Since 2018, Zlín Zoo as a first Czech zoo has provided to visitors the possibility to choose how much money would be donated for the conservation of wild animals. A fund-raising collection 4NATURE enables to the visitor to choose whether they want to buy 4NATURE entrance fee which contain a two-crowns contribution to this collection or whether they choose the entrance fee STANDARD without this contribution.
If the visitors choose 4NATURE, they will obtain two tokens and by placing these tokens to corresponding money box a contribution to the specific projet of conservation is done. The money boxes have counters, they chink and blink and the visitor can watch the falling of the token thanks to the transparent wall. It is our experience that the visitors are attracted exactly by these “crazy” objects. There are two money boxes, near main entrance and seasonal entrance.
There are three conservation programmes within collection 4NATURE in Zlín Zoo.
1. Protection of rare saola in Laos
Its discovery in Vietnam in 1992 was one of the greatest zoological achievement in 20th century. Saola lives in mountain range along the border line of Vietnam and Laos, unfortunately is threatened by poachers. Money obtained from the collection will be donated for costs connected with maintenance and control of installed camera traps in Laos (control, change of film card and batteries).
2. Support of endangered animals on Sumatra - White-winged duck
Money obtained from this collection can help the Australian conservation organsation SIES (Save Indonesian Endangered Species) to build the centre with aviaries for saved white-winged ducks and to realize new ponds suitable for nesting of the white-winged ducks in WAY KAMBAS National Park. The centre shall serve also for education of inhabitants of national park and adjacent villages.
3. Building of conservation centre in Ecuador
Zlín Zoo will support building of a conservation centre that is arising by local Zoológico el Pantanal. Zoo has already worked as a conservation centre for hurt animals of local fauna, but a device for repatriation of the animals back to wild nature is missing. This concerns mostly little and middle mammals such as anteaters, sloths and otters or birds.