Saarbrücken Zoo
| Saarbrücken Zoo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zoological garden of the state capital Saarbrücken | |
| motto | Hello at the zoo | |
| particularities | Night zoo in the Africa House and suspension bridge | |
| place | Graf-Stauffenberg-Strasse 66121 Saarbrücken |
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| surface | 13 hectares | |
| opening | 1956 | |
| Animal species | 160 species | |
| Individuals | 1054 animals | |
| Species focus | Animal species from Africa, South America and Madagascar | |
| Visitor numbers | 260,000 (2014) | |
| organization | ||
| management | Richard Francke (Director) | |
| Funding organizations | Friends of the Saarbrücken Zoo e. V. | |
| Member of | EAZA , VdZ | |
 Main entrance of the Saarbrücken Zoo |
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| zoo.saarbruecken.de | ||
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Coordinates: 49 ° 13 '50.7 " N , 7 ° 2' 22.5" E
The Saarbrücken Zoo , with over 200,000 visitors a year who visited more frequently and with more than 1,000 animals from 150 species of species-richer of the two Saarland zoos .
history
There was a quarry on the site as early as 1870, and a cable car until 1926 . Originally founded in 1932, the Saarbrücken Zoo was completely destroyed in World War II. In 1956 it was rebuilt on the southern slope of the Saarbrücken district of Eschberg on an area of 15 hectares . The zoo was built on a steep part of the Eschberg.
At the end of 2005 the long-time director Vaclav Ceska was dismissed from office. The associated political dispute blocked almost all investments for years, so that the Saarbrücken zoo lost touch with the zoo world. The north entrance was closed due to falling visitor numbers. Two hectares of the northern zoo area are currently being converted into a residential area.
Since 2008, however, we have been working on the implementation of various projects again. Saarbrücken Zoo has drawn up a master plan for future projects as part of this 2014 investment program, with which it is to be upgraded and made more attractive. New systems for mandrills and cheetahs and for new animal species such as meerkats , helmet cassowaries and brush-eared pigs have now been completed . The Afrikahaus was re-insulated and a giraffe hill and a suspension bridge (the longest suspension bridge in Saarland at 42 meters) were added. The new seal pool was opened in October 2012, and the old seal pool has been home to Humboldt penguins since the beginning of 2014 after being renovated . A large outdoor facility for the gorillas was also completed in spring 2014 .
Animals
Overview
Saarbrücken Zoo is home to over 1,000 animals from 160 different species. The focus here is on animals of the African steppe ( giraffes , plains zebras , eland , meerkats , cheetahs , warthogs and South African crowned cranes ), the African rainforests (such as gorillas , chimpanzees , mandrills , drills and servals ) and the Amazon rainforest ( jaguars , Pumas , lowland tapirs , marmosets , piranhas , armadillos and anacondas ), the South American coast ( Humboldt penguins ) and the Patagonian region ( guanacos and rheas ). In addition, the zoo also includes animals from the Southeast Asian Ocean region, such as gibbons , crab monkeys , keas , kangaroos , emus and the Malay hornbill .
Rarely kept animals
Rarities at the zoo are aardvark , Chinese alligator , scorpion-crustacean , Malay hornbill and rarely kept primates such as night monkeys , lemurs , which are represented in several species and subspecies, or drills .
Breeding successes
Like all scientific zoos, Saarbrücken Zoo participates in the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), which coordinates breeding programs across Europe. The white-headed marmoset Callithrix , the first European breed of the Australian beaked hedgehog in 1995, but also the Poitou donkey , a rare domestic animal breed, can be regarded as special breeding successes . Four jaguars have been born in the zoo since 2009 .
Animal houses and facilities
Important new buildings since the re-establishment are:
- 1956: Free-flight aviary for birds of prey (today white-handed gibbons) and tropicarium for lemurs and reptiles
- 1967: Penguin enclosure, used as a seal enclosure from 1973 to 2012 and converted again for penguins from 2014
- 1971: Elephant house, converted for tapirs in 1996 as a so-called South America house
- 1975: Africa House: Largest animal house in the zoo, expanded with a night zoo in 1978
- 1981/1992: Ape house
- 1997: Predatory house for jaguars
- 2008: New Australian facility for kangaroos and emus, new facility for mandrills and pin-eared pigs
- 2011: New cheetah house
- 2012: Meerkat enclosure and new seal enclosure
- 2014: Penguin facility, new outdoor enclosure for lowland gorillas
- 2015: system for small pandas , system for helmet cassowaries and Chinese muntjacs
- 2016: Walk-in facility for ring-tailed lemurs
- 2017: New entrance area, renovation of the outdoor area for giraffes
There is also an Asia House for birds such as hornbills, keas (since 2009) and Balistare (since 2018), as well as the Europahaus with owl aviaries . In the next few years the zoo is to be enriched with a tiger canyon, a rhinoceros savannah and new reptile facilities.
Zoo education
The zoo education team offers guided tours and projects. Topics are, for example, species protection and nutrition of zoo animals. An extraordinary spectacle is the zoo at night (when children can stay overnight in the zoo and see how the animals behave at night), the holiday program and the photo safaris. The Saarbrücken Zoo also offers language tours in English and French. The zoo also offers the zoo book to read on and a coloring book, also in French.
photos
Western lowland gorilla "Pesco" in the new outdoor enclosure
The seal fetches the fish from the hand of the carer while feeding
Endangered Chinese alligators in Saarbrücken Zoo
Ring-tailed lemur while sunbathing
Aardvark cub "Elise" was raised by hand in 2015
literature
- Eugen Grittmann: 80 years of the Saarbrücken Zoo. 1932-2012. Saarbrücken Zoological Garden, Saarbrücken 2012.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ New outdoor enclosure for gorillas ( Memento from June 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Kurzschnageligel - Former Holdings. Zootierliste.de, accessed on March 11, 2019.