Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) description and photos - Germany: Berlin (Topic)

Zoologischer Garten Berlin description and photos - Germany: Berlin. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Zoologischer Garten Berlin.

Photo and description

In the center of Berlin, in the Tiergarten park of the district of the same name, there is one of the ten best zoos in the world. It is the oldest zoo in Germany with an area of 35 hectares, the number of animals varies from 14,000 to 17,000, and there are 1,500 species. On the territory of the zoo there is an aquarium, which displays amphibians, reptiles and fish, insects and invertebrates.

A little history

The zoo was opened in August 1844, when the country was ruled by Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The zoo began to flourish under the director, Heinrich Bodinus, who was appointed to this post in 1869. Under him, a corral for antelope was built, separate premises for elephants, flamingos and ostriches were brought. On the territory of the zoo, food establishments and shopping areas were rapidly appearing. The construction of the landmark of the zoo - the famous Elephant Gate ("Elephanttentor") - is also the merit of Bodinus.

The next head of the zoo, Ludwig Heck, who replaced Bodinus in 1888, was successfully engaged in increasing the fund of animals, and created a wonderful greenhouse. The aquarium designed by Dr. Oskar Heinroth was built in 1913 to study the behavior of animals from the same greenhouse. After the First World War, some of the buildings were dismantled.

The Second World War caused enormous damage to the zoo. Most of the buildings and enclosures were destroyed, of more than 3,700 animals, only 91 survived. Katarina Heinroth led the menagerie in very difficult years - from 1945 to 1956. She succeeded a lot - the enclosure for hippos, utility rooms, pens for antelope and elephants were built and renovated.

In 1956, Heinz-Georg Klos continued the restoration of the zoo. Under his leadership, a zoological school was founded, animal sculptures were exhibited, new dwellings for bears and monkeys, aviaries for birds were erected. A separate room was allocated for night predators. The great merit of Klyos is the beginning of the breeding of endangered and rare animal species.

1990 became the year of unification not only of the country, but also of two zoos - Tiergarten and Tierpark in West and East Berlin.

Walking through the zoo

One of entrances - Elephant Pagoda, as well as the House of the Giraffes and the House of Antelopes, have been preserved in their original form since the 19th century. Aviaries are more like palaces than animal cages.

The peculiarity of the Berlin Zoo is that animals are fenced off from visitors not by cages, but by ditches, and the walls of the pools for hippos and fur seals are transparent and you can see what is happening. Where else can you see a hippo dive? The special cold penguin enclosure is also transparent. Closed aviaries are designed for birds and tropical plants.

The zoo is proud of the rare species of animals that have been bred in captivity - red pandas, kiwi birds, ocelot, snow leopards, elephants, polar bears and ring-tailed kangaroos.

A separate three-story building of the Aquarium accommodates not only fish. Komodo dragons, sharks, crocodiles and insects live there. The building of the aquarium was destroyed in November 1943 as a result of the bombing, and in 1952 they began to build a new one on the old foundation. but partially restoring the old interior.

The inhabitants of Berlin love the inhabitants of the zoo and with great joy and pride receive the news about the replenishment of this or that animal family. The zoo has monuments to animals - the famous hippopotamus named Knuchka, who survived the war, and the white bear cub Knut, who was first born in the zoo, as well as figures of a lion, centaur, pelican, gorilla and others.

It is customary at the Berlin Zoo to show visitors how and what the monkeys are fed, and there is also an opportunity to observe the feeding of other animals.

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Topic: Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) description and photos - Germany: Berlin.