Hello Bib Fortuna I haven't said that Berlin Zoo should get rid of its elephants, tigers, polar bears, seals, penguins and giraffes, although I don't think that the same species should be kept at the Zoo and Tierpark, but that is a different subject. What I was commenting on is the choice of animals to promote Berlin Zoo. I suspect that some visitors would expect to see the usual subjects; there are still people expecting to see elephants, polar bears, giant pandas and koalas at London Zoo. I also suspect that many children know about a greater range of animals than their parents do. Some recent books and TV programmes include animals that would have been ignored 20-30 years ago and some popular films have included clown fish, aye-ayes, fossas, warthogs and Spix's macaws. I wonder how many of the parents are really interested in animals and I have heard some children coming out with factual information that contradicts the misinformation of their parents. A zoo's website is a means to attract people to the zoo and I feel that Berlin Zoo should have used more imagination when it chose its species. I would have thought that a website could include animals such as kiwis (a flightless bird with tiny wings and nostrils at the end of its beak), aye-ayes (an animal of many myths that was mistaken to be a rodent, but with a range of feeding adaptations) and gerenuks (an antelope with a long neck and legs that can stand on its hind legs to reach leaves). A photograph and some basic facts could attract visitors to see animals that are not in their local zoo.
Berlin Zoo BIG plans for Zoo Berlin Hello Zoomaniac I'll bow to your superior knowledge about shopping. I tend to find big shopping centres boring with only a few shops of any interest to me. I prefer smaller towns with quirky shops and second hand shops. While I accept that zoos tend to use ABC animals in promotions, I have some zoo guides that show lesser known species on their covers. I also liked the way that Prague Zoo had several signs pointing to the gharial exhibit 6 years ago. London Zoo had several posters advertising tamanduas a few years ago. Sometimes it's the image that attracts. Also some very popular animals can make boring exhibits. Giant pandas, koalas and lions spend a lot of time resting, although I suspect that people would pay to see a black-and-white cushion in a giant panda enclosure. I have been going through the International Zoo Yearbook and it seems that there are very few zoos that only display one species and I doubt if these would do well if a multi-species zoo were in the same area.
Berlin Zoo BIG plans for Zoo Berlin Hello Batto I think you're right about Zoo marketing. I'd like it if the marketing team had their work proof-read. I have been to zoos where maps and guides show three-toed sloths, rather than two-toed sloths, posters that show animals that aren't at the zoo, labels showing the wrong animals (such as house mice being described as elephant shrews or a giant flying squirrel as a flying lemur) and books giving wrong information ('the emu is a member of the ostrich family'). Some zoos could ask staff members to check promotional material before it is printed, as misinformation reflects badly on zoos. I agree with you about information labels. Labels containing a common and Latin name and a little map are generally boring, except to an extreme zoonerd and leads to visitors spending a few seconds looking for an animal and then moving on to the next enclosure. I doubt if they learn much from the experience.
Berlin Zoo BIG plans for Zoo Berlin Hello Laughing Dove I know the feeling. I visited Brno and asked a woman at the Tourist Information Centre for information about the zoo. "There are lots of animals there". I have learned from experience that most people aren't interested in my zoo photos. They would prefer to know the name of a person in the photo, rather than the identity of a rare and/or unusual species.
The Arabian house was built in an age of zoos for entertainment and wonder not education. There is no excuse nowadays for sloppy zoo management and selling misinformation. To build a new exhibit, selling a lie, however small, is it a good thing?
I'm glad that the Berlin Zoo is going to try going for quality over quantity as while I like the idea of a place with a nice shiny collection, it's no fun when the exhibits are unsuitable for the animals.
Will the panda exhibit be opened this year ? What is the status of the rennovation of the predator house ? I'm going in october
As a young child in a medium sized family, we had the, I assume common, tradition of the annual zoo visit. It took some years, but eventually we tired of Dudley and started venturing further afield. By the time we had outgrown the tradition we had covered the majority of the big name zoos in the Midlands. I assume this is a pattern many people follow. The presence of rare species would have had absolutely no impact on our decision.
This month a modification of the Raubtierhaus (Carnivore House) started. The plan is that this will be ready in the summer of 2019. Naturally designed enclosures are created with grids being replaced by glass and artificial rocks. By merging several former cages, there will eleven outside enclosures for lions (same location as now), tigers (same location as recently), jaguars (lake facing side), dwarf mongooses (between tigers and jaguars), Persian leopards (at the current jaguar/ocelot cages), small-lined mongooses, ring-tailed mongooses, sand cats jaguarundis and tayras (at their current locations) and servals (former enclosure of Bao Bao).
Says early 2019! Out of interest will the cat species be off show till then or are they moving elsewhere in the end? Do they still have their persian leopard?
Unfortunately, there will be a delay due to problems with the old building structures (after all these years of use the quality is still worse than expected). According to the most recent update, the carnivore building won't reopen before Summer 2020...
Hello, I've never been to the zoo before but I'm visiting next week. Bit confused by the websites, can I just clarify if the nocturnal animals & the hippos are off-show? Also is the polar bear cub at the zoo or Tierpark (I assume they're different places?) Thanks in advance!
Nocturnal animals are offshow but I don't think the hippos are and the polar bear cub is at Tierpark.
