Find out more about our "must see" list, that is top best animals in the Wroclaw Zoo. By the way, remember that the Japanese Gate is now open so that you can access the zoo from the Oder riverfront and park your car easily on ul Na Grobli.
Brown fur seal. I have had a soft spot for them since I can remember, especially for the largest male Nelson. You can watch them frolic in the pool for hours, their supple moves in the water as they swim, especially when they swiftly turn their bodies away to avoid the glass pane. And they are also intelligent. You simply must see what tricks they are capable of during medical practice with their keeper. In August, they will upgrade their current residence to a real mansion as they move to their new tank in the Africarium. And they will revel big time! They have a lot of fans on Facebook.
Giraffe. Everybody likes to watch giraffes as they graciously stroll with their young around the paddock, and to admire their looooong necks and funny ossicones. It is nice to compare patterns on their skin as there are reportedly no two identically coloured giraffes. Apart from this, is there any other animal that would flutter their eyelashes as enticingly as giraffes?
Indian rhinoceros. A lot of people simply take them for granted. That's what they think they are: hard-nosed, angular and with tiny little eyes. I changed my mind when I met Tarun and Manas, who both reside in our Indian pavilion. These two amiable fellows are like two little dogs: they want their keepers to fondle and caress them all the time. If they charge it is because they got scared. And they like to be clean: they just love to bask in the shower or in the pool.
Elephant. A zoo without an elephant is not really worthy of its name. We like elephants because they are large and wise and their moves are so majestic. And because they have trunks which they can use to play a lot of tricks on you, Our Wroclaw elephant squad includes two females, and one of them has been through a lot (circus career).
Lemur. Since Madagascar's box office success, these amiable creatures have gained a lot of fans, and these fans are not only children. Julian's descendants are funny, roguish and really nosy. They are best to watch during feeding time, when they gather around their keeper and can literally jump on his head. Those who climb the highest are the most important in the ball. On top of that, they have beautiful fur.
Meerkat. You can watch these highly social animals almost all the time (you'll never get bored) as they stand up on their rear legs and carefully look around. They can also teach you how to live peacefully in a group, which, by the way, is governed by females.
Gibbon. Or the pileated gibbon, to be more precise. They have become our favourite apes as soon as they arrived in the zoo. I always admire them for their extreme agility with which they move among the ropes that are hanging just above the rhino paddock. There is nothing quite as interesting as to watch how a gibbon leaps from one rope to another and can hold a banana in his foot.
Bear. All bears are fine, be they brown, Himalayan or spectacled bears. When they feed, play, stand on their hind legs, and even when they sleep in their paddock and strike funny poses.
Donkey. They are friendly and sociable, especially those large Poitou donkeys which often come close to the railing and ask for a snack or a stroke on their muzzles. They are simply adorable.
Sloth. They attract quite a lot of interest, but you need to be really lucky to see something more than just a paw or a furry back. This is because Heniek the sloth and his female partner usually sleep above the heads of the visitors. They climb down extremely rarely and only when they have to relieve themselves.
Eliza Głowicka
