Frankfurt Zoo » Frankfurt Zoo

Frankfurt Zoo
09-07-2008

Frankfurt Zoo has stopped keeping clouded leopards and sent away the breeding pair with the last young to Ekilstuna,sweden.
That's unbelivable, because the formely director needed a few years to get them from Howletts and has build a very good and expensive exhibit for the clouded leopards in the"Cat-Jungle Southeast Asia".

In 2006 they bred for the first time, but the babies died, as like as the next litter in 2007. Now they have the third litter and raised successfully one young.

The reason for this is, because the clouded leopards were invisable for the zoo vistors, they never could see them ! Of course, they are noctornal animals, but the visitors didn't care about them, they are only interested in tigers and lions, and both species can be seen in the same house.

The new zoodirector wants to protect endangerd wildlife, is this the right way,protecting animals, to give away a highly endangerd species, which has just start breeding ?

And if " invisable"animals are now a reason to gave up keeping them, a lot of more species has to leave the Frankfurt Zoo, the Tree kangaroos,the Aye-Aye's and Kiwis, a lot of reptiles, all these are species, which are not easy to see them, because the vistors are not looking hard enough for them, just a few seconds, and if they don't see an animal in the exhibit, they went to the next enclosure. " Oh, it's nothing inside here". Everyone of us knows that very good.

I can't understand that. Now the fossas will move into the clouded leopard exhbit, because they are better to see,Ha,ha.

1. Fossas are not more active at day as the clouded leopards.
2. They are to boring for the vistors
3. Do they came from southeast asia ?

I've heared, they are just for a while in this exhibit, until the zoo found another species for the exhibit, but what species ? The exhibit is to small for leopards,
and all the small cats from southeast asia are hard to get or nocturnal....

So maybe they should keep a primate species in the exhibit. Douc langurs ?

12-08-2008

I agree that this is a stupid idea of Frankfurt Zoo. I have been to Frankfurt zoo in 2007, it is a great exhbit for clouded leopards and a perfect species for a southeast asia cathouse.

I don't think they get Douc's. America wil not give aniamls, the same as Koln Zoo. Maybe is the Asian Golden Cat(Heidelberg, Munster, Rotterdam) an idea?

13-08-2008

That was just a joke with the Douc langurs. In the next time, the zoo will rebuild the formely clouded leopard exhibit for the fossa pair. A lot of people at the Zoo are not happy with the decision to give away the clouded leopards, but fossas are endangerd, and clouded leopards" are only"vulnerable.

13-08-2008

only thing is, it's not really the right continent is it.

I've visited frankfurt several times and always enjoyed the cat jungle. I also saw the clouded leopards every time. they ARE hard to find, but with some effort it's not that difficult.

I do believe, however, they made a few structural mistakes. the animals can reach a few places where they are almost completely out of sight. I don't think they counted on them getting this high in the (outdoor)exhibit.

01-02-2009

Now it is offical, the zoo will get 30 Millione Euros for new exhibits !

First thing they will do is a new main entrance with a giftshop. In March, the zoo will present the plans for this new entrance and the next project after, the new bear enclosures. maybe they will start with the entrance ant tehe nd of 2009 and a year laterw itht he bear exhibit. In the moment, the zoo is keeping sunbears and sloth beras, both species will be send to other zoos and Frankfurt will get spectacled bears, to keep them together with coatis.....Not very original.....But coatsi are very popular to the visitors, but a few zoos in the area of Frankfurta re keeping them also, so kronberga nd Darmstadt... i can't understand this decision, first, the new zoo director, who calls the Frankfurt zoo a"Nature conservation Zoo", stopped the keeping the endangerd clouded leopards, which are very rare in zoos also, ( and breeding them is much more rare than keeping them ) and then the zoos will start keeping coatis.....I can only shake my head...Many in zoos interested people are not agree with the fututre plans of this man, so I do.

The project after the bear enclosure will be the new Nocturnal House. The present Grozmek house can't be saved, to rebuild it, wuld be more expensive than to build a complete new house. Altough I love the Grizmekhouse, I have to say, they have now the chance to build the newest and best nocturnal house in europe with spectecular new exhibits, which can be larger than the present exhibits....Of course, they will not keep all prsent Grizmekhouse species in the new house, but i'm sure, they will keep the Aye-Aye's, aardvarks,Galagos,Fennec Foxes, Bats and Chocomistles in the new house also, and aybe some new species. So Leipzig wants to keep tarsiers( and I'm sure,the zoo will get them),maybe Frankfurt will get them also ? Who knows ?

