Bern Zoo
| Bern Zoo | ||
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| Full name | Bern Dählhölzli Zoo + BärenPark |
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| motto | More space for fewer animals | |
| particularities | Around half of the park is freely accessible | |
| place | Tierparkweg 1 3005 Bern |
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| surface | 19.5 hectares | |
| opening | June 5, 1937 | |
| Animal species | 239 species (2019) | |
| Individuals | 1480 animals (2019) | |
| Species focus | Animals of Europe and the north; Animals of the tropics in the vivarium | |
| Visitor numbers | 292,351 (2018) | |
| organization | ||
| management | Bernd Schildger | |
| Sponsorship | City of Bern | |
| Funding organizations | Zoo Association Bern | |
| Member of | WAZA , EAZA , VdZ , Zooschweiz | |
 Rhinoceros iguana |
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| www.tierpark-bern.ch | ||
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Coordinates: 46 ° 56 ′ 4 " N , 7 ° 26 ′ 59" E ; CH1903: 600,844 / one hundred ninety-eight thousand one hundred and fifty
The Bern Zoo is the city of Bern's public zoo . It consists of the animal park called Dählhölzli and the bear park , which is spatially separated from the rest of the zoo. The zoo's motto is “More space for fewer animals”. The Bern Zoo is an organizational unit of the City of Bern with a special calculation and responsibilities that differ from the municipal regulations. The Dählhölzli zoo was opened on June 5, 1937. It was financed by private donations and bequests . Apart from the vivarium, where animals from all parts of the world, especially from the tropics and subtropics, are found, mainly Nordic-European animal species are kept. The Bern Zoo currently employs 32 animal keepers.
Dählhölzli
The Dählhölzli is part of the Dählhölzliwald local recreation area on the Aare . The name of the area is derived from the Bernese dialect word "Dähle" for Scots pine . With its area of 19.5 hectares, the Dählhölzli is the habitat of around 1500 animals from 140 species.
history
prehistory
The prehistory of the Bern zoo actually begins in the century before last, when in 1871 a group of optimists advertised a planned zoo with mainly European animals in the western Kirchenfeld and founded an acclimatization association. Two years later the plan was dropped due to a lack of shareholders. For this purpose, the system was built on the Engehalde, on the slope below the Bierhübelis . Here were deer and bison held. Since the system was unsatisfactory, new locations were looked for, including in Dählhölzli. In 1883 there was even thought of creating a zoo with exotic animals. However, all attempts failed for various reasons. Thanks to William Gabus, the financing issue was finally resolved. The watchmaker, born in Le Locle in 1847 , traveled as a daring man with clocks and music boxes to the trade fairs in Russia , owned watch shops in Moscow and later bought Worb Castle as a wealthy man . In 1900 he bequeathed 150,000 francs to the city of Bern for the construction of a zoo, “if possible in the Dählhölzli” , as the will said. In 1901 William Gabus died in Ticino.
From Elfenau to Dählhölzli
In 1918 the city was able to acquire the Elfenau property, which in the next few years meant that this area was more and more in the foreground for the construction of a zoo. The municipal council decided in 1927 for this location. But business was slow. After all, the building department worked out two drafts. In 1930 the nature and zoo association was founded, which after two years had over 1,800 members and was committed to building a zoo in Elfenau. A fund of 50,000 francs was raised through advertising in the press, in the cinemas, through film matins and “Tierlitagen”. As early as 1933, the association submitted a draft, whereby the landscape of the Elfenau should be respected. But soon the concerns of those circles arose who wanted to leave the Elfenau untouched. In March 1935, renewed negotiations led to the fact that the civic community made part of the Dählhölzli forest available and thus created the prerequisites for abandoning Elfenau as a location. In the same year, the Bernese approved the creation of the Dählhölzli zoo. On June 5, 1937, the facilities were opened with a big party in the presence of Federal Councilor Rudolf Minger . The bear pit has been part of the zoo since the zoo was founded.
| Directors of the Dählhölzli zoo | |
| 1937-1938 | Paul Badertscher |
| 1938-1943 | Heini Hediger |
| 1943-1969 | Monika Meyer-Holzapfel |
| 1970-1991 | Hannes Sägesser |
| 1991-1996 | Max Muller |
| since 1997 | Bernd Schildger |
Beginnings
At first the veterinarian Paul Badertscher ran the zoo on a part-time basis. In 1938 the young zoologist Heini Hediger was chosen as the administrator, who soon made a name for himself as an animal psychologist and zoo gardener. In his book Wildtiere in Gefangenschaft (Wild Animals in Captivity) , he made good use of his experiences in the Dählhölzli, experiences that he often made at the forefront in the young zoo during the Second World War, when he had to replace zookeepers in the military. In a report he describes his time in Bern as a tough school, mentions the support he was allowed to receive from the zoo association, and the difficulties of obtaining animals and feed during the war.
