No. 3 / september 2007 special supplement ZOO REPORT PROFI The Content The Speech Roman Onderka Zooreport the magazine for friends of the Brno Zoo september 2007; No. 3/07, volume IX PAGE 3 Editor: “Marble Crayfish” Zoologická zahrada města Brna at the Permanent Aquaristic Exhibition U Zoo 46, 635 00 Brno, Czech Republic Ing. Vladimír Spurný tel.: +420 546 432 311 fax: +420 546 210 000 PAGE 4 e-mail: [email protected] www.zoobrno.cz Yucatan Tropical Hall at the Zlín Zoo Publisher: Romana Bujáčková Peleos, spol. s r. o. Hybešova 40, 602 00 Brno Czech Republic PAGE 5 tel.: +420 543 128 254 fax: +420 543 211 761 Patients of the Children’s Oncology e-mail: [email protected] Visit the Zoo for already 10 Years Eduard Stuchlík Editor’s office address: Zoologická zahrada města Brna PAGES 6, 7 Redakce Zooreport U Zoo 46, 635 00 Brno, Czech Republic tel.: +420 546 432 370 Animals Know How to Brave High Temperatures fax: +420 546 210 000 Jan Kameník e-mail: [email protected] Editor manager: PAGE 8 Bc. Eduard Stuchlík Hot news Specialist reader: (red) RNDr. Bohumil Král, CSc. Translation: PAGE 9 Mgr. Ilja Kašík Distribution: Brno Zoo Won the Zoogames 500 pcs in the English version Mgr. Světla Vítková 1,500 pcs in the Czech version Photos by: PAGE 10 Eduard Stuchlík First Rearing of Saker Falcon First page: Simona Blahoňovská Saker falcon UNSALEABLE PAGE 11 The Speech Start to Take Animals Code, which is being prepared for already as Living Creatures seven years and it could become effective in 2011. De jure, it should promote animals Good communication between from mere things to living creatures. citizens, specialists, politicians and Animals surely deserve it. They live in this municipal authorities is a require- world much longer than people. We‘re just ment for good working city and convicted about our superiority over the whole happy life of its citizens. After all, nature and about a belief that the whole Earth the city is made by its citizens and was created to secure our existence. And we the city serves their purposes. But behave in accordance with this conviction. there are also animals among the inhabitants – both the vertebrates We are not gods and the invertebrates – and we are But it wasn‘t like this in our past. Re- accompanied by them at home, out- member the strange thrill, when you as a kid side and also, for example, at the zoo. entered the zoo for the first time. You were amazed, when you firstly saw with your Animals are also a part of our surround- own eyes animals that you only knew from ing, which affects our city and thinking of us, narration of your parents, picture books or the Brno citizens. They are our “roommates“, at best from TV. Not to say animals that no matter if we have them at home or in our you had no idea about! Remember, how surroundings – in gardens, forests, meadows, all this challenged your imagination... Un- fields, water or at the given area at the “Mniší fortunately, the prime view disappears soon hora” hill. The zoo is an important part of our and the adults sink into various stereotypes, “forests, waters and hillsides” that encircle the including the conviction that we are the lords city from southwest to northeast. of creation. That‘s what we should realize – if only Roman Onderka The new civil code for the reason that we are citizens of a city, will “elevate“ the animals symbol of which is a crocodile, the notorious the work of the Brno Zoo. It serves not only Do we forget about our animal compan- Brno Dragon. We should refresh our childish for watching exotic and inland animals for ions? That should be solved by a new Civil view of the world and then we will appreciate our entertainment and mind recovering, but also for general lesson, animal protection and animal life research. Roman Onderka was born in Brno in 1965. He graduated from secondary school and from managerial school Disallow our separating in Ostrava. After military service he worked for Adast Adamov, then for České dráhy in Brno as from nature! a rolling stock foreman. He has been a Brno City councillor since 2002. He was a Brno-Starý Lískovec city district The zoological garden also helps us to councillor and a member of the Investment Committee and the Transport Committee of the Brno realize that man is a part of a whole complex City Council during 2002–2006. He has been a chairman of the ČSSD councillors‘ party of the of living organisms and a part of nature. And Brno City Council since 2002. On 7th November 2006 he was elected the Mayor of the Statutory if man will continue in separating from nature, City of Brno for the 2006–2010 electoral term. it will