Basel Zoo
| Basel Zoo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Basel Zoological Garden dialect: Zolli |
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| motto | Experience what needs to be preserved | |
| place | Binningerstrasse 40, 4054 Basel |
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| surface | 11 hectares | |
| opening | July 3, 1874 | |
| Animal species | 628 animal species | |
| Individuals | 7017 animals (including approx. 5000 in the vivarium) |
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| Visitor numbers | 1'753'508 (2011) 1'812'438 (2012) 1'935'692 (2013) 2'012'511 (2014) 1'034'359 (2015) 0 ' 960'685 (2016) 1' 018'316 (2017) 0 ' 928'239 (2018) |
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| organization | ||
| management | Olivier Pagan (director) | |
| Sponsorship | Zoo Basel AG | |
| Funding organizations | Friends of the Basel Zoo |
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| Member of |
WAZA , EAZA , VDZ and Zooschweiz |
|
 Main entrance to the zoo |
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| zoobasel.ch | ||
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Coordinates: 47 ° 32 '50.4 " N , 7 ° 34' 43.6" E ; CH1903: 610551 / 266300
The Basel Zoo is a zoological garden in Basel . It is located in the Basel-Bachletten district on the Birsig River . It was opened in 1874, making it the oldest zoo in Switzerland . With 7017 (2014) animals in 628 species (58 mammal species, 88 bird species, 41 reptile species, 10 amphibian species, 284 fish species and 147 species of invertebrates) it also has by far the largest animal population. Because of breeding successes like rhinoceros , pygmy hippopotamus or Westward lowland gorilla of the city zoo was known far beyond the country's borders and is therefore considered, despite its relatively small area of about 11 hectares, as one of the major zoos of Europe. In 2016 it counted 960,685 visitors.
Legal form and financing
The Basel Zoological Garden is a stock corporation. According to the articles of association, the company is not profit-oriented and the shares expressly do not entitle to a dividend. The first statutes were adopted by the general assembly on February 20, 1873, which is the date when the Basel Zoo was founded. The zoo opened on July 3, 1874. The entry in the commercial register took place on March 3, 1883.
When the company was founded, 1200 shares were issued at CHF 250, which results in share capital of CHF 300,000. In 1873, 250 francs corresponded to a current value of 2,750 francs, with all reservations about a comparison over such a long period of time. All shares are registered shares with restricted transferability , which means that the shareholder must be confirmed by the Board of Directors and entered in the share register. This confirmation can also be refused. The articles of association stipulate that no shareholder has more than 10 votes, even if he should own more shares.
In 1939, the share capital was increased to 425,000 francs by issuing 500 new shares of 250 francs each. No new shares have been issued since then. Since the shares do not pay dividends, but have a purely ideal value, they are hardly ever traded, but mostly remain in family ownership. If a share is sold anyway, the fan value is between 10,000 and 16,000 francs, depending on the condition.
When the company was founded, it was the declared aim of the stock corporation not to claim any public money, but rather the zoo should be as self-supporting as possible. The financial situation was precarious, especially in the early days. In order to increase the attractiveness of the zoo and to generate more income, circus companies and traveling troops were invited to present their exotic animals again and again. In keeping with the spirit of the times, there were also several national shows .
A crucial event for the zoo's survival was the 1901 legacy of Johannes Beck, endowed with 750,000 francs , which eased the financial situation. (According to today's value, that would be a little over 8 million.) That is why the zoo honors Johannes Beck to this day on June 24th with a day of remembrance with free entry in the evening and extended opening times. (If the 24th falls on a Sunday, the day of remembrance will be postponed to Monday.) To this day, the zoo can count on regular donations, inheritances and legacies in addition to the income from admission fees.
Following the spirit of the founders, the zoo did not receive any regular government subsidies until 2007. However, the state participated several times in specific construction projects and also exempted the zoo from all energy and waste fees. A system change then took place in 2008: Since then, the zoo has received an annual subsidy of 1,450,000 francs, but now has to pay the regular energy and waste fees. Only the sewage fee of around 100,000 francs annually will continue to be waived.
history
| Directors of the Basel Zoo | |
| 1874-1876 | Albert Mueller |
| 1876-1913 | Gottfried Hagmann |
| 1913-1944 | Adolf Wendnagel |
| 1944-1953 | Heini Hediger |
| 1953-1979 | Ernst Lang |
| 1979-1995 | Dieter Rüedi |
| 1995-2001 | Peter Studer |
| since 2001 | Olivier Pagan |
The plan for a zoological garden was discussed in the Ornithological Society in the early 1870s . The originator of the idea is unknown. In 1873 the society launched an appeal to the citizens of Basel to participate in the founding. The idea was to create a (as one would say today) near-natural recreation zone for the townspeople in order to "lure the public out of their dull workspaces into the fresh air" . The zoo should «show the visitor the splendor and beauty of our Swiss and especially the alpine fauna in the greatest possible completeness and in natural groups; but the interesting European animals, as far as they are suitable for a zoological garden, should also find their fullest appreciation and representation. " (Original sound of the call.)
