Krefeld Zoo

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Krefeld Zoo
place Uerdinger Str. 377
47800 Krefeld
surface 14 hectares
opening May 22, 1938
Animal species 159 (Jan. 1, 2018)
Individuals 1009 (excluding invertebrates) (Jan. 1, 2018)
Visitor numbers 318,430 day visitors,
17,650 annual tickets (2018)
organization
management Wolfgang Dreßen (managing director and zoological director)
Sponsorship Zoo Krefeld gGmbH (City of Krefeld and Zoofreunde Krefeld e.V.)
Funding organizations Zoofreunde Krefeld e. V.
Member of EAZA , WAZA , VdZ
Krefeld Zoo entrance.jpg

Entrance area of ​​the Krefeld Zoo

zookrefeld.de
Krefeld Zoo (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Krefeld Zoo

Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 28 ″  N , 6 ° 36 ′ 3 ″  E

The Krefeld Zoo is located in the Bockum district of Krefeld . The zoological garden houses around 1000 animals from around 170 different species on an area of ​​14  hectares . The predominantly municipally owned Zoo focuses on the attitude of great apes , big cats , African Savannah residents and tropical birds . Around 350,000 people visited him in 2017.

history

Founding time

The Krefeld Zoo was opened on May 22, 1938 as a teaching facility for young people on the grounds of the Grotenburg Park. The then director of education and director of the former natural history museum, Heinrich Janßen, became the first director of the zoo. At that time, the zoo area comprised half of the park and around 100 predominantly native animal species lived in 40 enclosures.

Development in the 20th century

During the Second World War , there were air raids on Krefeld from 1940 to 1945 , during which parts of the zoo were also hit. Two badgers and a doe were killed, the remaining animals were able to escape through the damaged fences. As a result, the wolves had to be killed. In the 1950s, the Grotenburgschlösschen in the park was converted into a café and restaurant for visitors to the zoo. In 1959 Walter Encke took over the management of the zoo. It was Encke's concern to take special care of animals of which little was known, and to prevent the extinction of South American animal species by breeding them. From 1963 open enclosures for baboons , penguins and seals as well as a house for lions were built . In 1971 the "Tierpark" was renamed "Zoo". During this time the first elephants , rhinos and orangutans were kept there.

Since the conversion into a gGmbH

On July 1, 2005, the Krefeld Zoo was converted into a non-profit GmbH . The city of Krefeld holds 74.9% of the company shares, the Förderverein Zoofreunde Krefeld e. V. the remaining 25.1%. At the beginning of 2018, the zoo had 65 employees. In addition, there are 21 volunteers who are involved in the volunteer team.

A new facility for gorillas was opened in 2012, one for penguins in 2014 and one for meerkats in 2017 ; The zoo has had its own veterinary practice since 2014 .

Directors

  • 1938–1951: Heinrich Janßen
  • 1951–1959: Günter Voss
  • 1959–1996: Walter Encke
  • 1996-2003: Paul Vogt
  • since 2003: Wolfgang Dreßen

Focus

The focus of the Krefeld zoo lies in the attitude of great apes , big cats , African Savannah residents and tropical birds . The zoo has three warm houses for subtropical and tropical species, the monkey tropical house (since 1975, burnt down in 2020) with lowland gorillas , chimpanzees and orangutans , the bird tropical hall (since 1989) and the 1,100 m² rainforest house (since 1998). Accordingly, another focus of the zoo is on the South American fauna, but also the flora there. In the rainforest house there is a South American rainforest with over 400 different plant species. There live two-toed sloth , white-face Sakis , flower bats , basilisk , iguanas and many tropical species of butterflies , of which many now in their own butterfly house are kept.

Habitats

Panoramic picture of the bird pond

Monkey Tropical House

1975-2019

The chimpanzee enclosure in the Krefeld Monkey Tropical House (2010)

The ape tropical house was opened in 1975 as the first of its kind in the world. The footprint of the greenhouse-style building was 2000 square meters. It was financed by the Walter Gehlen Foundation and Zoofreunde Krefeld. In monkeys tropical house were orangutans , chimpanzees , gorillas , marmosets , epauleted and birds at home. A tropical, humid and warm climate was ensured by a temperature of 20 to 26 ° C. The different groups of monkeys lived behind a dry ditch.