Heini Hediger moved to Basel Zoo after just a few years . In his place, Monika Meyer-Holzapfel ran the zoo from May 1, 1943 to December 31, 1969. During this time, the number of animal species in the vivarium increased, but new enclosures were also built outside, some of which were quite makeshift wooden constructions. Not least because of the breeding successes, the professional world became aware of the ambitious zoo during this time. Mention should be made here of the new facilities for endangered or extinct animal species, such as otters , wild cats , lynxes , bison and wolves, the aviaries for birds of prey and the pheasantry. In 1954 the animal population was 1675 animals in 335 species; the number of mammals remained small at 23 species. Both of these factors show that mainly low-maintenance species were kept because only seven keepers were available, three more than at the opening. Despite this limitation, the zoo took the decisive step towards fulfilling its mission of showing the local fauna.
"The Berners Zoo"
"Des Berners Zoo" was the motto of Hannes Sägesser , who directed the fortunes of the Dählhölzli from January 1970 until his sudden death on January 18, 1991. Przewalski's horses , seals , musk ox and Syrian brown bears are species of animals that were introduced in his time. The number of mammal species kept grew to 60. The expansion of the outdoor area (with a small carnivore house, Przewalski horse, otter, bison, elk, tiger and bear enclosure) and the renovation of the vivarium, which opened in 1988, represent his work. Outside of the vivarium, almost all exotic animal species have been replaced by European ones. In the personnel area, a scientific adjunct position and, for the first time in Switzerland, a zoo education position were created. During the time of the fifth manager, Max Müller (May 1991 to August 1996), the expansion of the children's zoo on the Aare and the bear enclosure in the zoo and the renovation of the bear pit fall . A trend reversal towards animals from other continents (such as wallabies or capybaras ) took place among the animals kept . In 1995 the management of the zoo was subjected to analyzes by external experts. Based on the relevant reports, the management of the zoo was restructured and management was established. After a brief interim management by Ruth Baumgartner from September 1996 to March 1997, Bernd Schildger became director of the Dählhölzli zoo. New habitats for animals, such as B. chamois , Marginated turtles , grouse , flamingos , seals and bald ibis were created. In addition to the reduction in the number of animal species that are required for the implementation of animal-friendly habitats, a model was formulated.
Bern Zoo in the 21st century
The focus of the Bern Zoo is still today on native and European wild animals. The concept of combining a local recreation area for families with the educational requirements of a zoological garden, which was developed by the zoo pioneer Monika Meyer-Holzapfel between 1915 and 1935, has been retained to this day.
After a flood in 1999 destroyed large areas of the animal enclosures along the Aare river , they were rebuilt and opened in 2000. Pelicans, otters and European beavers live in the grounds, which are a former floodplain landscape of the Aare. The new pink flamingo facility was inaugurated in front of the vivarium in 1999.
In 2003, the seal facility was rebuilt around the northwest corner of the vivarium, increasing the water volume tenfold compared to the previous facility. With over 2000 cubic meters of water, the new facility is one of the largest seal facilities in Europe. In 2008 the area of the zoo was expanded for the first time since 1937, in favor of the bison forest of Bern and the quarantine station.
This was followed by new facilities for Persian leopards (2006), bison (2008) and the Nordic facilities for musk ox , forest reindeer and arctic foxes (2009). Another attraction of the zoo is an enclosure for puffins (2009), the only keeping of these birds in Switzerland. The birds can dive for fish in a large pool of water and can be watched by visitors.
In 2009, the then President of the Russian Federation, Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Medvedev , and his wife, Svetlana Vladimirovna Medvedeva , gave a young pair of Ussurian brown bears , Misha and Masha , to the city of Bern on their state visit . The Bern Zoo subsequently enlarged its bear enclosure. This was opened in two stages, at the end of June 2011 and Easter 2012. Masha the bear gave birth to two cubs in mid-January 2014. The zoo gave them the names "3" and "4". The hand-raised bear parents were not able to adequately look after the offspring. The two young bears were therefore euthanized a few months after birth.
