The National Shark Awareness Week took place from 2nd to 3rd June 2018 in the Olomouc ZOO. This is our own event, organized on the occasion of World Oceans Day.

Besides the usual "shark" themes, we also discussed with our visitors the impact of ocean contamination by plastic rubbish to the ecosystem - a hot topic, that is finally coming to the front pages of both domestic and world mass media.

The donations from our visitors, 868 CZK, rounded to 45 USD, was transferred to WildAid organization, which is working with Machalilla National Park and Misool Foundation to protect manta rays, humpback whales, sea turtle nesting sites, sharks, pristine coral reefs, and countless other marine species in Ecuador and Indonesia.

Well, the National Wolf Awarenes week 2017 and last warm days of the fall are successfully behind us. This year we've extended our standard exhibits with the wolf mask put on our heads. Some of the visitors were amused with this, the other ones - mostly kids and dogs - were terribly scared.

Total amount of the donations for Hudson Bay wolves in the Olomouc Zoo is 1249 CZK and 2 EUR. Many thanks to all donors on behalf of wolves and Olomouc Zoo.

Our National Shark Awareness Week took place from 3rd to 4th June in the Olomouc ZOO. Tropical Saturday weather has ensured an abundant attendance of visitors. On the contrary, heavy rain on Sunday afternoon swept away visitors and made our exhibits and literature pretty wet. Despite of this, we have collected the highest amount of donations within this event so far - altogether 1110 CZK and 9 Euros. The entire amount, rounded to $60, will be transferred to the accounts of WildAid and Misool Foundation, for supporting the Misool Marine Reserve in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.  In this protected area we can find the richest coral reefs in the world, where mantas, whales, sea turtles, sharks and plenty of other marine animals live. Our donation of $60 will be doubled by the WildAid sponsors to $120.

The Wolf stand, held in the occasion of the National Wolf Awareness Week 2016 in the Olomouc Zoo, was open from 1st to 2nd October 2016. The last warm fall days draw many visitors into the Zoo and our stand.

Total amount of the donations to the breeding of Hudson Bay wolves in the Olomouc Zoo, collected within the weekend, is 896 CZK. Many thanks to all donors on behalf of wolves and Olomouc Zoo.

Last weekend we've opened our Shark stand in the Olomouc Zoo. The event was held on the occasion of the World Ocean Day that falls on June 8. By coincidence  the Olomouc Zoo was celebrating the anniversary at the same time, so our event became the part of celebrations. Therefore we had to attend to many visitors at our stand. You have donated us in total 503 CZK during the two days. This amount, rounded to 22 USD, was transferred to the account of WildAid organization, specifically to their Marine Protection program. We would like to thank to the Olomouc Zoo management for organizational support and also, in name of the organization WildAid, to all donors.

Importance of live sharks for tourism

Divers, when choosing a dive destination, rank sharks and mantas as the #1 attraction—ranking even higher than healthy coral reefs or turtles. Separate studies conducted in the Bahamas, South Africa, Palau, the Maldives, and Australia show that revenue from shark diving significantly surpasses potential shark fishing revenue. For example, the tourism value of each living grey reef shark in the Maldives has been placed at US$33,500 each year. This revenue reccurs year after year from the same sharks. Shark diving can result in millions of dollars annually in each of the individual local destinations, well beyond the one-time income from shark fishing.