- Title: Birds of a feather: Czech couple breed hundreds of parrots in private zoo
- Date: 9th August 2019
- Summary: BOSOVICE, CZECH REPUBLIC (AUGUST 6, 2019) (REUTERS) AMAZON PARROT LOOKING THROUGH CAGE SCARLET MACAW LOOKING THROUGH CAGE VARIOUS OF KEEPER FEEDING ARA MACAW PARROT SITTING ON BRANCH VISITORS LOOKING AT PARROTS IN CAGES BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW SITTING ON BRANCH IN CAGE VARIOUS OF BLUE-THROATED MACAWS IN CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 59-YEAR-OLD ZOO FOUNDER, VLASTIMIL SKRHAK, SAYING: "I divorced once due to the parrots and I married once due to the parrots. As the only son I put all my property and all my money into the company and without any EU support we are still building the parrot zoo here. I tested my second wife for 15 years before I married her and then I made her the zoo director." VISITORS LOOKING AT PARROTS COCKATOO EATING NUT COCKATOO CLIMBING ON CAGE ZOO DIRECTOR AND SKRHAK'S WIFE HANA SKRHAKOVA ARRIVING WITH LETTUCES SKRHAKOVA THROWING LETTUCE LEAVES ON TOP OF CAGES VARIOUS OF PARROT EATING LEAVES (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 56-YEAR-OLD ZOO DIRECTOR, HANA SKRHAKOVA, SAYING: "In their homeland the parrots are fighting for survival 80% of the day. They are looking for food, they also fly tens of kilometers for food. In human care they have the opposite problem: they have everything served to them - clean water, food." SCARLET MACAW CLINGING TO ROOF OF CAGE GOLDEN PARROTS SITTING ON BRANCH ON CAGE WOMAN TAKING PHOTOGRAPH ON PHONE SKRHAK FEEDING PARROTS VISITORS LOOKING ON VARIOUS OF SCARLET MACAWS IN CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 59-YEAR-OLD ZOO FOUNDER, VLASTIMIL SKRHAK, SAYING: "This is a record year. We are breeding six species we have never tried to breed before for the first time and about one hundred young birds were born. We are trying our best not to breed the animals artificially in incubators. We try to breed them naturally." VARIOUS OF PARROTS IN CAGE VISITORS LOOKING AT PARROTS PARROTS HANGING FROM CAGE ROOF AND EATING SEED TREAT (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 59-YEAR-OLD ZOO FOUNDER, VLASTIMIL SKRHAK, SAYING: "My budgerigars became overpopulated (Ed's note, while he still had a private collection of birds as a young man). Then came Corellas (a species of cockatoo), then some Australian parrots. Then I had about 10-12 species and I started to breed them in larger numbers and this was the first basis for breeding in the zoo (Ed's note, which was founded later)." VARIOUS OF AMAZON PARROTS IN CAGE BLUE-THROATED MACAWS IN CAGE ENTRANCE TO PARROT ZOO EXTERIOR OF ZOO BUILDING
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2019 11:48
- Keywords: private parrot zoo Czech Republic parrot keepers Czech parrot breeders
- Location: BOSOVICE, CZECH REPUBLIC
- City: BOSOVICE, CZECH REPUBLIC
- Country: Czech Republic
- Topics: Environment,Nature/Wildlife,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001ARHWOC9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:At a private parrot zoo deep in the Czech countryside, Vlastimil Skrhak and Hana Skrhakova share their lives with hundreds of feathered friends.
The husband and wife team manage a collection of almost 300 birds from more than 50 individual species from all over the world, the result of a flock of budgerigars owned by Skrhak in his childhood.
As a young boy in 1969 Skrhak lost an eye in an accident, and his protective parents bought him several pairs of the birds in the hopes of keeping him entertained at home where they thought he would be safe.
As time went on Skrhak expanded his collection with more species of parrots, which eventually had to be kept at a private farm following the fall of Communism, and which became a certified zoo in 2011.
The zoo's inhabitants range from smaller parrot species who live around 20 years in captivity, to majestic macaws more than a metre long which can live to up to 80 years of age.
Skrhak says his devotion to the parrots led to divorce in his previous marriage, and he dated Skrhakova for 15 years to make sure she was as keen on the parrots as he was.
Following their marriage, Skrhak made his wife the director of the zoo.
The last year was a record in terms of breeding for the couple, Skrhak said, in which they began breeding six new species and around 100 chicks were born.
Skrhak said the couple were trying to breed chicks naturally and not opting for raising eggs in incubators. Many of the chicks are sent to other zoos around Europe.
The zoo is funded through ticket sales from visitors and the proceeds of Skrhak's metal recycling business, and the couple hope to extend it to encompass more parrot species.
(Production: Jiri Skacel, Malgorzata Wojtunik, Lewis Macdonald) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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