Prague Zoo

Welcome to one of Europe's leading zoos, set in a valley along the Vltava River. It opened on September 28, 1931, growing into a renowned conservation center. Then came the flood. August 2002. Two waves of rain hit central Europe. The Vltava burst its banks. Water rushed through this valley at unprecedented levels. The lower half of the zoo vanished under 7 meters of water. Keepers evacuated frantically. Time ran out. A lion and bear were shot. A gorilla and two hippos drowned. An elephant named Kadir was euthanized. In total, 134 animals died. One hippo named Slávek was trapped on the ground floor when the water hit. Everyone assumed he was gone. Then volunteers found him alive on the first floor. He had climbed the stairs and wedged himself into a narrow corridor above the elephant stables. They photographed his head sticking out the window. He became a symbol of survival. Gaston, a sea lion, took a different approach. He escaped his flooded enclosure, swam into the Vltava, and kept going to Germany. He died from exhaustion days later. The zoo rebuilt. Since 1959, it has managed the international Przewalski horse breeding program, reintroducing dozens of the world's last wild horse species to Mongolia and Kazakhstan.