Chleby Zoo, Zoo in Chleby, Czech Republic

Chleby Zoo is a small zoo in the village of Chleby, founded in 1997 on the site of the former rectory. A road divides it into an old and a new part; the grounds cover 4.4 hectares. The old part holds the gibbon pavilion decorated after Angkor Wat, the meerkat exhibit with two San statues, and the 45-cubic-metre Elbe Pavilion aquarium.

The zoo started in 1997 as a private collection of rare birds kept behind an old rectory building in the village. Over the following years it grew into one of the first privately run zoos to operate in the Czech Republic after the end of communist rule.

The zoo grew from René Franěk's private collection of exotic birds, and he has directed it since its founding in 1997. Its breeding record includes the first Caucasian black grouse reared anywhere and duk langurs born outside Asia in 2018, which won the White Elephant award. The meerkat exhibit opened in 2013 with host Zdeněk Izer attending.

The zoo is split by a road into an old part and a new part, so plan to cross between them; the whole site covers 4.4 hectares. Guided tours and experience programmes such as a keeper-for-a-day are offered for groups, and the grounds are compact enough to walk in a few hours.

The gibbon enclosure is named after a historical temple, giving these primates an unusual setting that stands out from the rest of the zoo. Separately, there is a large freshwater aquarium on the grounds that displays fish and other aquatic animals from local waters.