Fire on New Year's Eve 2019/20

On the night of New Year 2020, the ape tropical house burned down completely. More than 50 animals died, including five Bornean orangutans , a chimpanzee , two lowland gorillas ( Boma and Massa ) , three golden lion tamarins , two silver monkeys and six pygmy marmosets, as well as some birds and flying foxes; only two chimpanzees ( Bally and Limbo ) survived. Two weeks after the fire, a report from the Interior Ministry announced that three of these animals were not killed until the morning, around eight o'clock, after the fire. Two orangutans were euthanized. The gorilla male Massa , in whom the narcotic administered by the vet did not develop its full effect due to the severity of the burn injuries with extensive skin damage, was shot by a police officer. The damage to property is "in the double-digit million range".

The fire was reported shortly after midnight and after hours the fire department was able to put it out. The zoo management announced at a press conference on New Year's Day that the fire was probably started by sky lanterns . Letting sky lanterns go up has been prohibited in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2009. According to the police, three such sky lanterns were seized at the scene of the fire. The likely cause of the fire, a mother and her two adult daughters, have reported to the police. One of the five sky lanterns they raised apparently set the monkey tropical house on fire. After the accident, there were numerous aid and donation campaigns from the population, including a benefit event that was organized by Johannes Floehr and Jean-Philippe Kindler in the Kulturfabrik and at which Torsten Sträter performed, among others . A football donation tournament, in which the KFC Uerdingen 05 , the Krefeld Pinguine , the HSG Krefeld and the CHTC took part, was also organized.

Planning of the "Monkey Park" conservation center

Shortly after the fire, the zoo announced that it would continue to keep great apes. On June 12, 2020, the first concrete plans for the large-scale "Affenpark" project were presented.

The zoo is to be expanded by more than 4000 square meters. Two hectares of the total area should then form the monkey park, for which some other animal species must be given up. The existing gorilla facility is to be included, but will be expanded and a second facility and a second house will be added. The chimpanzees are to have two large outdoor enclosures and an indoor enclosure, while the Borneo orangutans are to have four, but smaller, outdoor enclosures. A total of between 30 and 40 great apes are said to live in the monkey park. A house and an outdoor area for lemurs are also to be built, as well as a house for other small monkeys, a tropical house with birds and an area for Aldabra giant tortoises , consisting of an outdoor and indoor area. An information center with a shop and a picnic area with a playground are to be built in the front area.

The project is to be implemented in several stages, starting with the expansion of the gorilla facility. The entire implementation will take several years. The total cost of the project is still unclear. With a view to new construction projects in recent years e.g. B. in the Rostock Zoo or in the Wilhelma in Stuttgart is assumed to be at least 20 million euros. Donations from private individuals and a charity event have already raised over 2.5 million euros in donations, and public funds are also to be expected, as the project was planned in cooperation with the city and the city council voted for its implementation with a large majority. Criticism of the project came from the left-wing group. In their opinion, the fire and the question of the zoo's responsibility have not yet been clarified well enough. The discussion about a new building is therefore too early.

Gorilla garden

Silverback Kidogo during his tightrope walk in the Krefeld Zoo

In 2012 opened Gorilla garden you can see the great apes observed in an outdoor enclosure in action. The enclosure has an outdoor area of ​​around 1,200 m² with an adjoining 360 m² gorilla house. So far, the following male pups have been born there: Tambo (* June 2, 2013, Kidogo x Muna ), Pepe (* May 6, 2015, Kidogo x Miliki ) and Bobóto (* December 31, 2018, Kidogo x Miliki ).

The then new silverback Kidogo made headlines around the world in 2012 when he balanced between two trees on a rope stretched in the gorilla garden. The gorilla then repeated this "tightrope walk" several times.

As part of the “Affenpark Species Conservation Center” project, the existing outdoor enclosure is to be enlarged and supplemented by two houses and another outdoor area.

Pelican lagoon

Pelican lagoon in Krefeld Zoo (2020)

In July 2020, after a two-year construction period, the pelican lagoon was opened. In the enclosure, which has a total size of 3,000 square meters, of which the pond system takes up 450 square meters, the stable building 70 square meters and the sewage treatment system 150 square meters, there are currently 12 great white pelicans . The building is constructed in such a way that the pelicans can only reach it by swimming across the pond. In particular, this prevents the food competition from the gray herons living in the zoo, which increasingly competed with the pelicans for their fish food.