On July 3, 1874, the opening of the Zolli, as it is called in Basel today. The city of Basel participated in this project by making the property in the Birsigtal , on the outskirts of the city, available.
The principle of keeping only European animals could not be upheld. On the one hand, many species of alpine animals were susceptible to parasites and their mortality was correspondingly high; on the other hand, the public was becoming increasingly interested in exotic animals.
1874 to 1900
Albert Müller became the first director of the zoo in 1874. But he was replaced in 1876 by Gottfried Hagmann. The highlights in the early years were a hippopotamus exhibition in 1880 and the guest performance of a Nubian caravan, in 1883 a Samoyed caravan, in 1885 the redesign of the Festmatte into a place for national shows, in 1886 the guest performance of a Sinhalese group with twelve Asian elephants, in 1888 the exhibition of one Whale skeleton , in 1889 the Somali troop Wild Africa , in 1894 a guest appearance by a Dinka caravan, in 1896 the display of a young hippopotamus from the Hagenbeck zoo and in 1899 the performances of a group of Mahdi warriors.
The park was initially only intended as a pet garden for native species, but thanks to various donations, the first exotic animals such as camels , llamas and tapirs came to the zoo in the 1880s . In 1886 the first elephant came to Basel, a female named Miss Kumbuk. She quickly became known throughout the city and was given a Moorish-style house in 1891, which also housed the zebras. In 1896 the first predator house, originally built for wolves , lynxes , badgers , foxes , wild cats and martens , had to undergo an expansion in order to be able to offer more space to the lions who had just arrived in 1890 . The first great ape, the female orangutan Kitty, arrived in Basel in 1900.
1901 to 1930
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In 1901 the zoo received a legacy of 750,000 Swiss francs from Johannes Beck from Basel. Even today, a memorial between the monkey house and the Kinderzolli reminds of the generous patrons and every year Johannes Beck Day is celebrated in the Zolli and gives visitors free entry. In 1904 a newer predator house was opened, which also housed a reptile department. In 1910 the antelope house , which still exists today, opened , which over the years has shown kangaroos , nyalas , waterbuck and aardvark , among other things . Today small kudu , okapis and giraffes are kept here, the latter could be seen in the zoo for the first time in 1912. In 1913 Adolf Wendnagel took over the position of director. The sea lion rock, which over the years has housed all the seal species that lived in the zoo, was built in 1921 by the sculptor Urs Eggenschwyler , who also designed facilities in the Hagenbeck Zoo and the Peter and Paul Wildlife Park in St. Gallen. The bird house opened in 1927, at that time great apes and fish were also on display here. During these years, the zoo was also able to acquire new land, which a year later could be used by a large number of new animal species, including a new monkey rock.
1931 to 1950
In 1931 a pelican hatched and grew up in the zoo, the second time in the world that something like this had happened in human care. With the legacy of the Basel goldsmith Ulrich Sauter, the zoo was able to purchase the area west of the Elsässerbahn (Strasbourg-Basel line) in 1934, which was then ceremoniously opened as the Sautergarten in 1939 . In 1937 the zoo suffered a serious disaster, the foot-and-mouth disease wiped out a large part of the animal population and forced the zoo to remain closed for a year. In 1944, the former director of the Bern Zoo and later of the Zurich Zoo , Heini Hediger, took the position of director of the zoo. In 1947 the Zolli reached a new visitor record, it received two and a half times as many visitors as there are Basel residents. Furthermore, in the same year, the first gorilla arrived in Basel, which was assumed to be male, which years later turned out to be an error.
