In 2006 the building activities in the breeding department II were quite low. The aviaries for breeding small cats were finished at the pavilion of big cats. The reconstruction of the ranges for hyenas and the building of another exposition for lemurs started. Altogether 48 species of animals reproduced, the breeding of 4 species was finished (night monkey Aotus sp., Mongolian gerbil Meriones unguiculatus, Cairo spiny mouse Acomys cahirinus hunterii, fat sand rat Psammomys obesus – this species was also new for the collection) and contrastingly 13 new species enriched the states of mammals. At the end of the year there were 105 species of mammals bred in the zoo.
In the pavilion of Indonesian jungle the focus of the breeding was on the night section again. Ground cuscuses (Strigocuscus gymnotis) reproduced twice but the first young one unfortunately died at the age of three months. Brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) also bred two young ones. Many births were given in the colony of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and the births cannot be precisely registered, as the colony is too big. Brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia penicillata) bred one young one and we stopped further breeding due to low demand. After a long-year pause Javan slow lorises (Nycticebus javanicus) had a young one as well. Unfortunately it was very small and the female did not look after it and it did not live up to the trial to breed it artificially. In the night section the female of small- toothed palm civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata) died and so this species of civets was substituted at the end by common palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) originally from Burma. In the pavilion Northern tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri, 5 young ones) reproduced as well and after the escape of several animals they reproduced also freely in the hall. For the female of binturong (Arctictis binturong) we obtained two more young animals – the male from a Parisian breed and the female from the zoo in Halle. Unfortunately it was confirmed that the German and French lines belong to the incompatible taxons and so at the end of the year we negotiated for the exchange of females with the zoo in Ostrava.
In the pavilion Africa from Near, the traditional species reproduced. Again we bred 5 Cape hyraxes (Procavia capensis), 3 yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata), 3 dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula – two females got involved in reproduction and so a number of the young ones died due to the riots in the group), 2 lesser bushbabies (Galago senegalensis), a number of mouse makis (Microcebus murinus, see below) and one black lemur (Eulemur macaco macaco). There was no reproduction at honey badgers (Mellivora capensis) as we kept the young male born in 2005 for too long and could not join the breeding pair. We cancelled the breeding of a hybrid group of Cape porcupines (Hystrix africaeaustralis) and on the other hand we renewed the breeding of fennecs (Vulpes zerda). At the end of the year we joined new pairs of short-eared elephant shrews (Macroscelides proboscideus). Small rodents reproduced in almost all of the expositions, nevertheless the focus of the breeding was in the Farm rear spaces. The new species in the collection were: Libyan jird (Meriones libycus), fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus), black-tailed tree rat (Thalomys sp.), African pouched rat (Cricetomys emini) and a still not precisely determined species of spiny mouse (Acomys sp. nova) from Northern Kenya. With the exception of fat sand rat, all the species started reproducing successfully – namely at the African pouched rat it is a precious breeding as there are not many animals in the breeds of European zoos and in the last years they did not reproduce at all. Furthermore the following species reproduced successfully: Turkish spiny mouse (Acomys cilicicus), Egyptian spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus cahirinus), Barbary striped mouse (Lemniscomys barbarus), striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys striatus), Abyssinian grass rat (Arvicanthis abyssinicus/rufescens), Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), Sundervall's jird (Meriones crassus), Shaw's jird (Meriones shawii), bushy-tailed gerbil (Sekeetamys calurus, including the individuals of the subspecies makrami) and fat-tailed gerbil (Pachyuromys duprasi) . An important event was the birth of two young Smith's bush squirrels (Paraxerus cepapi) – we did not manage to find any historical report of breeding this species in any zoological garden. The young ones were bred successfully but unfortunately they died in the course of the year due to an infection conditioned by a pathogen. Apart from rodents the following two species reproduced here as well: flying phalangers (Petaurus breviceps, 7 young ones) and mouse makis (together with the exposition 9 bred young ones of the 13 born).
In the rear spaces of Stable C we had the historically most successful breedings of marmosets and tamarins in the zoo. A pair of red-handed tamarins (Saguinus midas) bred here altogether 5 young ones which together with the other litter in the exposition represents eight animals. Not far behind is the family of golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) – the breeding female gave three births this year and bred 4 young ones. So we are the only zoo in the region where a successful breeding of golden-headed lion tamarins takes place. Next year we have to stop the reproduction of our animals as there are too many related animals in the European breed. Apart from the stable species we also located in these rear spaces Gabon talapoins (Miopithecus ogouensis). We obtained the group of three pairs from the zoo in Pilsen and from a private breeder. In 2007 we plan to put them to the pavilion Africa from Near together with African pouched rats and African brush-tailed porcupines (Atherurus). The other new species is the male of Southern three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) from the breed in the zoo in Halle and next year he will be placed in the exposition of animals from South America in the gorillas’ pavilion.
In the department of bears the most important change was the arrival of a year-and-a-half-old female of red panda (Ailurus fulgens) from the breed of the zoological garden in Madrid. In 2008 a new young male should join her and both animals should form a future potential breeding pair. At the end of the year we tried to substitute at least temporarily for the rutting season for the male of polar bear (Ursus maritimus). However, the partner zoo where we borrowed the male decided to take him back to their breed before the start of the first rut of our female. From the group of bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) that we obtained in the previous year from Tierpark in Berlin we sent two males to Kaunas a female to German Bernburg. Out of the remaining females we will try to exchange with Japanese breeders two animals for a non-related male and form a new breeding pair. Out of the other species of beasts of prey in the top part of the zoo the following species traditionally reproduced: Eurasian wolves (Canis lupus lupus, 9 cubs) and coatis (Nasua nasua, 4 bred young ones). At the end of the year we moved all the cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from the old ranges in the top part of the zoo to the rear spaces where we also placed the young pair born in South African Republic deposited here temporarily by a private breeder. The male is not related to any of our two young females and we would like to put them together in 2007. The old ranges were demolished and we started with their reconstruction into the ranges for brown hyenas (Parahyaena brunnea). The male imported last year from Kronberg unfortunately turned to be absolutely asocial and so we are negotiating the import of two new females that would be compatible with our original male.