Rainforest house

The walk-in rainforest house (2010)

The Krefeld rainforest house with a roof construction made of Plexiglas and wood was opened in 1998 as the third tropical house of the Krefeld Zoo. Its construction was financed from the estate of the Krefeld entrepreneur Walter Gehlen. At its heart are leaf-cutting ants , Flower bats Tamanduas , iguanas and plumed basilisk , as well as turtles and various fish species.

White-headed sakis and two-toed sloths move freely through the 1,100 m² hall. More dangerous animals such as the wedge-headed caimans , tarantulas , poison dart frogs and a green anaconda are safely housed.

South America house

In the South American house, built like a farmhouse, live three representatives of the great herbivores of South America: lowland tapirs , capybaras and guanacos . They share the facility with the largest bird on the continent, the rhea .

Penguin pool

Penguin Pool (2014)

The 800 square meter enclosure for Humboldt penguins , Inca terns , cinnamon and red-shouldered ducks , opened in 2014, is in the immediate vicinity of the rainforest house and houses a penguin colony of ten breeding pairs. The terrain for the penguins is divided into two thirds of land and one third of water. The model for the design of the new enclosure, especially the artificial rock wall, was the natural habitat of the penguins: the coastal regions of northern Chile and Peru on the cold Humboldt Current . The entire facility was spanned with a net construction so that, in addition to Humboldt penguins, Inca terns, cinnamon and red-shouldered ducks can also be kept. Humboldt penguins have two layers of plumage, but a small warm house is available to the residents of the facility for particularly frosty winters. Visitors can observe the animals directly in the accessible facility under water.

Africa Meadow (2010)

African savannah

The Africa savannah in the Krefeld Zoo is 1 hectare in size and represents a section of a savannah landscape. Large kudu , impala and ostrich live in the open landscape . The way to the Africa meadow led over several construction phases. At the beginning of 2014, a stable for the antelopes and ostriches was completed. A pelican lagoon is currently being built on the former zebra enclosure.

Large animal house

The large animal house was built in 1977. It is home to two Asian elephants , a pygmy hippopotamus, and a black rhinoceros family. Krefeld Zoo is one of five zoos in Germany that have succeeded in breeding this African species.

In 2010 it was rebuilt and elephant keeping changed from chain keeping to box keeping. The basis for this was new knowledge about the social behavior of the animals and changed husbandry regulations. Since then, the two elephant cows Rhena and Mumptas Mahal have been able to spend the night without being chained.

The Bird Tropical House (2010)

Rhinoceros plant

In April 2015, construction work began on the new rhino enclosure, which is directly adjacent to the large African meadow. The construction work was completed in spring 2016.

Butterfly jungle

In 2010 the butterfly jungle in Krefeld Zoo was opened. Up to 200 butterflies live there in tropical vegetation. These include the blue morpho butterfly or the “poison mixer” passion flower butterfly. The hatching of the moths can be followed on the caterpillar boxes of the butterfly jungle. The entire life cycle of a butterfly from the egg to the caterpillar and pupa to the adult butterfly can be observed there.

Bird house

Birds from three continents live in the Krefeld aviary in a tropical and humid climate. The themes of the aviary are "South-East Asia", "South America", "Madagascar", and "Africa". Wild birds can also be found in the bird tropical hall.

Meerkat Lodge

Meerkat Lodge at Krefeld Zoo (2017)

The meerkat lodge opened in 2017. Based on typical African mud huts, two connected round buildings were built that house the meerkat enclosure and a viewing terrace with a drink bar. Breeder Toni disappeared without a trace on June 2, 2018; Kimya, a three-year-old male from the Münster Zoo, succeeded him. At the end of November 2018, Amari, who was born in Krefeld in March 2018, gave birth to two young animals. A total of 12 animals currently live in the facility.

Species protection, conservation breeding and research

Krefeld Zoo is committed to protecting nature and species on various levels . Since 1963 he has been a member of the WAZA (World Zoo Organization), since 1988 in the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and since 2001 in the Foundation for the Protection of Species founded by German zoos .

Conservation breeding

By keeping pedigree books in which the family tree of an animal species is listed, and with the help of special breeding programs, ideal breeding pairs are put together at the Krefeld Zoo. In this way, the zoo helps to maintain and breed a healthy population of endangered animal species ( ex situ conservation).

