Female Amur tiger Lara was euthanized yesterday. She was 14 years old and had problems with her teeth and malfunctioning kidneys. Korkeasaari is waiting for a new tiger pair. A male will arrive from Nordens Ark later next year.
Summer 2012 born snow leopard female Eloisa left Korkeasaari yesterday for Neunkirchen Zoo, Germany to join young Hungarian born male Sagar.
Vicuña, mara and Père David's deer have arrived at the zoo. I can't find any news of this on the website but they have posted pictures on Facebook and they are shown on the map. Also ravens are in the aviary next to the reindeer which had owls before. I'm not sure if it's been mentioned but pine marten are in the enclosure where skunks used to be by the reindeer. It looks like wapiti have left the collection.
According the local news Amur leopard Zane is coming back to Helsinki from Edinburgh to breed with Toomas. While Stina the current female is concentrating for being a granny. She is no more able to have cubs. A female Amur tiger is coming later this Spring from Nordens Ark and a male one coming from Leipzing early 2014. A new pair of wolverines are also coming. A female from Moscow and a male from Kolmården. Père David's deer, Vicuña and Mara are well settled. Markhor is back to #35 Korkeasaari celebrates it's 125 anniversary this year. Construction work which started 2012 will take about 10 years.
Both tiger enclosures are under renovation and soon ready to welcome new residents. Under reconstruction is also Wolverine enclosure. Red panda enclosure. Cages for birds of prey. Pool for Grey seals. Some exhibites in Amazonia house and the connecting corridor to Africasia. Outdoor lighting, information signages . . . A new building will be completed for the Nature School during this year.
The area remains the same. But the pools and the watering systems will be renewed in the both enclosures. Some other minor things there are also done.
Here's what I found in English about the future plans. Beckmann-N?Thépé - Project - CITY OF HELSINKI - KORKEASAARI ZOO Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - Metro
I am visiting the Helsinki Zoo in April. Is there any special animals or exhibits I should look out for, or something special to see?
Hi, Korkeasaari zoo is rather small island. If you can spend few hours there you can walk around the zoo and see everything. My favorite spot there is the Cat Valley. I also like a lot the outer circle of the island there are some great exhibits there. Please, let me know if you have any special interests. Welcome to Korkeasaari! http://www.korkeasaari.tx.fi/service.cntum?serviceType=serviceDocumentSection&documentId=51542
I think the takin enclosure is one of the best spots. Unusual animals and a large space where they look great. I spent ages watching them.
Agreed, this exhibit is nice, as are the mountain ones around the edge - ibex, markhor, etc. The indoor house with desert exhibits is also very nice.
There are a number of pictures of the new tiger on the Korkeasaari flickr page. It's worth a look for some great shots of other animals at the zoo too. Flickr: Korkeasaaren eläintarha's Photostream
I visited the Helsinki Zoo, about a week ago. I was very impressed by the zoo, much better and larger than I thought it would be. The zoo focuses on animals that live in climates similar to the nordic one. That meant that there were no common African ungulates there, but that was rather good as the zoo compensates for it by having several unusal species, that I had not seen before. Highlights for me included the mishmi takin exhbit, the cat valley (especially the pallas and european wild cats), the tropical building (especially the gundis and agoutis) and the indoor exhibit called Borelia for wading birds. I have also never seen so many peacocks before, and the number of free ranging geese was rather impressing. I had to take the bus to the zoo, that was a good 30 minute drive. But if the zoo-ferry had been operational in winter, it would be possible to get there in a much shorter time. Also it was dissapointing that all the museums was closed in Helsinki on mondays. That meant that I wasted a whole day looking for the museums, that was closed, anyway. That day could be much better used in the zoo. But overall I love Helsinki, and the Tove Janson exhibition in the art museum also impressed me alot.
The zoo's hospital is looking after a single wild boar piglet that was found near Helsinki. It cannot be released as it is too attached to people so the zoo have sought permission to keep the animal. There are plans for the zoo to receive more wild boar in the summer and it is hoped that it can join the herd.