Again two species of marsupials reproduced in the top part of the zoo within our breeding department – red kangaroo and Parma wallaby (Macropus rufus and Macropus parma both bred two young ones). The Patagonian maras (Dolichotis patagonum) performed successful breeding of the young ones and the survival rate is really good (8 bred out of 11 live born). Unfortunately the whole group of North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum, two adult pairs) died out. Most probably it happened due to the unexpected sensitivity to the effectual components of the used antiparasitics. However, we successfully handed over the young one born in 2005 to the zoo in Dìèín. A completely new activity in the top part of the zoo is the experiment with forming a colony of European ground squirrels (Spermophilus citellus) living in the wild. It is located on the slope under the building of Sklenáøka where the ground squirrels used to live in the past. We build a set-free aviary here with the contribution of the Opavia company and placed here four “pilot” individuals in the summer. The ground squirrels performed better digging abilities than we expected and at least one individual got out of the aviary sooner than we planned. In the spring of 2007 we plan to adapt the aviary and place here approximately 20 animals.
In the department of mountain goats we bred 15 lambs of Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia). What is interesting is the fact that some goats gave birth twice in 2006 – the season of the spring births of 2007 was unexpectedly shifted and it started at the end of December 2006. There was a great demand for the young Barbary sheep and altogether 20 of them left the garden in the course of the year. Caucascian ibexes (Capra caucasica) and Himalayan tahrs (Hemitragus jemlahicus) bred three young ones each. At the tahrs we experienced an unusual mortality rate that overcame 50%. After many years of lack of interest we managed to export a larger number of animals – namely 9 individuals left for a private game park in Jordan. In the group of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) all the three reproducing females bred their young ones for the first time. The young males born in the previous year were castrated so that they could stay in the group. In the whole of Europe there is the problem with the redundant males of Barbary macaques. One of the females started to escape from the range regularly and so we moved her to a cage exposition in the zoo in Bratislava.
In the pavilion of big cats after a long pause the Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) reproduced. The female Madla who came here from the zoo in Wroclaw finally got gravid in 2004. Contrastingly to Wroclaw where she did not care about three litters of cubs at all, here she started to look after her cub. However, on the third day she started to leave the maternity ward and we found the cub with an injury caused by its mother and unfortunately it did not survive. Nevertheless, we would like this female to reproduce. In the course of the year we finally found a partner for he female of Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) and so Marylei now has got the male Mauglis from the zoo in Pilsen. At the end of the year the animals tried to mate. The most significant change was the opening and inhabiting of the new aviaries for small cats. Apart from the old female of fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) that has been in the pavilion since 2004, the old pair of clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) and the old pair of yagouarundis (Herpailurus yagouarundi) there were the first new animals as well. It is a pair of caracals (Caracal caracal) a young male of yagouarundi and mainly a young two-year-old pair of clouded leopards. They prepared the greatest surprise at the end of the year when the female gave birth to two cubs absolutely unexpectedly. The birth was unexpected namely because both of the animals do not leave the dorms during the day and they set off to the range only after the dusk. So nobody noticed the mating. It is interesting that the male is in the shelter together with the female for the whole time of the breeding. Such an event happened in Prague at the turn of sixties and seventies.
In the exposition of primates in the bottom part of the zoo we reached, apart from the above mentioned breeding of tamarins, also the first finished breeding of South American squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Two viable young ones were born in the group but the dominant female adopted the other one as well. And the breeding of both of them together by one female did not work as we expected. However, the breeding of one young one is a promise for the future. In 2006 black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) started to use the outside range for the first time without any trials to escape through the new type of electric fencing from caoutchouc ropes and light wires. In the pavilion of gorillas the tests proved that no fewer than two females of lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorila gorilla) are gravid – Kamba and Kijivu. For the whole year we were building the new and larger island area for red-ruffed lemurs because they started to escape from the present exposition “At the Mulberry Tree”. In 2008 two species should appear there – red-ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) and black and white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata).
The most important breeding in the Water World was the breeding of the historically first young lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) in the Prague zoo. The female Ivana from the zoo in Jihlava is a primipara and as we did not see the young one suck for a long time after the birth we started thinking about putting it to the udder of the female or about artificial feeding. Ivana is such a calm animal that she let us draw milk from her udder but the little tapir protested against putting to the udder as well as against artificial feeding. As we found out that it gained weight we stopped the unsuccessful attempts and finally we also registered the sucking of the little one. At the end of the summer the little one was baptised Heømánek.
Several years of work with the female of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) called Maruška finally brought the fruits. During the unsuccessful attempts to breed the young ones she matured and got the maternal instincts and this time she bred the little one without any difficulties. We also obtained a new pair of lowland tapirs from the USA and they represent important new genes for Europe. In the department of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) we made more technical adaptations that significantly influence the possibility to work with the animals, including the male Naing Thein that is kept without any contact with people. We also improved the conditions in the ranges and last but not least they enable the direct and safe contact between the male and the females.
RNDr. Pavel Brandl, PhD., the curator
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