The first evening walk of the season starts on 29 May at the Budapest Zoo. As part of the programme, visitors can discover the zoo's secrets behind the scenes. What can you expect on this week's walk? You can visit the veterinary clinic, learn how tranquiliser guns work, take a tour of parts of the Shark School that are not usually open to the public and discover interesting facts about exotic bird hatching in Xántus House, as reported by the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden to MTI.

Get closer to the animals than you would on a regular visit

There will be eight more evening walks during the season, with two each in June, July, August and September, following Thursday's walk.

The Evening Walks take place after the zoo's regular opening hours, usually at 6.30pm, and participants are guided in small groups to behind-the-scenes attractions by experts who know the zoo well and have decades of experience. 

Zookeepers working at each station and animal house act as hosts, offering insights into the animals in their care and the intricacies of working with them. This also means that you can get closer to the animals than you would during a regular visit to the zoo, at least to the friendlier ones.

Always new experiences

Behind-the-scenes visits are organised at a dozen different locations and animal enclosures within the zoo. Three of these locations form the main programme for each Evening Walk. The programme is always changing, so guests who return to the event several times will always see and experience something new. 

Programme locations include the veterinary clinic, feed kitchen, backyard garden, Sharks' caretaker treatment area, Poison House, rhinoceros and elephant habitat, Wild Animal Rescue Centre and Australian House, for example. At the giraffe enclosure, visitors can get up close to the giraffes, while the Palm House is home to sloths, armadillos and other animals.

Refreshments, snacks and gifts will be provided to visitors to the evening programme during the walk. Tickets can be purchased here, and detailed information about the individual evening walks can be found on the zoo's website.

Source: MTI

Photo: Mia Balogh