Wuppertal Zoo

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Wuppertal Zoo
Full name Zoological garden of the city of Wuppertal
place Hubertusallee 30,
42117 Wuppertal
surface 24 hectares
opening September 8, 1881
Animal species 359 species as of Jan. 1, 2018
Individuals 3,566 animals as of January 1, 2018
Visitor numbers 553,828
organization
management Arne Lawrenz
Sponsorship City of Wuppertal
Funding organizations Zooverein Wuppertal e. V.
Member of WAZA , EAZA , VdZ , EGHN
Zoo Gaststätten Wuppertal 001.jpg

Building of the former zoo restaurants on Hubertusallee

www.zoo-wuppertal.de
Wuppertal Zoo (Wuppertal)
Wuppertal Zoo

Coordinates: 51 ° 14 ′ 23 "  N , 7 ° 6 ′ 44"  E

The zoological garden of the city of Wuppertal (short Zoo Wuppertal or Wuppertaler Zoo , own name: "The Green Zoo Wuppertal") is a scientifically managed zoo and one of the sights in the city of Wuppertal . He is also the namesake of the villa district Zooviertel .

In the 24 hectare park with old trees on the hillside, 4200 animals of around 470 species from all parts of the world are housed. In the animal houses include apes , monkeys , bears , large cats , tapirs , elephants , birds , fish and reptiles to visit.

history

Before World War II

The Wuppertal Zoo was laid out according to plans by the horticultural artist Heinrich Siesmayer . The public limited company Zoologischer Garten was founded on December 5, 1879. On September 8, 1881 zoo restaurants and zoo were opened. At the beginning, the zoo had 34 animals, including a bear and a pair of wolves. On September 15, 1899 the lion "Pascha" was born. It was one of the few zoological sights, as entertainment was in the foreground, so you could go canoeing in the lake of today's gibbon facility . In the years 1910 to 1912 the "Nordland Panorama" for polar bears, sea lions and mountain goats and the lion rock was built. In May 1927 the elephant house was completed and on May 27th the Asian elephant couple "Krishna" and "Lakshmi" moved in together with the two hippos "Bubi" and "Rosa". After a change in stock corporation law, the stock corporation was dissolved in 1937 and the zoo was taken over by the city ​​of Wuppertal , which is still the owner of the zoo today.

During the war

During the Second World War , the authorities had animals shot or given to other zoos for air protection reasons. Towards the end of the war animals were also slaughtered or lost to looting. The zoo was not too badly damaged by bombs, although some of the facilities were slightly damaged. The zoo reopened just a few days after the end of the war.

Since 1945

After the female hippopotamus "Lina" moved from Munich to Wuppertal in 1950 , the two Indian elephants "Siwa" and "Rani" came to the zoo in 1955. Rani died in 1970, Siwa died in 2000.

In 1963 a new brown bear enclosure was opened.

In 1981 the zoo celebrated its 100th anniversary. In addition, the zoo association donated an extension of the gibbon facility and a new deer house, the city donated a new bird of prey facility.

In 1993 a free flight hall was built.

On October 14, 1995, the new elephant enclosure was opened in the presence of Prime Minister Johannes Rau . It is the largest facility in the Wuppertal Zoo. 11 African elephants live here, including the Asian elephant "Siwa" until 2000, on an external area of ​​approx. 3000 m² and an internal area of ​​approx. 1340 m². Here you can see the daily bathing of the animals and tricks in the outdoor enclosure. In the meantime, seven elephant cubs have been born on this facility since 2005. The elephant group has comprised 11 animals since the birth of the youngest offspring in April 2019.

In May 2002 the former elephant house was reopened as a tapir house. The Central American tapirs that live here are the only breeding specimens of their kind in Europe.

Outdoor enclosure for orangutans

In July 2003 the new outdoor enclosure for orangutans was opened. It was considered to be the most expensive and largest investment made by the Wuppertal Zoo Association to date . It offers the animals about 600 m² of exercise, whereby only glass was used to delimit the enclosure. Visitors can watch the animals from a small cave.

Walkable tunnel in the king penguin complex

On the occasion of the zoo's 125th anniversary in 2006, a new facility for African penguins and an outdoor enclosure for the gorillas were built, which were also completed for the anniversary. The Wuppertal Zoo Association, winner of the 2006 Wuppertal Business Prize in the “City Marketing” category, organized the “ Pinguinale ”, a sympathy campaign throughout the city in favor of the zoo.

In May 2007 the area of ​​the zoo was enlarged by a larger piece. The " Samba route ", which as a former railway Elberfeld Cronenberg to a public bike - and walking has been developed and previously was outside the zoo since runs partly on the so-called Tiger Valley Bridge , over the new and expanded part of the zoo area with the big cats enclosures . The expansion created a new outdoor enclosure for African lions, which is also the largest lion enclosure in a German zoo, and the expanded facility for Siberian tigers ( Panthera tigris altaica ).

In a test by Stern magazine in spring 2008, the Wuppertal Zoo achieved the third-best rating in large German zoos. The new enclosures for lions and tigers as well as the keeping of species that are seldom shown in German zoos were particularly recognized.

