CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech gardners flock to Prague Zoo to buy elephant dung to use as fertilizer

Record ID: 185130

  • Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech gardners flock to Prague Zoo to buy elephant dung to use as fertilizer
  • Date: 30th May 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF ELEPHANT TRAINING WITH ITS KEEPER VARIOUS OF MAN COLLECTING ELEPHANT DUNG BILLBOARD PROMOTING PRAGUE ZOO, SHOWING PEARS, BIGGEST ONE FERTILIZED WITH ELEPHANT DUNG, PRAGUE ZOO DIRECTOR MIROSLAV BOBEK WALKING THROUGH ZOO (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) PRAGUE ZOO DIRECTOR MIROSLAV BOBEK SAYING: "It was a very interesting project from the very start: to offer our visitors a special souvenir that also qualifies as a fertilizer for their flowers or vegetables. That's why we started the billboard campaign with the giant pear fertilized by elephant dung from the Prague zoo, and it also promotes the zoo." STICKER ON CONTAINER SHOWING ELEPHANT WITH BALL OF DUNG (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) PRAGUE ZOO DIRECTOR MIROSLAV BOBEK SAYING: "We presented it as a joke - the giant pear is just a hook. That is understood by the majority of people including advertisement experts." FAMILY APPROACHING STAND SELLING ELEPHANT DUNG CONTAINER WITH ELEPHANT DUNG VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AND BUYING CONTAINERS WITH DUNG (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ZOO VISITOR, PETR FROM PRAGUE, SAYING: "I buy it as a laugh, because it is a fun thing. I expect we will cultivate at least two kilograms of strawberries with it." OPEN CONTAINER WITH ELEPHANT DUNG (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) DUNG SELLER PAVLA SAYING: "We already sold about 30 containers today. On a normal day we sell up to 70 or 80 them." MAN BUYING DUNG IN SHOP AND LEAVING (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ZOO VISITOR, ALENA FROM BRNO, SAYING: "I don't think it has some special effect. But it is a natural source and that is good for the soil anyway." CONTAINERS WITH ELEPHANT DUNG (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ZOO VISITOR, MARTA FROM PRAGUE, SAYING: "I buy it to support the Prague zoo and maybe it will also help our garden." MAN BUYING CONTAINER WITH DUNG / FAMILY WITH ELEPHANT CONTAINERS LEAVING ZOO HIGHWAY IN PRAGUE BILLBOARD WITH PEARS PROMOTING ELEPHANT DUNG
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Czech Republic, Czech Republic
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA267TFGA2XH4KRCNLN3C52J0F6
  • Story Text: Czech gardeners are flocking to Prague Zoo after it started selling what look like ice cream containers but are actually full of elephant dung.
    It's the latest fad among Czech nature lovers who are buying out the manure pails to use as fertilizer.
    Elephants eat about 150-300 kilograms of branches, barks, grass or other vegetables and drink about 100-150 litres of water daily. That means 140 - 180 kilograms of dung daily.
    A campaign started five weeks ago, when hundreds of billboards went up, not only in the capitol Prague but all over the country announcing the sale of a special kind of fertilizer - elephant dung. The billboard shows several pears and the biggest one claims to be fertilized by elephant dung.
    The brains behind the project is zoo director Miroslav Bobek, whose surname literally means dung. He said it was a very interesting project combining promoting the zoo and doing something good for gardeners.
    "It was a very interesting project from the very start: to offer our visitors a special souvenir that also qualifies as a fertilizer for their flowers or vegetables," Bobek told Reuters. "That's why we started the billboard campaign with the giant pear fertilized by elephant dung from the Prague zoo, and it also promotes the zoo."
    Some gardeners complained that the message on the billboards is not quite true since elephant dung is as good as any other dung as fertilizer. Director Bobek said that the advertising campaign was never meant to be that serious. "We presented it as a joke - the giant pear is just a hook," he says and adds that it is well understood by the majority of people, including advertisement experts.
    "I buy it as a laugh, because it is a fun thing," says visitor Petr referring to the advert. "I expect we will cultivate at least two kilograms of strawberries with it," he adds laughingly.
    And the little stall that sells the elephant dung is a great hit amongst the visitors, located conveniently at the exit of the elephant enclosure.
    Zoo officials estimate they sell around 200 of the 1kg (2.2lb) containers of dung each weekend, at 70 Czech Crowns (2.90 euros) each. But sales have been so brisk they decided to sell on weekdays as well.
    "We already sold about 30 tubs today," says seller Pavla in the early afternoon. "On a normal day we sell up to 70 or 80 tubs."
    "I don't think it has some special effect," says hobby gardener Alena. "But it is a natural source and that is good for the soil anyway," she adds. And Marta adds: "I buy it to support the Prague zoo and maybe it will also help our garden."
    The business with the stinky souvenirs from the zoo is doing well and as a additional benefit the zoo sees the number of visitors steadily increasing, says zoo director Bobek.
    .
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register