Baťova zoo

One of first traditional public zoo in the territory of the Czech lands - only Liberec Zoo and Plzeň Zoo IRIS are older. In other cases, is impossible to speak about the quite classic public zoo - e.g. the second Zlín Zoo in Lešná (at that time still Seilerns' Zoo), or the zoo of Baron Haas in Bítov, were mainly for the pleasure of the owners - although were public; contrary Zoo in Větruše of Ústí served to a great degree for animal trade.

The Bata's factory opened the Zlín Zoo at 1st May 1930 in the city centre (in the park near Zlín manor house). Subsequently, there were monkeys, turtles, seals !!! (purchased from Hagenbeck), raccoons, parrots, exotic pigeons, fallow and roe deer, peacocks, ducks, swans, geese, lions, pelicans, camels, buzzards, kestrels, hawks, eagles, owls, fox, badger, weaver birds, Indian mongooses... In 1931 the zoo even thought about buying an elephant!!! The zoo was purely seasonal - animals were moving to "Langrovo" in winter.

In the first half of 1934 began building of a new zoo in Tlustá hora (in the area of today's Trail of health) and already in mid-July, the zoo was moved. Another animals were added to the collection - several species of pheasants, bears (brown, American black and possibly also polar), another monkey etc. Zoo was abolished during the war, sometime in 1942.