Augsburg Zoo
| Augsburg Zoo | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Full name | Augsburg Zoological Garden GmbH |
| place | Brehmplatz 1 86161 Augsburg |
| surface | 22 hectares |
| opening | June 12, 1937 |
| Animal species | 237 species (2019) |
| Individuals | 1141 animals (2019) |
| Visitor numbers | 674,080 (2018) |
| organization | |
| management | Barbara Jantschke (Director) |
| Sponsorship | Augsburg Zoological Garden GmbH |
| Funding organizations | Friends of the Augsburg Zoo eV |
| Member of | WAZA , EAZA , VdZ |
 General plan in the zoo |
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| Augsburg Zoo | |
Coordinates: 48 ° 20 ′ 52 ″ N , 10 ° 54 ′ 52 ″ E
The Zoo Augsburg was on 12 June 1937 as Park of German wildlife opened. In the period after the Second World War , the former "Augsburger Tiergarten" was also stocked with exotic animals. The Augsburg Zoo is now serving over 650,000 visitors per year, the most visited cultural institution of Swabia and is among the top 20 zoos and animal parks in Germany.
The zoo is located in the urban area on the northern edge of the Siebentischwald , a local recreation area in Augsburg that also serves as a water protection area for urban drinking water. Immediately adjacent to the zoo is the Siebentischanlagen landscape park in the west and the Augsburg Botanical Garden in the north . The total area of the zoo is 22 hectares.
history
Earlier animal husbandry in Augsburg
The first zoological experiences were made in Augsburg in 802, when Augsburg received an Indian elephant named Abul Abbas as a gift from the caliph Hārūn ar-Raschīd to the emperor Charlemagne . The elephant made the way from Aachen to Augsburg on foot. Later, the now 40-year-old Abul Abbas was also used as a war elephant against the Danish King Göttrik , but the animal fell ill with pneumonia when it crossed the Rhine. It led to death.
An animal show, so-called wandering zoological gardens , was also held in Augsburg on the occasion of the coronation of the Staufer Emperor Friedrich II in 1220.
In 1410, six deer were released in the moat between the Red Gate and today's Königsplatz for the citizens of Augsburg to look at. For centuries, the “Hirschgraben” was used to keep large game . High fines protected the deer from poachers. In 1796 local deer were shot down by the French who reached Augsburg in the first coalition war . See also the history section in the article about Konrad-Adenauer-Allee .
In 1902, members of the Stadtgarten Association created a small zoo in the Stadtgarten south of the station area. In addition to a bear pen and a monkey house (both designed by Jean Keller ), this zoo also included enclosures and aviaries for other animal species. In 1913 the animal welfare association complained about the poor keeping of the animals and in 1914 the zoo was finally closed completely.
The Augsburg Zoo in the 20th century
The origins of today's facility lie in the time of National Socialism . The "Park of the German Animal World" was intended to present the local, "German" animal world in all its diversity to the visitors, in keeping with the National Socialist ideology. A planned expansion of the site to the east, including the construction of a “typical Swabian” farm, did not materialize. The zoo was badly damaged by Allied bombing raids between 1943 and 1945 and then closed. Only from 1947 onwards could the public enter the grounds again. In a survey, the Augsburgers also expressed their interest in exotic animal species. Little by little, animal species from all over the world were added to the inventory. The zoo management has set itself the goal of creating a protective refuge for endangered birds and mammals in their homeland.
Zoo today
| year | species | Animals | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 287 | 1398 | |
| 2006 | 268 | 1635 | |
| 2007 | 270 | 1563 | |
| 2008 | 278 | 1562 | |
| 2009 | 286 | 1516 | |
| 2010 | 267 | 1362 | |
| 2011 | 260 | 1320 | |
| 2012 | 253 | 1225 | |
| 2013 | 236 | 1245 | |
| 2014 | 240 | 1240 | |
| 2015 | 242 | 1210 | |
| 2016 | 258 | 1307 | |
| 2017 | 243 | 1252 | |
| 2018 | 237 | 1240 | |
| 2019 | 237 | 1141 |
The zoo currently contains over 1200 animals from 240 species from around the world. It supports 18 European Conservation Breeding Programs (EEP), including Grevy zebras (in early summer 2008 they were bred with two young animals), Rothschild giraffes (in autumn 2013 they were bred with one young), Asian elephants , jumping tamarins , onagers (in autumn In 2008, for the first time in 10 years, offspring (with a stallion) and other endangered animal species succeeded here.
In the past few years, many renovations have been carried out. The bear enclosure was completely renovated and significantly enlarged. Through a pane of glass it is now possible for the visitor to watch the brown bears fishing in the water. A mane wolf facility was also created.
