ZOO Dvorec, Zoo in Dvorec, Borovany, Czech Republic
ZOO Dvorec is a private zoo by the village of Dvorec in Borovany, 15 km southeast of České Budějovice. It covers 6 hectares, 4 of them for animals, and focuses on African species: lions, tigers, a hippo named Buborék, chimpanzees, and the Terárium Venomous with Europe's largest collection of Naja cobras.
ZOO Dvorec, formerly Park exotických zvířat, o. p. s., received its zoo status from the Ministry of the Environment in 2012. In August 2012 a storm lightning strike started a fire in the service area and badly damaged the main building; all animals, including those inside, were saved. The Venomous Terrarium opened to the public in 2014.
The zoo's name comes from the village of Dvorec in the Borovany municipality, and its setting is reflected in the African Village area, where a walk-through flamingo enclosure is open while the rest is still being built. The on-site Hospůdka u krokodýla serves refreshments, souvenirs and promotional materials, and the zoo runs educational programmes for primary schools with live animal demonstrations.
Parking is directly opposite the zoo, and buses stop in Dvorec, under a kilometre away; the nearest train station is in Borovany. Inside the grounds, Hospůdka u krokodýla sells refreshments, souvenirs and promotional materials. Primary schools can book educational programmes that include demonstrations of the animals kept here.
ZOO Dvorec keeps spotted hyenas and African civets, animals held elsewhere in the country only by Dvůr Králové Zoo. It also houses what is probably the only pair of leopard genets in Europe, and a very rare savannah genet otherwise kept only by Plzeň Zoo.
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