Zoo introduced new pavilions for polar bears and pandas

Prague - The Prague Zoo today presented the designs of new exhibits for giant pandas and polar bears, which emerged from an architectural competition. The Arctic Pavilion for polar bears is set to be built in the climatically more favorable northwest part of the zoo. The main attraction will be an underwater tunnel that allows visitors to observe the bears swimming and diving. The total costs will be approximately 150 million CZK.

On the site of the polar bear exhibit, the zoo wants to build a new pavilion for giant pandas and Chinese langurs for 200 million CZK. The complex will also include a Chinese restaurant with a view of Prague, zoo director Miroslav Bobek told reporters.

Zoo representatives expect that if everything goes as planned, the building permit for the new pavilions could be processed by the end of 2019. However, they are prepared for similar delays that have affected the planned gorilla pavilion due to disputes with the city district of Troja. Bobek expects that after the Prague magistrate rejected Troja's appeal against the pavilion's construction, the city district will turn to the court, causing further delays in construction.

The zoo wants to move the gorillas from the lower part of the zoo, which is at risk of flooding, to a more secure location. According to the original plans, the gorilla pavilion was supposed to be completed by this time. "If everything went ideally, we could start digging by the end of the year," Jiří Kotek from the zoo's construction department stated today when asked when the construction of the new facilities for gorillas will begin.

The gorilla pavilion, along with related constructions, is expected to cost a total of 121 million CZK. In addition to investing in the zoo, the metropolis is also addressing how to ease the traffic congestion in Troja and improve the connection between the zoo and Prague 6.

The Arctic exhibit will become home to polar bears, seals, and northern bird species. It will be located in the area of the current hoofed animal enclosure in the northern part of the zoo. It will include enclosures for both a female and a male bear, each having their own pool and facilities. The project also includes a maternity den with a maximum level of calm for the female. The main attraction of the complex will be a tunnel that allows visitors to observe the bears underwater. Currently, polar bears live in a facility that is over 80 years old and is situated on one of the warmest slopes of the zoo. The new spaces will provide greater comfort for both the animals and the visitors, stated Bobek.

Giant pandas, whose loan has been under discussion between the Czech Republic and China for a longer time, are expected to find refuge in the newly constructed complex with outdoor enclosures and an indoor exhibit. A wading pool and stream will serve to cool the pandas, and the enclosure will also have plenty of grass and vegetation to help maintain a cooler microclimate. The winning design also includes various climbing structures and logs for the Chinese langurs. If the Prague zoo fails to obtain pandas from the Chinese, other Asian bears will inhabit the pavilion. "But a giant panda is a giant panda," added Bobek.

The opposition in the Prague council previously criticized the plan to build a pavilion for pandas. They are also against Prague's partnership with Beijing due to human rights violations in China.