Rostock Zoo: Successful Anniversary Year & Ambitious Goals

(eap) Rostock Zoo on the Baltic coast welcomed around half a million visitors in its 125^th anniversary year. This makes the zoo one of the most visited leisure and educational facilities in Germany’s federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This year, Rostock Zoo will present three new features: In summer, both a new seal enclosure and the “Café Käfer”, as well as the historic (and barrier-free) zoo entrance at Trotzenburg, which has been refurbished in accordance with the preservation order, are due to open. In addition, further future projects are already being planned as part of a comprehensive master plan.

Visualisierung neue Robbenanlage im Zoo Rostock. The highlight of the 2025 zoo year will be the opening of the new seal enclosure with a grandstand and panoramic windows for a clear view under water. “As in our previous projects, we will combine animal husbandry with a wealth of information about the animal species on display and their habitat. With the seal enclosure, we are setting an example for modern and species-appropriate animal husbandry and offering our visitors a completely new perspective on these fascinating animals. With exciting facts about their way of life and their habitat, we want to raise awareness of nature and species conservation. As a modern zoo, we see it as our duty to impart knowledge about the diversity of nature and its complex interrelationships,” says zoo director Antje Angeli.

The next construction measures planned are the renovation of the climbing structures in the indoor orangutan enclosure in the “Darwineum” and various renovation works on the zoo’s visitor path network. Thanks to a donation from the Rostock Zoo Association on the occasion of the zoo’s 125th anniversary, visitors will soon be able to observe the Manchurian cranes in a modernized enclosure – the first construction phase is imminent.

In addition, a new master plan sets out long-term goals: “In order to further develop the success story of Rostock Zoo and to remain competitive both nationally and internationally, all necessary measures must be planned with foresight and placed in a spatial, temporal and thematic context. This can be optimally developed within the framework of a master plan for the next 15 to 20 years [...]. The focus here is on investments in modern animal facilities, educational opportunities and a sustainable infrastructure. [...] Future projects such as the “Humbolteum”, which will focus on biodiversity and provide a wide range of innovative information on the topics of biodiversity and species conservation, as well as other projects will be planned with the greatest possible economic and ecological sustainability in mind. Our aim is to continuously develop the zoo with a clear focus on nature and species conservation, education and visitor satisfaction,” explains the zoo director.

Learn more about the latest facts & figures of European leisure facilities in the EAP Park Report, which will be published in EAP issue 2/2025 (available from March 1). ■