihlava Zoo, workers are finishing the tropical pavilion. Its atypical shape, covered with copper sheets on the outside, resembles the body and scaly skin of a giant reptile. It is the last and largest construction from the major European project Zoo of the Five Continents, costing 135 million crowns. The pavilion will be completed in July, and its opening to the public is planned for the end of the year, zoo spokesperson Martin Maláč said today to ČTK.
    The cost of the tropical pavilion is 36 million crowns. "It is full of various technologies and filters because it will mainly house reptiles," the spokesperson stated. The interior will resemble a rainforest. Models of massive tree trunks have already been built, "growing" through the two-story pavilion from the ground floor to the roof, a place for a waterfall has been prepared, and a suspension bridge will allow views into pools with several species of crocodiles, turtles, and other animals.
    The pavilion will feature around 100 species of animals, including insects. Some of them will be newly kept by the Jihlava Zoo, for example, large anacondas. "There will be around 70 smaller terrariums and several large pools, some terrariums will be multi-species," Maláč stated. Animals from the old tropical pavilion will also return. "Right now we have them housed in other zoos," the spokesperson said. Among them is a thirty-year-old pair of spectacled caimans.
    The Zoo of the Five Continents project has been underway by builders at the zoo for the fifth year. Several new pavilions and enclosures have been added, which have expanded the collection of kept exotic animals. Visitors can now see over 200 species, with caretakers caring for approximately 1,050 individuals. The zoo, located in the valley of the Jihlávka stream, is the most sought-after tourist destination in the Vysočina region, with a record number of 285,558 visitors passing through its gates last year. The garden belongs to the city.