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Zlín Zoo

Zlín Zoo (Zoo Zlín-Lešná) is a zoological garden at Lešná near Zlín. It is founded and mainly funded by the statutory city of Zlín. Its exhibits are arranged by continent into Africa, Asia, Australia and America, together with the surroundings of Lešná Castle and the African section Karibuni.[1]*

Lešná Castle and the first animals

The Lukov estate, to which Lešná belongs, was acquired by the Seilern family in 1724. The original castle at Lešná was completed in 1807. Around 1885 Count František Seilern decided to demolish the old building. The new castle, designed by architects Johann Mick and Viktor Siedek, was finished in 1893 and combines Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Gothic and Swiss styles.[2] In 1929 Count Josef Karel Seilern and his wife travelled around the world and brought back live animals, including emus and antelopes. This laid the foundations of today's zoo.[2][3] In spring 1945 the Seilerns were expelled under the Beneš decrees and their property was taken over by the state. The castle now belongs to the city of Zlín.[2]

The zoo

The garden opened to the public in May 1948. Until the 1990s it was a regional zoo with about 200,000 visitors a year. In 2018 it received more than 600,000 visitors a year.[3] African elephants live in a three-hectare enclosure with a pond and in an indoor house. On 6 June 2021 the first African elephant calf in Czechia, a male named Zyqarri, was born here.[4]

Death of the elephant Kali (2026)

In summer 2026 the female elephant Kali broke off part of a tusk. Antibiotic treatment failed and an abscess formed at the root of the tusk, spreading towards the eye. With blindness and sepsis threatening, the rest of the tusk had to be removed surgically.[5] The procedure was carried out on 29 September 2026 by an international team of six veterinary specialists. The operation succeeded, but serious complications arose at the end of the anaesthesia and the elephant died.[6] Three elephants remain at the zoo: a female, a male and a calf. Another female died in May 2026 after being attacked by the male.[5]

Sources

  1. Zoo Zlín
  2. Zoo Zlín
  3. Statutární město Zlín — 2018-08-22
  4. Zoo Zlín
  5. ČTK / České noviny — 2026-09-30
  6. Deník: Zlínský kraj — 2026-09-30

* The sources are collected and the preliminary text of this entry is drafted with artificial intelligence, on the instruction of the editorial staff; the entry has not yet been verified by an editor — report a mistake.