Krefeld Zoo is currently participating in 49 breeding programs. These are divided into eight international conservation breeding programs (ISB), u. a. Sumatran tiger , black rhinoceros and cheetah , 24 European Conservation Breeding Programs (EEP), u. a. Snow leopard and chimpanzee, and in 17 European stud books (ESB); u. a. Scoop dog and blue duiker . For all conservation breeding ventures, Krefeld Zoo follows the recommendations of the respective zoo book guide. Krefeld Zoo keeps the studbook for the European otters , Goodfellow tree kangaroos and tamanduas (little anteaters).

In 1998, the Krefeld Zoo succeeded in breeding crocodile guards from Africa for the first time in the world - a breeding specialist: in nature, the birds lay their eggs in sunlit sandy areas, where they are hatched without parental involvement. Inspired by the results of field studies, Wolfgang Dreßen had underfloor heating as well as heat and light radiators installed - with corresponding success.

In 2002, the female cheetah "Catherine", released by burglars, killed ten gray kangaroos following her hunting instinct , thereby destroying the zoo's corresponding breeding group. The baby kangaroo with the name "Lismore", which survived the attack in the pouch of its killed mother, became known. It was then looked after and cared for around the clock by a nurse from the zoo.

In 2006, Davu, the first black rhinoceros, was born in a North Rhine-Westphalian zoo. Four more young animals followed in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

Use of bed bugs to draw blood

After good experiences at the Wuppertal Zoo, South American predatory bugs are also used in the Krefeld Zoo to draw blood from zoo animals, since most animals can only have blood drawn safely under anesthesia. As with humans, however, the blood values ​​also provide important information about diseases in animals. Thus, blood collection is sometimes essential in the event of disorders of the general condition. The Wuppertal Zoo has therefore made ten of these predatory bugs available to the Krefeld Zoo. There, the bull rhinoceros Usoni and other animals, from which blood can only be drawn with difficulty under normal conditions, were placed the approximately 7 centimeters large bugs on thin areas of skin. After about five minutes these will be soaked and fall off. The blood can now be extracted from your body and sent to a laboratory for examination. The bugs from Wuppertal were bred under sterile conditions for the purpose of taking blood - there is therefore no risk of disease transmission.

Outstation

Separated from the actual zoo, there is an additional outdoor station. A developed old estate, the Hausenhof behind the Greiffenhorstschlösschen , serves as a quarantine and breeding station. The station is also used to accommodate young animals that are no longer tolerated by their parents in the enclosure and are now waiting to move to another zoo.

Sustainable water management

Sustainable use of water has been practiced at Krefeld Zoo since 2010. To this end, the project “Sustainable water management in the zoo” was developed. The main goals of the project are water conservation and environmental education for school classes.

As part of the project, two plant-based sewage treatment systems and a new groundwater well were built on the zoo grounds. The use of the plant-based sewage treatment system means that the sea lions and the penguin pool only need to be cleaned every six months instead of once a week, which has saved over 500,000 cubic meters of water since the start of the project until today (March 2015). The increased formation of algae in spring - a natural process - is not eliminated by chemicals, but by recreational divers who remove excessive algae from the two pools.

The educational part of the water project was launched in 2014: In the zoo, school classes of all types of school can work on various curriculum-relevant aspects on the topics of “water”, “food chain”, “marine pollution” or “water cycle in the rainforest”, with the plant-based sewage treatment systems included in the lessons become. The students analyze water samples in their own laboratory and practically reproduce the cleaning performance.

AffenBRUT project

In cooperation with an art education agency , the zoo started the fundraising project affenBRUT in October 2007 . Painted pictures by two orangutans and a male named Barito are sold . Most of the proceeds from the "monkey art" flow into animal employment. Barito moved to the Zoo de la Palmyre in France in mid-2014 .

