Josef Vágner
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Josef Vágner (May 26, 1928 – May 6, 2000) was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
zoologist, tropical forester, author, and the director of the Dvůr Králové Zoo in Dvůr Králové nad Labem.


Early life and education

Vágner was born on May 26, 1928, in Ždírnice in
Trutnov Trutnov (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Trutnov consists of 21 ...
,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
(now
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
). Having completed his secondary education at a technical school in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Vágner attended a forestry college in
Trutnov Trutnov (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Trutnov consists of 21 ...
and graduated from the University of Agriculture and Forestry in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. In 1965 he completed an extramural postgraduate programme in tropical forestry and in 1974 became a candidate of agricultural and forestry sciences. From 1952 to 1958, Vágner served as chief officer at the Military Forests Administration in Mirošov. From 1958 to 1964 he worked as a teacher at a forestry college in
Svoboda nad Úpou Svoboda nad Úpou () is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Giant Mountains in the valley of the Úpa River. Etymology Both the Czech name Svoboda and the ...
.


Director of Dvůr Králové Zoo

In 1965 Vágner took over as the director of the zoo in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, then known as the East Bohemian Zoological Garden (). The zoo had been established in 1946 on an area of 6.5 hectares to house a small collection of local fauna. After the first twenty years of its existence, the area had quadrupled and the animal collections had expanded. Nonetheless, before Vágner joined the zoo in 1965, the institution's significance for environmental education and conservation was limited to the region. The transformation of the zoo initiated by Vágner influenced animal husbandry standards and zoo culture throughout Czechoslovakia and internationally. An enthusiast of Africa, Vágner developed the previously unknown zoo into Europe's largest collection of African ungulates. His ten expeditions resulted in more than 3,000 animals being imported to Czechoslovakia, mostly from the great plains of
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
. Despite logistical challenges and strenuous days of sea travel, the shipments of African animals had a high survival rate. While some of the imported animals travelled further to other zoos across Europe, most remained in Dvůr Králové, forming some of the largest breeding herds of antelopes, zebras, giraffes, buffalos and rhinos outside of Africa. The rhinos eventually became the zoo's flagship species, and included the
Northern White Rhinoceros The northern white rhinoceros or northern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum cottoni'') is one of two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the southern white rhinoceros). This subspecies is a grazer in grasslands and savanna wood ...
, a subspecies of the
White Rhino The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''), is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most Sociality, social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted f ...
which, unlike the now abundant
Southern White Rhinoceros The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies ...
, has been exterminated in the wild.


The safari

Vágner's idea of exhibiting large herds of African ungulates at the zoo was based on the concept of panoramic enclosures, developed by Karl Hagenbeck in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. A part of the zoo's area was landscaped panoramically, with dry moats and paths between individual grassed exhibits not visible to the spectator. Visitors thus have the illusion of animals of many different species inhabiting one common exhibit. The main part of Vágner's concept was the "Safari", a 30-hectare area with visitors driving in their cars among free-roaming animals. This stage of the zoo's development was completed six years after Vágner retired in 1983. Specially adapted buses were introduced instead of private cars.


Privatisation controversy

Vágner was criticised for his attempt to privatise the zoo through a company he had established with other family members. He submitted the privatisation plan in the mid-1990s, when financial problems threatened the viability of the zoo. As a result of a 1990 structural reform in Czechoslovakia, the zoo was allocated to a sub-regional budget, to which it presented a significant burden. Vágner claimed his privatisation offer was a solution to the problem. However, his offer was not accepted, and was strongly opposed by the management of the zoo.


International work

Throughout his life, Josef Vágner worked in many countries in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, including
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
,
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, Tanganyika,
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
,
Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. Apart from transforming Dvůr Králové Zoo into a world-class breeding and research facility, Vágner participated in many other ventures. He was involved in the development of Košice Zoo in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, prepared a settlement plan of the left bank of Tana River for the Kenyan government, and created an Indian Rhino conservation scheme for India's
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
region.


