Germany: Zoo Berlin Celebrates 175th Anniversary
Zu den historischen Gebäuden im Zoo Berlin zählt u.a. das Antilopenhaus
Today, 175 years ago, the gates of Zoo Berlin opened for the first time. The animal park was founded as a royal menagerie and over the years it has developed into one of the most popular and species-rich zoos in Germany. Traces of history can still be seen in the zoo today, such as historical buildings that are still used for animal husbandry. Around 20,000 animals from almost 1,300 species currently live on the 33-hectare large zoo grounds. In addition to species conservation and protection programs, Berlin Zoo focuses on knowledge transfer and research – the offer includes a zoo school for children’s groups and school classes.
“Zoo Berlin is an important cultural institution where the most diverse people in society – from the young to the young-at-heart – come together. We would like to take our anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate the breathtaking diversity of the animal world together with our guests […],” says Dr. Andreas Knieriem, Director of Zoo Berlin. As part of the anniversary celebrations guests can participate in special guided tours for a glimpse behind the scenes of everyday zoo life.
Currently, Zoo Berlin is the only animal park in Germany to present the Giant Panda – in 2017, the new “Panda Garden” was opened as a close-to-nature enclosure for two specimens of the endangered species (cf. EAP 5/17). At the moment, construction works are underway for the renovation of the existing predator house, which sees a modernization according to the requirements of modern zoo keeping (cf. EAP News f. 20 March 18). Being a green oasis in the city of Berlin, the animal park is currently working on its “Vision Zoo Berlin” investment program in order to become one of the most modern and renowned zoos in the world. Read more about Zoo Berlin’s future development plans in one of our upcoming magazine issues. (eap)
