Oncilla exhibits

A friend of mine toured Dortmund Zoo today, and he said that the setting of the zoo was beautiful (dense woodland) but "the entire zoo looks like it was built 40-50 years ago and it hasn't changed much since then". Surely there are some new, modern, naturalistic exhibits at the zoo? The number of rarities makes it a must-see for any enthusiast, but is Dortmund one of the lesser German zoos?

Certainly not. There a some enclosures that are not that new, but many new houses and exhibits. Very cool animals and a wonderful park.

Definitely there is much to admire here! and definitely it isn't one of the lesser German zoos!

The lynx enclosure is genuinely outstanding; the anteater house is quite brilliant (if not especially modern); the orang and tapir house is modern (and pretty good too); there's a wonderful (and modern) giant otter house - and then there are a number of enclosures that are not at all modern, but nonetheless rather tremendous (some good ungulate paddocks, for example).

These small cat enclosures are not the zoo's finest feature, and there are one or two other slightly dated bits - but they are few and far between. The restaurant is pretty poor too. And the shop is a shocker (not unusually, in Germany).

I would take Dortmund over the nearby Gelsenkirchen zoo any day - but others will certainly see things differently! As the song goes, "it takes diff'rent strokes to move the world"...

The individual in question visited 13 German zoos in probably about 11 days, and he was not at all impressed with Dortmund. Then again, he was hugely excited about Leipzig, Hanover and Zoom Gelsenkirchen and the new exhibits at that trio of zoos. Judging from photos Dortmund lacks the glitz and glamour of those other facilities, and it perhaps has more of a traditional appearance to it. Some German zoos have fantastic collections in enclosures mainly of an average quality (Frankfurt, Dortmund, perhaps Duisburg and the Berlins) while the zoos with more immersive, thematic exhibits (Leipzig, Hanover and Zoom) are more to the liking of some zoo enthusiasts. That seems like a fair summary. One system of showcasing animals is not necessarily "better" than the other, but I can see how a traditional zoo facility might not appeal to some zoo nerds who look for a different approach than the norm.

Yeah, that sounds like a taste thing - Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen and Hannover all share a definite tendency towards theming/'immersion', the latter two in particular. All very good zoos - but so are Frankfurt, Dortmund, Duisburg and the Berlins - just in different ways.

What small cats are there at Dortmund?