Plants in the zoo
There are two animal houses for big cats: Lions , striped hyenas (in the former cheetah enclosure) and fenneks live in the lion house . Subsequently, in 2003, the Freundeskreis set up a Manul facility, which has been inhabited by Amur cats since 2008 . Sumatra tigers and North Persian leopards live in the tiger house . In addition, a small nocturnal animal department was set up here ( Zwergplumploris , Sugar Glider , Senegal Galagos ) and an enclosure for agoutis , pygmy marmoset and Goeldi's marmoset .
From 2012 to 2015, a 1000 square meter walk-in aviary was built next to the tropical hall, primarily for waders from Europe and North Africa. Thus, in addition oystercatcher , lapwing , ruff , redshank , avocet and black stork also Abdim's Stork , Inca tern and lapwing . Shortly before the planned opening, a small carnivore broke into the aviary and captured six birds.
Opposite the tropical house and the bird aviaries are two facilities for marine mammals: a pool for South African fur seals, redesigned in 2007 with funds from the Freundeskreis, including a mother-and-child pool (cost: 290,000 euros) and a seal facility from 2005, also financed by the Freundeskreis (construction costs: 220,000 euros). A former lock house from the Goggeles Bridge over the Wertach from 1922, which was moved to the zoo, serves as a covered visitor platform at the seal basin . A facility for Magellanic penguins is located between the two basins .
The western area of the zoo flows through the ponds several times widened hospital Bach , several plants for living on water birds to the ( Demoiselle Crane , Cormorant , White Pelican series and others). The Lechhaus with facilities for beavers and otters was built here from June 2015 to May 2016 on the former wild boar area . Three aquarium tanks show native fish species such as the huchen . Until 2017, three species of flamingo were kept: pink , chile and lesser flamingos (the latter on a separate enclosure in the southern zoo area). In the course of the new construction of a wintering house on the flamingo pond, two species are released and converted to a large group of pink flamingos.
Several types of goats are kept: Alpine ibex and Dagestan-Tur live on the mountain animal enclosure, an artificial hill in the center of the zoo . In the southeastern zoo area there are facilities for groups of mountain goats and Mishmi takins .
The Africa Panorama, opened in 1985, is three hectares in size. It is divided into three by a moat separate enclosures: one for Grevys zebras , one for giraffes and a shared system for Blesbok , ostriches and white rhinoceros , were housed at the times also Cameroon sheep and Watusi cattle. In January 2013, the pregnant giraffe Lada died of a fall, in February 2014 19-year-old Marvin , in May 2014 the young giraffe bull Kiano from an injury that he sustained when he accidentally jumped from a zebra into his enclosure was frightened, and in February 2015 the female Luna was euthanized after falling. The only remaining giraffe Tanisha was given to a French zoo in April 2015 and the keeping of giraffes in Augsburg was temporarily suspended. In the summer of 2016, the vacant facility was occupied by a group of male impalas . In order to be able to resume keeping giraffes, the stables had to be modernized. The house was renovated by around 800,000 euros by 2018; To the north a 220 m² hall was placed in front of him, which gives the animals the opportunity to move around even in bad weather. If the previous herd consisted only of Rothschild giraffes, since 2018 the zoo has kept a pure female group of three different (sub) species: In April and May, a reticulated giraffe , a Rothschild giraffe and a Kordofan giraffe from other European zoos met in Augsburg. - In 2006 a facility for meerkats was set up at the giraffe house.
After the death of the rhinos that previously lived in the facility at the entrance, a new house for rhinos and Watussi cattle was built from 2007 to 2008 as part of the Africa panorama. A herd of five animals (three females and two males) has lived in the zoo since September 2008.
The old rhinoceros enclosure at the entrance was converted in 2009 to accommodate coat baboons and red buffalo . At the same time, the monkey house was rebuilt and the mandrills moved into the old baboon complex, the baboon island. Instead of vacant Mandrillanlage a walk-originated Katta gehege. It opened on September 9, 2010. The ring- tailed lemur is home to an all-male group and black lemurs that breed regularly . It is only open when a supervisor is present.
The two classic zoo animal species are kept in the chimpanzee and elephant house. For years, Asian and African elephants lived together on the elephant enclosure . After an attack on a zoo keeper in 2011, the two African elephant cows were given to the Rhenen zoo (Netherlands). The outdoor and indoor facilities for the elephants were rebuilt in 2004 and the areas were roughly doubled, but they still no longer met contemporary requirements.
