PHOTO: The Nutcrackers have their day on Saturday. He will support their rescue at the Prague Zoo
In Africa, they hunt for meat, in Asia they use their scales in traditional medicine. Therefore, the world’s legume population is threatened and the importance of their protection is World Nutcracker Day. It falls on the third Saturday in February. Therefore, the Prague Zoo has prepared a program for the public.
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Twelve oppressed legumes offered for sale at the Nkoabang Market in Yaoundé, Cameroon, were photographed on Wednesday morning, February 16, 2022 by Miroslav Zoo, director of the Prague Zoo.
| Photo: Prague Zoo / Miroslav Bobek
These are currently the most illegally smuggled animals in the world. “These only scaly mammals curl up in case of danger and thus remain completely defenseless towards humans. In Africa, they are hunted mainly for meat, and in Asia there is a great demand for their scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. That is why these scales are being smuggled from Africa to Asia on a large scale, ”threat Miroslav Bobek, the second director of the Prague Zoo.
Aid to endangered species. Prague Zoo is a partner of the pod rescue program
After Asian hunting populations were decimated by overfishing, the attention of the illegal trade shifted to African species. As a result, all eight legume species are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the endangered category, two even as critically endangered.
“At the Prague Zoo, we are therefore trying to help protect the pod in various ways in several countries. In Cameroon, we support the guards of protected areas as part of the Wandering Bus project, and we are trying to limit hunting by educating and educating local people. In Laos and Sumatra, we are again contributing financially to the construction and operation of rescue stations for legumes seized by poachers, ”says Bobek, a project to protect the legumes.
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On Saturday, February 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the garden prepared several events in the Education Center near the main entrance to the complex, including lectures and a creative workshop for the youngest visitors.
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