Prague Zoo has today ceremonially commenced the construction of a new gorilla pavilion

Prague - The Prague Zoo today officially commenced the construction of a new gorilla pavilion. They did so symbolically on the 28th birthday of the popular male gorilla Richard. The construction, costing nearly 210 million CZK excluding VAT, is expected to be completed within two years and will be located where the current enclosure for giraffes and other animals from the African savannah is situated. According to the project, the predominantly single-storey building should blend as much as possible with the surrounding environment.

"We have been talking about and fighting for the new gorilla pavilion for more than six years," stated the zoo director Miroslav Bobek. Relocating the gorillas was necessary because their current home is in a flood zone. "Therefore, we declared the need to construct a new pavilion in a location that will be completely safe from flooding," Bobek explained. The location was chosen by the zoo staff after the floods in 2013, but according to Bobek, the biggest delay in construction was due to the disagreement from the municipal district of Troja.

Gorillas are very popular among visitors, according to the director. "They are the ambassadors of the wild and of wild gorillas here in the heart of Europe," he stated. He reminded that because the zoo has gorillas in Prague, it can also help great apes in central Africa. Currently, there is an eight-member group of gorillas in the Prague Zoo, which is cared for by six people in rotation. Their popularity is also evidenced by the fact that people contributed nearly 36 million crowns to the new pavilion.

The new gorilla habitat will be more spacious, and the interior will, according to architect Petr Bouřil, resemble the natural home of animals from central Africa. From the outside, it will be inconspicuous with a green roof. "The motto of the design was that the best pavilion in a zoo is the one that is least visible. Therefore, we followed the principle that the pavilion should be hidden in the terrain and not compete with natural horizons and landscape," the architect noted.

In the new facility, besides gorillas, there should also be pangolins, which the zoo promised to receive as a gift from Taipei. Several access paths will be created to the pavilion. Near it, the zoo will construct a new entrance to the zoo complex from Pod Hrachovkou Street.

The Prague Zoo decided to build the new gorilla pavilion due to experiences from the floods in 2002 and 2013. The current pavilion is in the lowest part of the zoo, which was flooded during the 2002 floods, resulting in the death of a male gorilla. During the floods in 2013, the zoo relocated them to a flood protection tower, and caretakers would go to feed them by boat.

The Prague Zoo is one of the most visited places in the capital city. Last year, nearly one and a half million people visited it.