1951 to 1970
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To relieve the flow of visitors, a second entrance was opened at the Dorenbach Viaduct in 1951. The first giraffe was born in Switzerland in 1952, the first emperor penguin living in Europe arrived in Basel in 1953, and three more followed. In the same year Ernst Lang took over the position of director in the history of Basel Zoo. The bird of prey aviaries opened in 1954 and stood in the Sautergarten until 2007; its inhabitants were, among other things, black , king , or griffon vultures . The first Indian rhinoceros to be born in a zoo was born in 1956, and it was the beginning of a long series of further breeding successes, the last for the time being in 2012. The first orangutan to be born in a Swiss zoo was born in 1958 and received the name "Freeman". 1959 followed with the gorilla lady "Goma" (died in June 2018) at the same time the first gorilla born in a European zoo. The current Rhino Hippo House opened in 1959. At the same time, the zoo was able to expand its area to Binninger Boden and celebrate two further breeding successes: on the one hand, the first flamingo hatched in a European zoo and, on the other hand, the second gorilla birth in a zoo worldwide. The last expansion of the zoo area so far took place in 1961. Today's main entrance and the management building were opened in 1965. The monkey house reached its current size in 1969 when the great apes were able to move from the bird house to the extension of the monkey house. With the arrival of five Somali wild asses ( Equus africanus somalicus ) in 1970, which formed a stable breeding group, this subspecies of the African wild ass was saved from extinction, as all other wild asses kept in zoos today are based on these five breeding animals Basel (director Ernst Lang acquired the five first parents for CHF 40,000 each). Today around 150 specimens of this subspecies live in 36 scientifically managed zoos, which are no longer found in their original habitat, Eritrea , Ethiopia and Somalia . In 2007 Basel recorded the 36th birth with “Erasto”. The EEP stud book is kept in Basel by Oliver Pagan.
1971 to 1990
The vivarium opened in 1972, and today it shows one of the most impressive collections of fish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates in a zoo. In 1974 the Zolli not only celebrated its centenary, but also the fiftieth pygmy hippopotamus birth. The petting zoo known as Kinderzolli celebrated its opening in 1978. The meanwhile sixth director Dieter Rüedi took over the official business of the zoo. In addition, various new facilities were opened during these years, such as the one for sable antelopes in 1979 , one for maned wolves in 1980 , the reindeer were able to move into a facility in 1982, the elephant house was renovated in 1985, the bearded vultures moved into their new home in 1986 and in 1987 they got them too Snow leopards a new enclosure.
Since 1991
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The revolutionary Africa facility, which opened in 1993, showed a new way of keeping animals; Hippos, zebras and ostriches lived together on a large facility just like in the wild. Dieter Ruedi left the Zolli in connection with a scandal involving an illegally sold rhinoceros horn from the zoo. Peter Studer, the seventh director in the zoo's history, took over in 1995. Studer was previously the founding curator of Vivarium . With him, a trained biology teacher became the zoo director for the first time worldwide, which was reflected in the didactics of the zoo concept, which had changed significantly during his tenure. Unknown patrons laid the foundation for the Etosha concept by donating 10 million Swiss francs to the zoo in 1997. Four years later, the Etosha House was able to show the zoo visitors the food cycle of the African Etosha National Park . The building offers many new facilities, such as cheetahs , meerkats and porcupines . The second part of the project was inaugurated in 2003: Gamgoas - The place where the lions are , this building offers lions, wild dogs and Nile crocodiles near-natural facilities, the latter is said to be the largest in Europe.
In 2004 the zoo celebrated its 130th anniversary. The newest facility, Australis , opened in spring 2007 and shows the bongo antelopes , gray kangaroos and a number of other Australian animal species on the former facility . The veterinarian Olivier Pagan is currently in office, who is now the eighth zoo director. The last two wolves in the zoo were euthanized in 2019 due to age problems and will no longer be replaced. In 2020, the zoo had to close its doors from March 16 to June 8, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individual areas of Basel Zoo
Monkey house and geigy facility
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The monkey house is the largest building in the zoo and has provided shelter for lower primates and great apes since 1969. In order to avoid the transmission of diseases from the visitors to the monkeys, thick armored glass was used in the building instead of bars. Initially, proboscis and robed monkeys were also kept here. Meanwhile occurred the extensive specialization in South American species such as squirrel monkeys , white-faced saki , spider monkeys , Liszt and lion tamarins and the three species of great ape Western Lowland Gorilla , Sumatran orangutan and West African chimpanzee . In the outside area in the former bear pits, generous open spaces were created that were adapted to the needs of the great apes. The "Geigy facility" was opened in 2012 and now offers gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans five outdoor spaces covered with nets that have about six times the area of the old outdoor facilities. For this purpose, the previous outdoor enclosures for long-tailed macaques (the Zolli opened their new enclosure in early summer 2010), ring-tailed lemurs (they are moving to the island with the cheetahs) and spectacled bears have been included. During the construction period, the orangutans had moved to the ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen . Gorillas and chimpanzees lived in spacious facilities on the Novartis AG company premises.
Africa plant
At the Africa facility, which was opened in 1993, the first attempt was made to keep three different species together. Hippos , zebras and ostriches share the spacious grounds. There, in 2004, three hippos killed a zebra that had fallen in water.
