A visit to the Ljubljana ZOO is also quite fascinating during winter, and now you can enjoy it even more by skating on the ice rink set up between the homes of alpacas and sea lions.

This year, they have set up an ice skating rink for the first in the ZOO, and it is open every day until 19:00. Ice skating is free-of-charge during the working hours of the Ljubljana ZOO (until 16:30), while after closing, the ice rink is accessible for a symbolic price of 2 euros. You can also enjoy hot drinks and delicious Christmas waffles by the ice skating rink. The ice rink will stay open until the end of the winter school holidays.

Are you interested in how animals spend the winter?

You can start your journey through the winter-time ZOO at the enclosures with bears and wolves, which gained extra subcutaneous fat before winter, grew long thick fur and a dense undercoat, making them even more attractive for visitors to snap photos of them. Bears nap during the coldest part of winter, while wolves, which prefer lower temperatures, are much more active.

It is really not unusual to see the elephant Ganga, giraffes or chimpanzees outside in the winter. If it's not too cold, they go out to the open part of the enclosure daily, at least for a short time in the middle of the day.

A great surprise awaits us with the ibexes, which really liven up during this time of the year. If you take the time, you can watch males courting females or chasing off their competitors.

The secret of the reindeer

Even if the youngest children are already a bit tired after so much walking, they will undoubtedly be able to manage the last few meters to the top of the ZOO if you tell them they can see the animals of Santa Claus and Father Frost. Owls, moose and reindeer are among the most popular animals during the winter season, and seeing them in real life is a genuinely remarkable experience.

You can discover one last secret about reindeer antlers, namely, they are the only members of the deer family in which both males and females grow antlers.