The first shark at Ostrava zoo, as well as lizards, an ancient predatory fish and water turtles are among the main attractions at a new exhibition entitled “Papua”, which focuses on the the fauna of the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea. The exhibition, which the zoo was able to set up thanks to a grant from the OKD Foundation, was officially opened on 23 April, as part of the “Day with the OKD Foundation” event.
The route towards the exhibition has been made colourful with an outdoor competition that was organised by the Foundation for children. “While fulfilling fun tasks, the young competitors learned interesting new facts about the zoo‘s new inhabitants. Of course, they all won a sweet treat as a prize. The parents had an opportunity to learn about the activities of the Foundation, and the charitable work done by all the organisations we have supported in the past”, OKD Foundation Director Jiří Suchánek recounted. Over 6 500 visitors came to the zoo during the Foundation Day.
“The exhibition will familiarise visitors with the wildlife of the island of Papua New Guinea, and show endangered species from the island. These are mainly snakes, turtles and fish – species which have been a marginal group in our zoo in the past, and which people are interested in,” said Šárka Kalousková, the zoo spokeswoman.
The OKD Foundation has supported the new exhibition with a donation of CZK 810,000. In the past, the Foundation supported the zoo with CZK 1.5 million for the creation of the Little Amazonia exposition.