Gift for the Queen: Pelicans from Prague Zoo head to Buckingham Palace!
They were born with almost blue blood. White pelicans from the Prague Zoo were bred directly for Queen Elizabeth II of England, who cannot praise Czech birds enough since 1995!
The three-month-old siblings Sun, Moon and Star left their nest in Troja, and now their new home will be the luxury St James park right next to the Buckingham Palace.
Prague Zoo prepared the transport of birds for Thursday morning. The pelicans have a 17-hour ride ahead of them. Miroslav Bobek, the director of the zoo, was also supervising the preparation of the trip.
“They really are the pelicans for the queen. Since the nineties we've been delivering pelicans to London, to St James Park.”
The tradition of pelicans at the famous mansion dates back to the seventeenth century. At that time, Russia began first supplying them to London. Then Britain sourced pelicans from America for a while, but eventually the Czechs were selected.
“We have, to a certain extent, taken over in the 1990s, thanks to the fact that we have successfully reproduced white pelicans, which is not easy,”
Bobek explained, saying that it is an honour for Prague Zoo to have been addressed by London.
This is the third delivery of pelicans to London since 1995.
According to the breeders and the zoo director, the birds have really luxurious, even royal lives. All they need is a sufficient supply of freshwater fish, water and company. They live in flocks. Because they were raised by humans, they are not afraid of people, so visitors of the park can see a pelican from a small distance. According to the bird curator Antonín Vaidl, they are not dangerous.
Zoo Praha
