Petr Hamerník managed to capture the introduction of baby elephants during the lockdown.
Photo: Petr Hamerník / Prague Zoo – Baby elephants
“The photograph was taken on Sunday 10 May 2020 in late morning at Prague Zoo’s elephant pavilion. It shows Amalee (left), a day-old female Indian elephant and her half-sister Lakuna, born on 27 March the same year – at a time when the entire nation was in lockdown due to the new coronavirus pandemic, and the zoo was closed to the public. The birth of both baby elephants was a great boost for everyone at the zoo during an otherwise difficult period. It was all the more joyful in that in contrast to the two baby elephants born in 2016, this time they were females. They’ll remain their whole lives in the family herd, and so for Prague Zoo it means that Indian elephant breeding will continue for at least another half-century,” says Petr Hamerník.
Petr Hamerník has been taking photographs since the age of 12 when he got his first camera from his neighbour. This started him on his lifelong passion, which eventually turned into his profession when he joined Prague Zoo in 2014 as its main photographer. He had had ties to Prague Zoo for much longer, however: as a child he was a member of the Circle of Friends of the Zoo, often visited the zoo and perfected his photography technique there, later taking part in a photography competition in which he also won a number of awards. His role model was the then photographer at Prague Zoological Gardens, Vladimír Motyška. He is fascinated by animals’ diversity and the richness of their expressions, meaning his work is always full of surprises and new situations and never becomes routine.