Honours

Vágner was awarded professional and scientific achievement prizes by the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
(G. J. Mendel Silver Plaque), University of Life Sciences in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and the Veterinary University in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
. He was a life member of the East African Wild Life Society. In 1999, Vágner was awarded
honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of Dvůr Králové nad Labem. At
Plzeň Zoo Plzeň Zoo (''Zoologická a botanická zahrada města Plzně'') is a Czech zoo, located in Plzeň in Czech Republic. After Liberec Zoo it is the second oldest zoo in the Czech Republic, founded in 1926 on the river banks of the river Radbuza. Plze ...
, an exhibit presenting African nocturnal animals was dedicated to him.


Publications

Vágner was also an author, whose works have been translated into seven languages, and also published internationally. Vágner was the author and co-author of nearly fifty research papers, as well as a similar number of popular articles, and appeared often on TV and radio. Outside Czechoslovakia Vágner gave public speeches and lectures in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
),
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.


Personal life

Vágner died in Dvůr Králové nad Labem on May 6, 2000. He and his wife Zdena had three sons and two daughters. Vágner spoke Czech, Russian, German, English, French and Swahili.


Politics

Vágner was a member of the Communist Party from 1949 to 1970, when his membership was annulled, due to his opposition to the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
in 1968. In 1989-1990 he was one of the spokespersons of the
Civic Forum The Civic Forum (, OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( – VPN). The Civic Forum's purpo ...
, the opposition movement set up during the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
. He later joined the Civic Democratic Party.


Bibliography

*''Žirafy pro Československo'' (1970) *''Sen safari'' (1971) **(with his wife Zdena Vágnerová) *''Simba a ti druzí'' (1973) *''Safari pod Kilimandžárem'' (1975) **(with Naďa Schneiderová) **(translated into Russian by S.V. Davydjuk and published in Russia - USSR as ''Safari pod Kilimandžaro'' in 1979 and 1984) **(translated into Slovak by J. Blicha and published in Slovakia as ''Safari pod Kilimandžárom'' in 1985) **(translated into Hungarian by J. Magyar and published in Hungary as ''Szafari a Kilimandzsáró alatt'' in 1988) *''Mzuri Africa'' (1975) *''Afrika: raj a peklo zvířat: (od Atlasu na jih)'' (1978) **(published again in 1979 and 1990) **(translated into Russian by I. Macuľskoj and published in Russia - USSR as ''Afrika, raj i ad dlja zhivotnych'' in 1987) **(translated into German by L. Teltscherová and published in Germany as ''Afrika: Paradies und Hölle der Tiere'' in 1989) **(translated into French by D. Doppia and published in France as ''Afrique: Paradis et enfer des animaux'' in 1989) *''Afrika: život a smrt zvířat: vyprávění o afrických zvířatech, přírodě a lidech od Dračích hor na sever'' (1979) **(published again in 1987) *''Lev není králem zvířat'' (1981) **(with Naďa Schneiderová) **(published originally in Slovak as ''Lev nie je kráľom zvierat'' in 1981 and again in 1986 and 1988) **(1st Czech edition in 1990) **(translated into Russian by V. Rjabtschenko and E. Rulina and published in Russia - USSR as ''Car' zverej ne lev'' in 1984, 1987 and 1989) **(translated into Hungarian by J. Mayer and published in Hungary as ''Az oroszlán nem az állatok királya'' in 1984) **(translated into Polish by E. M. Hunca and published in Poland as ''Lew nie jest królem zwierząt'' in 1986 and 1989) *''Afrika'' (1987) *''Animals of Africa'' (1989) **(first published in the UK) *''Zvířata v Africe'' (1992) **(translated into Polish by M. Garbarczyk and H. Garbarczyk and published in Poland as ''Afrykańskie zwierzęta'' in 1992) **(translated into Slovak by H. Suchá and published in Slovakia as ''Zvierata v Afrike'' in 1992) *''Zvířata Afriky'' (1995) **(translated into Slovak by A. Hronková and published in Slovakia as ''Zvierata Afriky'' in 1995) *''Rádžové indických džunglí'' (1995) **(with Naďa Schneiderová) *''Kimuri: lovecké příběhy a pohádky z Afriky'' (1997) **(with Zdeněk Vágner)


References


External links


Josef and Zdena Vágner Foundation - Nadace Josefa a Zdeny Vágnerových

Dvůr Králové Zoo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vágner, Josef 1928 births 2000 deaths Czech male non-fiction writers Czechoslovak writers Czechoslovak zoologists 20th-century Czech non-fiction writers