After the new nocturanl house, a new antarctic penguin hall will be build at the place of the present takin exhibit, and after it, an african svannah is planned, but there are not yet details for this exhibit.

05-02-2009

If they build an exhibit for spectacled bears, the coati's wil just be an addition. Does it matter if it's an original idea? I expect emmen to do the same in the nearby future. The emphasis of the new diplay will be on the spectacled bears I presume.

Clouded leopards are my favourite Felines, together with snow leopards. It's a shame that Frankfurt has decided to take them out of their colection, since it's an species rarely seen in zoo's. Visitor visibility is a bad excuse.

05-02-2009

Good to hear that something is moving! This great zoo in rich city somehow stagnated after death of Mr. Grzimek. Hopefully it will kick out again!

09-02-2009

I've heared now, the zoo will build the new nocturnal house, i hope, the new building will also named after the famous Zoodirector Grizmek,before the new penguin exhibit. The idea is, to build two tropical halls, one daylight and one nocturnal hall, both with free roaming animals.
I don't know at this time, if there will be only free roaming animals, or if some species will be kept in exhibits. I think, they will not keep Aye-Aye's or aardvarks free in a hall...

08-03-2009

The last Grey-necked bald crow (Picathartes oreas) died.

08-03-2009

That's terrible news; I was hoping to see it this summer on a short trip to Frankfurt. A real shame.

09-03-2009

This bird was hatched in 1984, it was almost 25 years old !

19-03-2009

And this was the last bald crow in captivity in all the world. Both species of Picathartes are highly endangered at their natural habitat and Frankfurt was the first zoo in succesful breed of both species. Now this genus, so strange that forms an own family, has disappeared from captivit in all the world...

Anybody knows what happened with the died bird? Maybe it's frozen or preserved?

24-04-2009

I went to the Zoo today, here are the news :

No information about the future of shoebills at the zoo.

The last african pygmy kingfisher died recently.

1.1 kiwis were send to Birdpark Alphen, netherlands.

Third offspring of Coendus, born end of march

two mhorrgazelles,born march and april

three new grevy zebras mares from magdebutg zoo, frankfurt is keeping only females

only an older pair of klippspringers left at the zoo, after the second male died. There will be no more klippspringers at the zoo after the death of this pair.

one highpregnant giraffe

a few johnsstons crocdiles hatched end of march, four of them could be seen.

Bonobo birth, a male. Now four youngsters in the group.

new bear exhibits and new entrance will be build at the same time, maybe, it's not sure yet.
Fossas in the former clouded leopards exhibits are not better to see than the clouded leopards.....

New gorilla outdoor exhibit almost finished, looks not bad, but the water moat....

young okapi bull together with one of the females.

24-04-2009

@Zebraduiker
Are you sure, that the young bonobo was born at Frankfurt? I think this bonobo is "Bili" born at Twycross Zoo in October 2008- his foster mother is "Zomi". "Kamiti`s" baby is a female, named "Owanga"....

24-04-2009

@Björn N. I've saw four youngsters in the group, three were born there, Kamiti had a Baby, which has to be born in the alst three month, unfortunately, there was no birth date at the exhibit or at board at the entrance with all birts and new arrivals, but one of the Frankfurt Ape-Aunts, you know, this kind of daily vistors, who knowing everyting about the apes, called the baby " Owanga", but this abby was not on the sign with all the family members.

By the way, "Owanga"sounds like a male name. I've posted a pic of it in the Frankfurt gallery.

I've forgot to say, Frankfurt does now have 15 small clawed otters....8 of them will be send to la Palmyre in France. The handraised spider monkey is on exhibit in the former squrirrl monkey exhibit in the monkey house, the squrril monkeys moved to the former red howler monekey exhibit in the Grizmekhouse, the golden lion tamarins, whcih have lived in it after the death of the howlers, moved to the white faced saki ( seen just one of them ), the wild guena pigs to the former tamandua exhibit and the tamnduas, after the fossas has move dto the Cat-Jungle, in the former fossa exhibit. They now have an outdoor exhibit also !