World Animal Day at The Budapest Zoo

World Animal Day is coming up: special programs await visitors at the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden all weekend.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be treated to a special program at the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden on the occasion of World Animal Day and the 200th anniversary of the birth of the institution's founding director, János Xántus.

According to a statement from the capital's institution on Thursday, World Animal Day is celebrated every year on October 4, the day of St. Francis of Assisi, who is traditionally considered the patron saint of animals.

On this occasion, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden will host an Animal Love Festival from Friday to Saturday.

Colorful programs for the World Animal Day at the Budapest Zoo

In addition to the animals and plants on display at the Zoo, as well as the programs related to their presentation, the public will be welcomed with a sustainability playhouse, a beekeeping demonstration and educational stations at various points in the garden, as well as a presentation of the wild animal rescue activities of the city park institution.

At the Herman Ottó Institute stand, visitors can learn about the mammal of the year, and at the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Association (MME) stand, visitors can learn about the bird of the year and the reptile of the year.

In Rovarda - the joint stand of the Hungarian Entomological Society and the Zoo's entomologists - you can learn about the world of arthropods, and at the stand of the Hungarian Nature Hikers' Association you can get detailed information about nature walks.

Illustrator Ágnes Szolnoki will introduce the public to the world of natural illustrations, and at the stand of the Hungarian Biological Society you can hear about the diversity of soil-dwelling organisms.

On Saturday, a craft station, a nature photography stand and a bat station await those interested, and four educational lectures will also be held in the Starry Sky of the Magic Mountain: Endre Sós, the Zoo's general director, on wildlife rescue; Anna Farkas, the deputy director of the Herman Ottó Institute, on the Hungarian grasshopper mouse; Áron Mirtse, a member of the Zoo's Outreach and Education Department, on native animal species; András Benyó, the head of the collections at the Magic Mountain, will give a talk on arthropods - the announcement reads.

Remembering the first director of the zoo

It was recalled that János Xántus (1825-1894), a traveler, ethnographer and zoologist who was the first director of the zoo, was born two hundred years ago. In connection with the significant anniversary, two thematic walks will also be held: one in the Zoo and the other in the Fiumei út cemetery area.

On Sunday at 9:30 a.m., the Zoo Foster Parents Meeting will begin at the Zoo’s Főkapu Square, which is announced twice a year for those who have symbolically adopted one of the zoo’s residents. The zoo foster parents will be greeted by Endre Sós, the Zoo’s Director General, and Éva Montskó, the President of the Zoo Foundation.

The participants of the meeting will be treated to various games, and in the program called the parents’ meeting, the zookeepers will report to the foster parents about the everyday lives of the symbolically adopted animals - the summary reads.

Source: MTI.hu

Photo: Mia Balogh