Germany: Rostock Zoo Occupies Top Position in European Zoo Ranking

For the third time in a row, Rostock Zoo has been named Europe’s most successful zoo in the category of over 500,000 to one million visitors annually by British zoo expert Anthony D. Sheridan with a “Best European Zoo Award”. Rostock Zoo also ranked first in its group in 2015 and 2018. In second place in the current ranking is Münster Zoo and in third position England’s Colchester Zoo. The European zoo ranking has been published every two to three years since 2009 and is considered the largest and most important evaluation for zoo facilities in Europe. “We are very happy about the renewed election as Best Zoo in Europe. Through this we see ourselves confirmed in our work,” emphasized zoo director Antje Angeli. “We also have a lot planned and do not want to rest on our laurels.”

In the past year, with a pandemic-related long closure at the beginning of the year and a partial reopening in early March 2021, a total of 511,603 visitors came to Rostock Zoo. According to its own statement, this means that the zoo recorded a drop in visitors of about ten percent compared to the previous year. “[…] Once again, we owe a great deal of gratitude to our visitors and our team of employees for the fact that Rostock Zoo was able to continue to sustain its position during the Covid crisis. […],” said the zoo director. In the future, a number of modernization projects are on the zoo’s agenda – the new seal enclosure for seven million euros is currently the largest investment project at Rostock Zoo. (eap)