In April 2018 the foundation stone was laid for a new elephant house, which opened in February 2020. The outdoor area includes the former bison and Barasinghage enclosure and, with a total of 7,000 square meters, is considerably larger than the previous facility. The new house offers space for four cows and their young animals, the keeping will be switched to protected contact ; the option of keeping bulls would exist in the then renovated previous building. The cost of the project was initially estimated at eight million euros, of which the zoo wanted to pay about one million itself. The new facility was to be part of an “environmental competence center”, which was hoped to receive high funding from the European Union. Since the conditions for this funding could not be met, the budget was reduced by two million euros, for example through savings in building technology. The new financial planning was based on a contribution of 500,000 euros from the city of Augsburg in the amount of two million euros and a loan in the same amount as well as donations of 1.5 million euros. Ultimately, this financial framework was exceeded by 1.3 million euros. Both the participation of the city in an individual project and the co-financing by the Freundeskreis, which had previously only implemented its own projects, were a novelty in the history of the Augsburg zoo. Despite being the zoo's most expensive construction project, the budget was very low compared to other new elephant facilities in European zoos. The architect is Frank Kirsten, who has already been consulted several times in Augsburg.
While the two old cows Targa (born 1955) and Burma (born 1970), who have been living in Augsburg since the 1980s, had a long time to get used to the new circumstances, the two cows Louise (born 1973) moved in in May 2020 ) and Frosja (born 1980) from Tierpark Berlin immediately created the new elephant house.
Instead of the old reptile house, a new building designed by the architect Peter Martignoni was built in 2010/2011. The circle of friends financed the octagonal wooden structure with a skylight dome (construction costs: 550,000 euros) as its tenth major project in the zoo. The largest of the 15 terrariums is home to Mindanao water monitors . Following the reptile house some terrariums created for native reptiles and amphibians ( grass snake , adder , smooth snake , frog , Bergmolch ).
Special attractions
- Possibility to "visit your favorite animal"
- Evening tour (every last Friday of the month between April and September; except July)
- Jungle night on the last Friday in July
- Seal feedings
- Zoo school lessons for preschoolers, school classes and other groups
- guides
- Petting zoo and large adventure playground
- Mini railroad (track width 7¼ inches or 184 mm)
Species protection
The Nature Conservation Fund was set up in 2009 to promote local species protection. In this way, projects on certain animal species that are kept at Augsburg Zoo or have a local connection to Augsburg are funded. The zoo animals act as ambassadors for their conspecifics living in the wild, whose habitat is increasingly restricted. Part of the entrance fee flows directly into this fund (10 cents per single ticket and 25 cents per annual ticket).
The following projects have been funded so far:
- Habitat exploitation of the onager in Iran (2009; 5000 euros)
- RHINO Fund Uganda (2009-2018; 267,000 euros)
- Creation of a tree frog biotope in Augsburg-Lechhausen (2010; 2000 euros)
- Grevy zebras in Northern Kenya (2011; 3000 euros)
- Red Caps in Zambia , elephant protection (2011; 5000 euros)
- Study on the protection of big cats in Tanzania (2012; 2000 euros)
- Habitat protection project in Peru (2012; 5000 euros)
- Reptile habitat Stadtwald Augsburg (2013–2014; 8,000 euros)
- Carnivore Project Uganda (2013; 1000 euros)
- Little Fireface project Java, Slow Loris (2013-2018; 20,000 euros)
- ZGAP (2014-2018; 13,500 euros)
- Mabula hornbill project in South Africa (2014; 4000 euros)
- White spoonbill in Croatia (2015-2016; 3000 euros)
- Regional reptile protection (2015-2017; 6500 euros)
- Zoo Animal of the Year (2016; 1000 euros)
- Combed Newt in Bavaria (2016; 1000 euros)
- Meadow breeder in the Donauries (2016-2018; 6500 euros)
- Scale saw in Asia (2017; 2000 euros)
- Silent Forest campaign, Balistar (2018; 2000 euros)
- Swallow Parakeets in Southeast Australia (2018; 2000 euros)
Friends of the Augsburg Zoo
The association has set itself the task of promoting the Augsburg Zoo and maintaining or building new enclosures and facilities for its diversity of animal species. The membership fees and donations from the members make a significant contribution to this. With a cost of 600,000 euros, the facility for beavers, otters and local fish is the most expensive construction project financed by the Freundeskreis to date.
