Press release — Vita’s Day at ZOO Ljubljana: Meet the Animals of Asia

ZOO LJUBLJANA HAS WAVED GOODBYE TO THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS AT THE 17TH VITA’S DAY, IN THE COMPANY OF MORE THAN 4,000 VISITORS.

This year at ZOO Ljubljana is dedicated to the elephant Ganga, who — on this last Sunday of the holidays, 31 August 2025 — celebrated her birthday one last time. For her 50th birthday she invited the animal representatives of Asia, the new maned wolves and, of course, visitors who missed the celebration on World Elephant Day. The event — organised jointly by ZOO Ljubljana, Zavarovalnica Vita, the Slovenian Philharmonic and Imago Sloveniae — was attended by more than 4,000 visitors.

This time Ganga the elephant celebrated in the company of animals from Asia. Among the guests were Asiatic lions, hog deer, the Indochinese sika deer (extinct in the wild), Siberian tigers, yellow-cheeked gibbons and Indian crested porcupines. All of these Asian animals, except the porcupines, are highly threatened in their natural habitat. At ZOO Ljubljana they are part of the breeding programme of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). For that reason, engaging biological and conservation-focused activities ran with them throughout the day.

Premiere performance of the musical tale "Grey Wolf at the Picnic" by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
For the past three years, Vita’s Day at ZOO Ljubljana has also been marked by concerts that close out the Imago Sloveniae "Nights in Old Ljubljana" festival and open the subscription season of the Slovenian Philharmonic.
This time we were able to enjoy a special musical tale entitled "Grey Wolf at the Picnic". It is a delightful story by author Helena Kraljič, in which we meet a wolf who is not scary at all — just terribly fond of pies. The composer Aleksandra Naumovski Potisk first set the story to music for saxophone and piano, and today we could hear its premiere orchestral version, performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

As befits a birthday, Ganga the elephant enjoyed a giant cake, her favourite version of the cake, while all the animal guests and visitors also received sweet treats. After each concert listeners were decidedly peckish — the story, after all, is about strawberries, more strawberries and pies. At Vita’s recipe-swap stand we therefore prepared a few recipes for wonderful autumn fruit pies, including the one the Grey Wolf bakes in the musical tale, and invited people to share and swap their own favourite pie recipes. Of course, visitors could once again tuck into ice cream, delicious pancakes, desserts and the healthy snacks from the Green Box, which the new maned wolves swear by.

The day was enriched by a range of accompanying activities.

Visitors could enjoy the rhythms, singing and dancing of the Kaya Cultural Society, and the desserts from Ganga’s homeland. Workshops by ZOO Ljubljana and the House of Experiments — 15 different ones in all — were linked to the animal world and elephants. The Ljubljana City Library invited children to a story time and creative workshop about elephants. The Miss Basilika storytelling theatre performed the puppet show "How to Hug a Hedgehog". With a loving and respectful approach, even the prickly hedgehog laid down his spines and welcomed a warm hug. We admired the skills and mischief of Circus Arbadakarba. We made paper porcupines, Indian necklaces, elephant-shaped bookmarks and elephant pendants. We tested our physical stamina on the challenge sports track.

End of release

Photos and video are available at this link:
https://we.tl/t-B17ciGgd3r
Please credit photos to the ZOO Ljubljana Archive (photo: Žare Modlic).

Press contacts:

ZOO Ljubljana:

Director: Barbara Mihelič, barbara.miheli@zoo.si, 051 441 123

Head of Education: Irena Furlan, MSc, irena.furlan@zoo.si, 041 765 087 
Curator: Špela Štrus, spela.strus@zoo.si

Curator: Saša Purkart, sasa.purkart@zoo.si

Zavarovalnica Vita:

Katra Binter Čadež, Katra.BinterCadez@zav-vita.si

Slovenian Philharmonic:
Director Matej Šarc, matej.sarc@filharmonija.si

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