Archive: Nature | Flora and fauna Flora and fauna
Colts instead of rifles: NGO to introduce wild horses at former army bases
In the future visitors to the Czech countryside could come across a species
not seen in this part of the world for a great many years: wild horses. A
local wildlife organisation is at present preparing to import a small group
of Exmoor ponies, with a view to eventually introducing the hardy British
breed to former army training areas and unforested land in other remote
parts of the country. More
Prague tortoise was thought to be “twin” of Pinta tortoise Lonesome George
The death of Lonesome George, the last remaining Pinta island giant
tortoise recently saddened legions of nature and reptile lovers around the
world. His unexpected demise in a reservation on the Galapagos Islands came
at the estimated age of 100 years or more. For quite some time, tortoise
experts believed that George might not be as ‘lonesome’ as previously
assumed: a Prague Zoo tortoise bore such close resemblance to George that
even reptile experts thought he might too be a member of the Pinta species. More
Science Journal
Presbytis hosei canicrus – let’s call him Miller's Grizzled Langur, is
one of the rarest primates in the world, with hardly any pictures in
existence and very few people having ever seen one. In fact it was
believed
that the long-tailed monkey was extinct, until scientists observing two
natural springs in the Kutai National Park in Borneo came across one
grizzled patron after another. More
“Fish warrior” Jakub Vágner on big fish, small ponds and following your dreams
It is rare to catch world-record holding extreme angler Jakub Vágner in
the Czech Republic. After all, he spends most of his time on fishing
expeditions to remote destinations like the Amazon, in search of what he
calls freshwater giants. In his home country, the 30-year-old fisherman has
become a star in his own right, and is currently on billboards all over the
city as the face of a new advertising campaign for a well-known Czech bank.
He also has his own TV show on National Geographic, Fish Warrior, and last
year, he appeared on the famous American Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I
spoke to Jakub Vágner about fish, the importance of going after your
dreams and how he first discovered his love for angling. More
First gorilla born and raised in Prague zoo relocated to Spain
Just two weeks after a newborn gorilla was transported from Prague to
Stuttgart following repeated failed attempts to reunite it with its mother,
Prague zoo has bid farewell to another gorilla, Moja, the first low-land
gorilla born and raised in captivity in the Czech Republic. The animal has
reached sexual maturity and her minders decided to move her away to prevent
in-breeding in the pack. Her new home is the Cabárceno National Park in
northern Spain where Moja was transported on Tuesday. More
The secret of a spider’s disguise
Scientists at universities in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany not
long ago revealed fascinating new information concerning mimicry and a type
of spider known as micaria sociabilis. Their research suggests that
imperfect mimicry, widespread in the animal kingdom and used by this
spider, is an advantage when it comes to survival because it offers the
best of both worlds. In the spider’s case, it can hide in plain sight
pretending to be an ant. But if discovered it can also escape, like a
spider, at unexpected speeds. More
Bison return to Czech forests after 200-year absence
Half a dozen European bison have been returned to the wild at the Ralsko
nature reserve, a former Red Army military training ground about an
hour’s drive from Prague. It’s the latest chapter in what is a
remarkable reversal of fortunes for Europe’s largest mammal. Hunted
virtually to the point of extinction, in recent years they’ve made
something of a comeback.
More
Politicians wade into bark-beetle fray
A continuing standoff between ecological activists and loggers in the
Šumava National Park is continuing to heat up. For more than a fortnight
now activists have been chaining themselves to trees slated for felling –
stressing that logging commissioned by the park in protected areas is
illegal. Under existing regulations, they have argued, trees in the nature
reserve must be allowed to decay naturally. The park management has
countered by saying that only felling will prevent further locations from
being devastated by the bark-beetle. The dispute has now divided senior
politicians, some of whom are calling for immediate talks to try and
resolve the dispute. More
Bringing the Mongolian wild horse back from extinction
Prague Zoo this week announced an important step in its effort to help
reintroduce the critically endangered Mongolian wild horse to its natural
habitat. Four specimens – one stallion and three mares – born and bred
in the Czech Republic are to be transported to the Mongolian steppes to
enrich the gene pool of a small protected herd that is to help the
endangered breed survive. I met up with the zoo’s spokeswoman Jana
Ptacinska Jiratova to find out more about the project and how Prague Zoo
came to be involved in it.
More
The university Botanical Gardens, a lush oasis in the centre of Prague
In a lovely corner of Prague just south of the busy square Karlovo
Náměstí is one of the city centre’s special secrets. The Charles
University Botanical Gardens are not the biggest in the city but they have
the distinction of a perfect location: crammed into a normal city block
between the old town and the hill of Vyšehrad are the enormous greenhouses
that with the surrounding eight acres host some 5,000 types of plants from
all over the world and provide a peaceful oasis for Prague denizens. More
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