Painting of the female orangutan Sita. Crayons on paper
Painting of the female orangutan Sandra. Finger paints on cardboard

Web links

Commons : Krefeld Zoo  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Zoo in numbers. Krefeld Zoo, January 2, 2019, accessed on January 22, 2019 .
  2. ^ The World Zoo Conservation Strategy in German-speaking countries. (PDF) 2006, archived from the original on October 24, 2013 ; Retrieved July 26, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Bomb night: Krefeld burned 65 years ago. In: wz-newsline.de , June 20, 2008.
  4. ^ Zoo in numbers. Krefeld Zoo, accessed on January 2, 2019.
  5. Volunteering. Krefeld Zoo, January 2, 2019, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
  6. Zoo opens its first own veterinary practice. In: rp-online.de. May 22, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014 .
  7. He played with animals: Monkey house fire meets Nuremberg's zoo boss personally. In: nordbayern.de , January 2, 2020.
  8. Some of the oldest zoo gorillas in the world die in a tragic fire in Krefeld. In: focus.de , January 1, 2020.
  9. Accident in the Krefeld Zoo Fire in the monkey house probably caused by sky lanterns. In: spiegel.de , January 1, 2020.
  10. Policeman released Gorilla Massa to Krefeld zoobrand with submachine gun , wdr.de , January 15, 2020
  11. Krefeld Zoo: Police obliged to shoot gorilla , Berliner Morgenpost, January 15, 2019
  12. Tierschutzbund calls for fireworks ban around zoos after a fire in the monkey house In: deutschlandfunk.de , January 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ Burned down monkey house: Forbidden sky lanterns are said to have triggered an inferno in the Krefeld zoo. In: merkur.de. January 1, 2020, accessed January 1, 2020 .
  14. Dead monkeys in Krefeld Zoo In: morgenpost.de , January 1, 2020, accessed on the same day.
  15. Regulatory authority ordinance for the prevention of dangers from unmanned flying lights (Fluglaternenverordnung) of July 13, 2009
  16. Police investigate mother and two adult daughters. In: rp-online.de , January 2, 2020.
  17. Bärbel Kleinelsen: Fire in the Krefeld Zoo: These donation campaigns and charity events are planned. Retrieved January 6, 2020 .
  18. Sven Schalljo: Kulturfabrik Krefeld: Sharp controls on benefit evening. Retrieved January 6, 2020 .
  19. Donation tournament for the monkey house: collected more than 13,000 euros. January 12, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  20. a b 2020-06-12: Plans for a new monkey park presented | City of Krefeld. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  21. a b Species Protection Center AffenPark - Animal Worlds - Krefeld Zoo. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  22. Krefeld gorilla becomes a world star. In: rp-online.de , January 5, 2013.
  23. Pelikanlagune website of the Krefeld Zoo, last accessed on July 1, 2020
  24. a b c Rainforest House ( Memento from August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), City of Krefeld.
  25. "Penguin Pool": The new attraction at the zoo Krefeld opened ( Memento August 12, 2014 Internet Archive ) Zoo Krefeld, April 17, 2014.
  26. Baby rhino born. In: rp-online.de . May 6, 2008, accessed August 15, 2014.
  27. Elephants in the zoo: "The sad chain posture is finally a thing of the past". In: wz.de , January 27, 2012.
  28. Zoo gives go-ahead for new rhino facility. In: rp-online.de . April 1, 2015, accessed September 24, 2015.
  29. More space for Krefeld's giants - new rhinoceros facility opened. ( Memento from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Krefeld Zoo, April 8, 2016.
  30. The butterfly jungle in the Krefeld Zoo. In: rp-online.de , accessed on August 21, 2014.
  31. Zoo: Marriage drama in the bird house. In: rp-online.de , August 19, 2011.
  32. Members. EAZA, accessed January 3, 2020.
  33. Maintenance breeding at Krefeld Zoo. Krefeld Zoo, January 2, 2019, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
  34. Worldwide acclaimed breeding successes thanks to innovative ideas and a lot of instinct. Krefeld Zoo, November 10, 2014, archived from the original on April 25, 2015 ; Retrieved April 25, 2015 .
  35. Drama in the Krefeld Zoo: Cheetah kills ten kangaroos. In: spiegel.de , November 17, 2002.
  36. Timeline . Archived from the original on April 6, 2017 ; Retrieved April 5, 2017 . Krefeld Zoo.
  37. Rhino Davu is allowed outside. In: rp-online.de , May 11, 2006.
  38. Rhinoceros is called "Kibibi" ( Memento from July 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: rp-online.de , July 26, 2010.
  39. Zoo puts bugs on its animals - as bloodsuckers for the doctor. In: rp-online.de. August 21, 2014, accessed January 3, 2020 .
  40. ^ Water project in Krefeld Zoo. In: vzp.de. September 1, 2015, accessed January 3, 2020 .
  41. ^ Orangutan Barito on the way to France ( Memento from September 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) City of Krefeld, July 30, 2014.