In 2011, the establishment was followed by a plant for Bezoarziegen an der Aare, 2013 was a new wolf plant. In the same year the glass envelope of the vivarium had to be completely renewed. In the course of the extensive renovation, the entire aquarium area was rebuilt and transformed into three large water landscapes. The large aquariums represent sections of the Amazon, coral reef and mangrove habitats. A large aviary for eagle owls and snowy owls was opened in spring 2015. The trend away from individual keeping towards joint keeping of animal species is being followed and implemented primarily in the vivarium. Numerous animal species live together in a jungle aviary , such as mustache tamarins , balistars , small kantschil and ostrich quail . While different species of marmoset live together with reptiles such as green amives , the entire vivarium is a habitat for a large number of birds, reptiles, frogs and insects living in it.
In 2019, the conversion of the oldest facilities in the Dählhölzli, the facilities for ibex and chamois, to the Aare Alps , which should open in early summer 2020, began.
Greater Flamingo
Greenland musk ox
seal
Flamingo facility (opened in 1999)
Aare embankment (opened in 2000)
Seal enclosure (opened in 2003)
Leopard enclosure (opened in 2006)
Puffin facility (opened in 2009)
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Planning and expansion
The construction of a Madagascan desert house with lemurs and chameleons, the conversion of the children's zoo into an open-air museum-like farm and a monkey rock for Barbary macaques are planned by 2026 . In the Bear Park, the expansion of the current facility from around 5000 m 2 to more than 10,000 m 2 is planned.
Planning for the next decade also means that, in line with the motto, various animal species will disappear from the Bern Zoo. Director Schildger estimates that the number of animal species will drop below two hundred. In the 1990s there were around 350 animal species; the zoo currently has 230 different animal species. So you were in the meantime, the attitude of Humboldt penguins , bald ibis , mountain goats and Przewalski's horses , and in future, for example Elche disappear from the animal population or grouse. The increase in the number of animal species between 2013 and 2014 was primarily related to the renovation and reopening of the water landscapes in the vivarium, which houses significantly more invertebrate species, fish and amphibians than before the renovation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d data sheet “Tierpark Bern” on the website of the Association of Zoological Gardens, as of 2019.
- ↑ Yes to residential initiative, yes to zoo regulations. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ HB: Dählhölzli Zoo, Elfenau. The Bern Week in words and pictures, accessed on February 26, 2020 .
- ↑ The seal enclosure in Bern Zoo. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Tierpark-Bern - overall planning. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ New bear forest for two Russian gifts. In: derbund.ch. July 1, 2011, accessed March 12, 2014 .
- ↑ Dangerous young bear life. In: derbund.ch. March 27, 2014, accessed April 1, 2014 .
- ↑ The second young bear is also dead. In: derbund.ch. April 7, 2014, accessed April 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Everything new in the vivarium. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ A construction site for the ibex . In: Berner Zeitung . ISSN 1424-1021 ( bernerzeitung.ch [accessed on May 1, 2020]).
- ↑ Bern Bear Park should continue to grow in the long term. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Yearbook of the City of Bern 2018 - p. 250. Retrieved on May 1, 2020 .
literature
- Monika Meyer-Holzapfel, Emil Hostettler: Dählhölzli animal park . Haupt, Bern 1962 (= Berner Heimatbücher, Volume 84).
- Hannes Sägesser: The Bern Zoo. Stories from the Dählhölzli zoo . Benteli, Bern 1974, ISBN 3-7165-0035-6 .
- Hannes Sägesser, Klaus Robin: The Dählhölzli in the mirror of its animals . Stämpfli, Bern 1987, ISBN 3-7272-9623-2 .
- Sebastian Bentz: More space for fewer animals! History of the Bern Zoo . Haupt, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-258-07962-2 .
- Bernd Schildger: Why zoos? For the 75th year of the Dählhölzli Zoo in Bern. Dählhölzli Zoo, Bern 2011, ISBN 978-3-033-03266-8 .
- Bernd Schildger: Man, animal! WerdVerlag, Thun 2019, ISBN 978-3-85932-878-5 .