Antelope house
The antelope house was opened in 1910, making it the oldest existing building in the zoo. Currently there are breeding groups of giraffes , lesser kudu and okapis . Until 2011, the zoo maintained a breeding group of Maasai giraffes , which has now been replaced by the rarer Kordofan giraffes .
Australis
When the breeding group of the bongos in the zoo no longer worked, the remaining animals were given to other zoos, which meant that one facility in the zoo was completely empty. A short time later, the new Australis themed facility was opened in 2006 . As the name suggests, the focus here is primarily on animals from the continent of Australia . Above all the western gray kangaroos , which were able to move into a new, large facility in the redesigned bongo stall together with the Australian bush chickens . In the interior of the building, terrariums show some other inhabitants of the Australian fauna, such as geckos , black widows and tree pythons .
Elephant house
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A herd of African elephants , but also clawed frogs , brown rats and harvest ants live in the elephant house and its outdoor area . The house and the associated Tembea complex were rebuilt, enlarged and optimized in 2014 and reopened on March 16, 2017. The new building project cost around 27 million francs.
Etosha and Gamgoas
The Etoschaanlage , which shows the cycle of life in the African Etoscha National Park , and the Gamgoas house were opened in 2001 and 2006 respectively. These new facilities at Basel Zoo replaced the predator facilities that had existed up to that point. Unlike in the past, the term “predator” no longer only includes big cats, but also insect-eating birds, snakes and spiders. The Etoschaanlage consists of the 1999 to 2000 by the Austrian artist Lehmbau Martin Rauch in cooperation with the Basel architect Peter Stiner from rammed earth constructed Etoscha, outdoor equipment for cheetahs , monkeys, African wild dogs and lions in "Gamgoas". In its entirety, it forms a complex of topics related to food cycles, nature and species protection and the relationship between humans and nature. In addition to the lions, Nile crocodiles and two termite colonies also live on Gamgoas in a facility that visitors can see from all sides.
Children's customs
In the Kinderzolli , children can meet pets and farm animals up close. The animals in the children's zoo include ponies, chickens, goats, zebus and donkeys.
Sautergarten
The legacy of the wealthy Basel resident Ulrich Sauter enabled the zoo to acquire the land west of the Elsässerbahn from the federal government as a building area in 1934; five years later it was ceremoniously opened as the Sautergarten . As the first facility, which still exists today, the penguin basin was opened in 1938, which is now inhabited by African penguins and in the meantime even provided accommodation for some seals. At the same time, the artificial rock in the center of the garden, which is now home to the snow leopards and long-tailed macaques , was created. In 1959 the so-called Rhinoceros Hippopotamus House opened. In 1997 the zoo decided to renovate the 43-year-old parrot house and to create a free-flight hall for all-color loris instead of many small individual cages . From 2004 to 2008 the building and the facilities for the Indian rhinoceros and pygmy hippopotamus were renewed and enlarged. The Indian rhinos now live together with dwarf otters and Chinese muntjacs in a larger and lavishly designed outdoor enclosure. During the four-year renovation, the Zolli did not keep any pygmy hippos. But on May 8, 2008, a female, "Ashaki" from the Singapore Zoo, moved into the generously renovated facility. A male from the Paris Zoo will be added shortly. The Zolli has kept pygmy hippopotamuses since 1928. From 1959 onwards they were also breeding; Since then, Basel has recorded 53 births and is the international stud bookkeeper and coordinator for the European Conservation Breeding Program (EEP) for pygmy hippos.
Vivarium
The vivarium, opened in 1972, shows a broad cross-section through the world of invertebrates , fish , amphibians and reptiles . The building is designed as a themed tour to illustrate the development of life from water to land to visitors. In the first part of the house the fish dominate, which are divided into geographical zones such as the Mediterranean, North Sea, African lakes, Amazon or Indo-Pacific. Among the rarities that the zoo shows are fish such as shredded fish , tube eels or mudskippers , which also illustrate the transition from water to land. The king penguins and gentoo penguins , which can also be viewed in the vivarium, are the only warm-blooded animals in the building.
The last part of the building is reserved for amphibians and reptiles, with the Australian crocodiles being particularly popular with visitors. Only about 10 percent of the building is accessible to visitors, the rest is equipped with technology.