Projects funded so far
- 1996 Refurbishment of the free flight aviary for shorebirds
- 1997 Expansion of the mandrill system
- 1999 New construction of the bear enclosure
- 2000 New construction of the takin plant
- 2001 Snow Owl Aviary
- 2002 New manual system
- 2003 New aviary for eagle owls
- 2003 Winter house for pelicans
- 2005 Construction of a seal facility
- 2006 Construction of a meerkat enclosure
- 2007 New construction of the fur seal facility
- 2010 Walkable ring-tailed lemur
- 2012 new reptile house
- 2015 Construction of a facility for beavers, otters and local fish
photos
Augsburg Zoo, South African fur seal
Augsburg Zoo, enclosure of the red buffalo and robe baboons
The old baboon enclosure
Artificial Hill with Screw Goats (Markhore)
Former bison enclosure with totem poles by a Tyrolean wood sculptor (no longer occupied since summer 2008; is under renovation)
Trivia
In 2017 filming for the film Fack ju Göhte 3 took place in the zoo.
literature
- Michael Gorgas, Willy Schweinberger (ed.): Animals • Emperors • Anecdotes. From Fugger's menagerie to the big city zoo. Vindelica-Verlag, Gersthofen 1986, ISBN 3-926275-00-6 .
- In the footsteps of the first German merchants in India , Vindelica-Verlag, ISBN 3-929720-01-9
- Barbara Jantschke: Don't let the baboons know. Stories from the Augsburg Zoo. With graphics by students from Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. Wißner-Verlag, Augsburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-89639-856-7 .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 28, 2020.
- ↑ a b c Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 25, 2019.
- ↑ Franz Häußler: Augsburg's green island. context Verlag, Augsburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-939645-48-1 , pages 54 to 55
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 22, 2007.
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 23, 2009.
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 23, 2011.
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from February 25, 2013.
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from January 26, 2015.
- ↑ a b Newsletter of the Zoo Augsburg from January 24th 2017.
- ↑ New construction of the Amur cat facility. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on February 21, 2016.
- ↑ Accessible free flight aviary. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on February 21, 2016.
- ↑ Marten eats birds from the zoo aviary. Report of the Augsburger Allgemeine from April 27, 2015.
- ↑ Fur seal enclosure. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on February 21, 2016.
- ↑ New seal facility. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on June 23, 2015.
- ↑ Where beavers and otters can swim. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from June 17, 2015.
- ↑ a b Otters and beavers swim in the zoo. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from May 11, 2016.
- ↑ Newsletter of the Zoo Augsburg from June 28, 2017.
- ↑ Overturned: Giraffe "Lada" dies shortly before the birth of her child. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from January 21, 2013.
- ↑ Giraffe Marvin is dead: he could not get up in the morning. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from March 2nd, 2014.
- ↑ After Bull Kiano's death: The giraffes remain. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from May 27, 2014.
- ↑ Why giraffe Luna died. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from February 12, 2015.
- ^ Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from April 25, 2015.
- ↑ Newsletter of the Augsburg Zoo from June 24, 2016.
- ↑ Augsburg Zoo wants giraffes again. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from April 26, 2016.
- ↑ Expansion of the giraffe house. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on April 25, 2018.
- ↑ Giraffes return to the zoo. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from April 25, 2018.
- ↑ Why the giraffes now get health food. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from June 4, 2018.
- ↑ Zoo delivers African elephants to Holland. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine dated November 11, 2011.
- ↑ Conversion of the elephant enclosure. Homepage of the Augsburg Zoo, accessed on June 22, 2015.
- ↑ Big animals need space: the foundation stone for the new elephant house has been laid. Report on www.stadtzeitung.de from April 13, 2018.
- ↑ A larger elephant enclosure for Augsburg Zoo. Homepage for the fundraising campaign for a new elephant house, accessed on June 22, 2015.
- ↑ The elephants should have it better. Report of the Augsburger Allgemeine from April 4, 2015.
- ↑ The Augsburg Zoo is fighting for its future. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from August 4, 2016.
- ↑ New plans for the elephant house in the Augsburg Zoo. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from October 1st, 2016.
- ↑ City supports new elephant house with two million euros. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Targa is moving. News from the Süddeutsche Zeitung dated February 3, 2020.
- ↑ Targa is no longer doing well - time for an elephant house is running out. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from August 19, 2016.
- ↑ The elephant house in the Augsburg Zoo is getting closer. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from June 13, 2017.
- ↑ Elephant population in German zoos and safari parks. Zooelefant.de, accessed on June 22, 2015.
- ↑ New elephants in the Augsburg Zoo. Message on br.de from May 6, 2020.
- ↑ New reptile house opened: old acquaintances and new species. Announcement of the Augsburger Allgemeine from October 10, 2012.
- ↑ Fund for nature and species protection at Augsburg Zoo since 2009. Homepage of Augsburg Zoo, accessed on February 28, 2019.