cause irreparable consequences for hu- He was appointed as a member of the State Council for sustainable development and a member of the Council of Europe based in Strasbourg in 2007. man society. Nowadays he is a shadow minister of transport, a member of presidium of ČSSD and a senior vice-chairman of the ČSSD executive committee of the Brno-město city district. Roman Onderka is married for the second time and has got an adult son from his first marriage. He lives with his wife and three-year-old son in Starý Lískovec city district. He plays football, football-tennis and squash recreationally and also computer technology, music, theatre and literature belong to his hobbies. Roman Onderka, Brno City Mayor The Caution “Marble crayfish” of the same species, as with the hermaphroditism during the growth and in many cases, it eats it to use (intersexuality), also known with some crayfish. Many its substances for its own further development. low animals can be reproduced parthenogenethically, If this crayfish multiplies excessively, it should e.g. the aphids; massive population increase occurs not be released into wild, nor flushed in the toilet, as in suitable conditions this way. people prefer to do. It is a quite hardened animal that The body length of our “Marble crayfish“ varies is able to survive even in Central European conditions. from 0,5 to 12 cm. They live in a multiple-species Then it competes the original kinds of crayfish, as e.g. aquarium – its bottom is covered with light silica the Noble crayfish. In addition to that, the “Marble sand with 2–5 mm big grains; larger stones act as crayfish“ transmits the crayfish plague, which our shelters and decoration. There are no plants in the species of crayfish are not able to resist. pool. These crayfish don‘t like vegetation at all: they A flagellar water bound mould is the crayfish don‘t stop cutting the leaves with their pincers until plague agent. A disease that decimates the numbers “Marble Crayfish“ there are only leafstalks projecting from the bottom of crayfish in Europe for more than a century most at the Radnická Street and limbs floating on the surface. It also isn‘t right probably comes from North America, where the There are not only fish at the Permanent to keep them with fish. It was observed that they crayfish are resistant to it. After the infection, the Aquaristic Exhibition on the Radnická Street, but cut their fins, when the fish rest – mainly during the specimens are uneasy, they often clean themselves also representatives of other vertebrates and even night. If there are more crayfish in one pool, they get and then they become paralyzed and die. Resistant some invertebrate – e.g. crustaceans that belong along quite well with each other and they usually kinds of crayfish are able to capsulate the mould to articulates, similarly as say bees. I would like to make do with warning positions. However, a case, in their body and thus isolate it from the organism. mention one of the crustaceans - the “Marble crayfish” when other ones gradually cut legs of one specimen But the encapsulation may rupture and the spores (Procambarus sp.). The name is in quotes, because this that has already been handicapped, also occurred. can be released into water. That‘s why the crayfish species, common in artificial breeding, could not be But it is enough to separate such crayfish and it will plague may be transmitted even by healthy look- scientifically named so far. It is not known, where it completely regenerate. ing specimens. If breeding more kinds of crayfish comes from (probably south of USA) and only speci- The “Marble crayfish” breeding is not difficult in separated pools, it is necessary to follow strict mens of one sex – females – have been found so far. in any way. They are active even during the day and hygienic rules so as not to transmit the mould by The “Marble crayfish” caused a scientific sensation we feed them with both the freely available feed for e.g. net, plants or similar. in 2003, when its parthenogenesis (self-fertiliza- aquarium fish and the bloodworms or floating organ- For its modesty, I can recommend the “Marble tion) was proved; no other decapods can reproduce isms, such as daphnia or water flea, whose chitinous crayfish“ to everyone, who wants to breed some without males. Eggs that are protected beneath the shell the “Marble crayfish” uses for building its own crustacean – even in a small jar. female‘s “tail“ develop without precedent fertilization. shell. There are already special feeds for crustacean, Ing. Vladimír Spurný, There even doesn‘t have to be another specimen of course.