Bear Castle at Leipzig, 02/09/11

This historical structure is still home to the zoo\'s Spectacled Bears. I\'ve heard various suggestions for its future; none seem to include keeping bears in it for some reason!

The South American area is the next (and last) of the zoo\'s zones to be built; as they\'ve held on to them for this long I\'d imagine the Spectacled Bears will be incorporated into this.

Although Leipzig is frequently touted as one of Europe's very best zoos, it never seems to be given the status of #1 by ZooChatters. I have various lists from fellow zoo nerds over the years and places like Berlin, Arnhem, Rotterdam, Vienna, Zurich or Chester often rank slightly higher. Leipzig has wondrous and fairly new additions such as Pongoland, Africa, Asia and Gondwanaland but there are also a steady stream of outdated exhibits for animals like spectacled bears, macaques, penguins, baboons and leopards. Is that why Leipzig is frequently mentioned as one of Europe's better zoos but not quite up there as the creme de la creme?

Yes, although a Google search for the Zoo's recently updated master plan will show you why it may achieve preeminent status very soon. Funds have been committed and the last of the old stuff will be replaced with fantastic exhibits like those you mention. This historic structure no longer holds bears, and is slated to become a play area and cafe. New Amur leopard exhibits are being built as we speak, and the old cat cages will eventually be replaced with what in concept will be a spectacular Patagonian coast exhibit for penguins, other seabirds and seals. This is a zoo to be reckoned with.....

Are you sure the bears are no longer in here? They certainly were on my visit December 2012. I hope you are right as this was one of the two areas of an otherwise great zoo that did disturb me.

The last two bears left the exhibit two months ago.

Leipzig is certainly one of Europe's better zoos, but not quite up there with the top tier (very close though). It has some great enclosures, some extremely rare species (Baikal Seal, and - apparently - Pangolin), and a very solid collection (including aquarium) - all the ABCs and a lot of non-ABCs. However, exhibit-wise it is a bit hit and miss, Gondwanaland has too small enclosures, and the elephant exhibit was disappointing. The outdated enclosures are just that, outdated, and so are in a way much less disappointing than the more modern enclosures that are below par.

Once those species named above are moved then there will be significantly less to complain about, and if they are spectacular exhibits then it could move up to the top tier of zoo rankings. I would say its currently ranked even with Zurich and maybe Chester, higher than Vienna, but not as high as the Berlins.

@zooboy28, Leipzig is already far ahead of the both Berlins in terms of exhibit design...

I do not think the enclosures in Gondwanaland are too small, certainly not always very large, but very clever designed. I do not think the elephant enclosure is that disappointing, It is certainly large enough, but it could use a bit more space and I do not like the hands-on concept. But it is one of the better elephant enclosures around.

I still don't get why everyone ranks Berlin as the best European zoos, maybe it is true in terms of species, but they loose the contest in many other fields such as exhibit design etc.

I would rank Leipzig in the top-5 of the 85 zoos I have seen by now, they are imo in the same league as Vienna and Burgers Zoo.

Good news, just the leopards to move now then I will have little to complain about.

As for being in the top rank of zoo's as others have said it's nearly there but the bad areas do drag it down, but as there are nearly gone then it will certainly be a place to reckon with.
Strange that nobody has put Prague in the top rank, a big oversight I'd say, I'd put it top 3 from what I've seen and from the list that most have I've seen them all bar the two Dutch ones but that will be put right in October.

This photo was taken just a day or two before the last bear left this rather ugly enclosure:

http://www.zoochat.com/443/spectacled-bear-april-2013-a-324417/

On the subject of Leipzig's greatness, or otherwise, my opinion is that it is, in many ways, a stunning zoo, and it does lots of things very well, from both an animal and a people point of view (for the latter - really nice restaurants, good publications, and even a very nice car park!). As has been said above, it also has some great rarities - fat sand rats are another unusual-in-zoos treat.

However, I think it is perhaps lacking a certain something, holding it back from true greatness - a sense of character, a sense of personality. This is a highly subjective response, I appreciate, but it is not a zoo that I visit and then want to revisit the next day - it is though, most certainly, a place that calls me back every couple of years. So, in the champions' league places, but not quite champion material.

Wow, compared with most North American zoos, filled to the brim with 1930s bear WPA bear grottoes, "Lorikeet Landings," nearly-identical polar bear "arctic villages" and "African savanna" giraffe feeding platforms, all mostly designed by the same two or three firms, Leipzig's combination of beautiful historic buildings (starting with the entry gate) and imaginative and lush immersion experiences strikes me as extremely memorable and full of character.