In March 2009, the second largest king penguin facility in Europe was opened. A special feature is the 15 m long acrylic glass tunnel, which enables visitors to observe the 14 king penguins and 16 gentoo penguins underwater.

A newly designed okapi facility with a public house was put into operation in 2011.

Since autumn 2014 there has been a restaurant in the zoo in the style of a high seat with a view over the enclosure for African elephants.

In spring 2020 the free flight hall “Aralandia” was opened. The 1,100 m² aviary is home to macaws , parakeets , flamingos and pudus .

Breeding programs

The largest breeding group of the pudu , a small South American deer species, lives in the Wuppertal Zoo . This is also where the international stud book of this species is kept. There have been more than 125 pudu births since 1973. In addition, the zoo takes part in many other breeding programs run by the species protection foundation . The Wuppertal Zoo is also home to a large herd of elephants, two African elephants were born in 2011, and another African elephant was born in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020. Furthermore, the Wuppertal Zoo has the largest participation in an international breeding program for the golden-headed lion tamarin, which is critically endangered .

criticism

Epulu in his enclosure

The animal rights organization PETA and the animal rights activist Colin Goldner have been criticizing the keeping conditions of the two chimpanzees Kitoto and Epulu since 2011 . Criticisms are an enclosure that is too small and too unattractive, the lack of access to an outside area and the paired keeping of the two chimpanzees contrary to their natural way of life as group animals.

PETA refers to the primatologist Volker Sommer at University College London ( UCL ), who among other things belongs to the great ape expert group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN .

Zoo director Arne Lawrenz, however, points out in an article in the Westdeutsche Zeitung that Epulus cannot be integrated into a group of conspecifics due to his biography or his inappropriate upbringing, without endangering life and limb.

In the light of more recent findings, the zoo handed over the two chimpanzees to the Antwerp and Heidelberg zoos in September 2019 .

location

The Wuppertal Zoo is located in the western part of the city of Wuppertal on the northern slope of the Boltenberg between Elberfeld (Varresbeck) in the east and Sonnborn or Vohwinkel in the west. Due to the hillside location, there are sometimes a few meters to overcome between the enclosures. After opening the new enclosure for the big cats, it now has an area of ​​24 hectares.

Directions

The zoo is connected to the public transport network. The suspension railway station Zoo / Stadion and the S-Bahn station Zoologischer Garten (S8, S9) are nearby. The bus routes 639 and 605 of the Wuppertaler Stadtwerke stop right in front of the main entrance of the zoo. The zoo can be reached by car via the A 46 with the exit at Sonnborner Kreuz . A large parking lot is located next to the Wuppertal stadium .

Management of the zoo

Stock company until March 31, 1937, then the city of Wuppertal as owner.

until March 31, 1900 By the supervisory board of the stock corporation
May 1, 1900 to September 14, 1934 Josef Keusch (1864–1945)
October 1, 1934 to 1941 Wilhelm Seiffge
March 1, 1942 to June 1, 1942 (interim) Eduard Wiedemann (1907–1947), also director of the Duisburg Zoo
July 1, 1942 to June 17, 1947 Eduard Wiedemann
November 1, 1947 to March 8, 1950 Martin Schlott (1891–1950)
June 16, 1950 to March 31, 1967 Richard Muller
June 1, 1967 to June 30, 1988 Gerhard Haas (1923-2006)
July 1, 1988 to 2012 Ulrich Schürer (* 1947)
2012 to February 28, 2013 (interim)
Arne Lawrenz (* 1964), deputy (veterinarian)
since March 1, 2013 Arne Lawrenz

Web links

Commons : Zoo Wuppertal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c culture report, City of Wuppertal 2017 2018
  2. Home Zoo. Accessed December 31, 2019 .
  3. a b c The zoo yesterday on zoo.wuppertal.de
  4. The Great Zoo Test
  5. http://www.zoo-wuppertal.de/der-zoo/der-zoo-heute/
  6. http://www.wuppertaler-rundschau.de/lokales/im-okavango-auf-stelzen-aid-1.4624357
  7. http://www.zoodirektoren.de/magazin/artikel.php?artikel=1554&type=&menuid=76&topmenu=58
  8. Goldner, Colin: Gloomy times for Gorilla & Co. . In: Humanistischer Pressedienst , November 9, 2011. Accessed December 21, 2011.
  9. Epulu and Kitoto - a life in a concrete bunker in the Wuppertal Zoo . Website of the animal welfare organization PETA . Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  10. ^ Article in the Westdeutsche Zeitung (online) of July 17, 2013
  11. https://www.wuppertal.de/microsite/zoo/Aktuelles/schimpansen-sind-gut-in-ihren-neuen-zoos-angekommen.php
  12. https://www.zoo-heidelberg.de/tiere-enthaben/unsere-tiere/schimpanse-epulu/
  13. https://www.zooantwerpen.be/nl/
  14. a b c d e f g h i Ulrich Schürer : 125 Years of the Wuppertal Zoological Garden , 2006, Sutton Verlag, Erfurt, ISBN 978-3-86680-004-5
  15. The Wuppertal Zoo is facing a time of change Westdeutsche Zeitung (online) from July 20, 2012
  16. Arne Lawrenz becomes the new zoo director , Westdeutsche Zeitung (online) from February 18, 2013