Australian crocodile
Crusty lizard
Aquarium, tropical coral reef
Bird house
The aviary, opened in 1927, shows the diversity of the bird world. In this house, in addition to birds, great apes, reptiles and fish were temporarily exhibited before the zoo had its own ape house or vivarium. Today only birds are housed here, some of which can move freely in the large free-flight hall in the middle of the building. The species currently kept include pointed -tailed amadine , blue-eared honeyeater and bluebeard leaf bird .
future plans
Area enlargement
The zoo is now completely enclosed by built-up areas. The only possibility of expansion is on the parking lot in front of the zoo. In the long term, the zoo plans to move the parking spaces to an underground car park so that the parking lot can be used as construction space.
Oceanium
On March 17, 2009, Basel Zoo announced that it was building Switzerland's first large aquarium. Construction should start in 2018 at the earliest, and in the best case scenario it would open in 2021. It should cost 60 to 80 million francs. This project was preceded by discussions as to whether a “Polarium” should be set up in the market hall, around ten minutes' walk away . This would have served to show the arctic fauna (especially penguins). The bill for the Ozeanium was rejected in the referendum on May 19, 2019 with 54.56 percent against.
literature
- Helen Weiss: No Ozeanium on the hay scales. In: Basler Stadtbuch 2019 , online dossier.
- Balthasar Staehelin: Völkerschauen in the Basel Zoological Garden. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1992 , pp. 145–149.
- Kurt Brägger: 100 years of the Basel Zoo. The design of our Zolli, today and in the future. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1974 , pp. 20–24.
- Hans Wackernagel: 100 years of the Basel Zoo. The anniversary year 1974. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1974 , pp. 25–32.
- Peter Studer : In the aquarium of the Basel Zoological Garden. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1973 , pp. 135–140.
- Ernst Michael Lang : The Basel Zolli, yesterday, today and tomorrow. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1972 , pp. 94-100.
- Hans Wackernagel: A tour through the Basel Zolli. In: Basler Stadtbuch 1967 , pp. 169–175.
Web links
- Basel Zoo website
- Basel Zoo at zoos.ch
- Basel Zoo on the ETHorama platform
Individual evidence
- ↑ The zoo has only been recording visitors with an electronic counting system since 2015. Until 2014, the number of entries from subscriptions was calculated using a conversion factor that probably provided too large numbers.
- ↑ The reason for the decline in visitor numbers in 2016 is assumed to be the very bad weather that summer.
- ↑ Basel Zoo set records in 2016. (No longer available online.) Infoticker.ch, March 22, 2017, archived from the original on September 26, 2017 ; Retrieved July 19, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Armin Schmitz, Arne Metzger: Zoological gardens as corporations. Historical development and financing. Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-9806401-2-4 .
- ↑ Inflation calculated based on the official inflation calculator of the Federal Statistical Office (inflation 1914–2016) as well as the book by Hans Bauer: Basel yesterday – today – tomorrow. 1981, ISBN 3-7643-1225-4 . (Price increases 1873-1914)
- ^ Statutes of February 20, 1873.
- ↑ Articles of Association from 1930 (originally planned increase to CHF 500,000) and Articles of Association from 1942 (effective increase to CHF 425,000)
- ↑ Amount of enthusiasts quantified according to the brochure "125 Years of Basel Zoo" published in 2001
- ^ Subsidy contract between the Canton of Basel-Stadt and the Basel Zoo AG
- ^ Basler Nachrichten . June 6, 1974.
- ↑ Initially, the zoological garden was mostly called "the zooloic". Around 1930, the nickname "Zolli" gradually began to be used (Basler Nachrichten of June 6, 1974 in an article on the 100th anniversary of the Zolli).
- ↑ Alexander Sury: Bern's unknown Darwin. In: The Bund . July 4, 2020, accessed July 27, 2020.
- ^ News - Zoological Garden in Basel. In: The Zoological Garden . Vol. 15 (1874), pp. 314-316 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Very old gorilla lady died , accessed on June 9, 2018
- ↑ Lady monkey Goma celebrates her birthday. In: Basler Zeitung . 17th September 2014.
- ↑ a b Complete List of EEPs and ESBs ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the EAZA website, accessed May 19, 2016.
- ↑ The last Zolli wolves are dead - and no new ones are kept. In: bzbasel.ch . September 10, 2019, accessed September 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Beat Bumbacher: Hippos kill zebra in Basel Zoo. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . October 14, 2004.
- ↑ Ozeanium from A – Z. Project website, accessed October 26, 2015 .
- ↑ This is what the Zolli-Ozeanium in Basel will look like. Tagesanzeiger.ch, December 4, 2012, accessed on October 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Credit Suisse takes over Basel Market Hall. In: Tages-Anzeiger. April 18, 2011, accessed March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Oceanarium: victory for animal rights. In: schweizerbauer.ch . May 19, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019 .
