Leipzig Zoo Celebrates 145th Birthday

(eap) Last Friday, Leipzig Zoo (Germany) celebrated not only an elephant offspring, but also its very own birthday. 145 years ago, innkeeper Ernst Pinkert first opened the gates of the Pfaffendorfer Hof as an animal garden. Until today, the former animal garden has turned into one of the most modern zoos in Europe. 145 years of Leipzig Zoo were celebrated with an elephant baptism and a zoo talk. The little elephant cub of lead cow Kewa was baptized Zaya, the happiness. In the zoo talk moderated by Roman Knoblauch, authorized signatory Andrej Synnatzschke reported on the development of the former regional excursion destination into an attraction for guests from all over Germany and beyond.

Leipzig’s Mayor of Culture and Zoo Supervisory Board Chairwoman Dr. Skadi Jennicke, also sent her birthday greetings: “I’d like to congratulate Zoo Leipzig and the entire team around Director Prof. Jörg Junhold on the 145th birthday of our zoo. 145 years also means 145 years of exciting and changing history and 145 years of development. Leipzig Zoo is one of the most modern zoos in the world and fulfils different goals today than it did once. The menagerie has given way to a species and nature conservation center that is committed to protecting endangered species and habitats in Leipzig and around the world and offers the inhabitants of Leipzig an exciting insight into the world of animals and their conservation. With the reopening of the modernized Arche Discovery House in July, the Zoo is consistently continuing on its path in order to become a “Zoo of the Future”. Together, we can be proud of what we have achieved.” The Discovery House reopens as soon as a place of digital information an entertainment about the zoo’ commitment to species conservation. ■