The zoo has just finished the remodelling of the Lion enclosure, sizewise nothing has changed, but the enclosure itself has gotten an update. Next is the Tiger enclosure. The zoo will receive / has just received Hog deer to be mixed with the Banteng.
In my opinion, it looks awful right now. The grass is bright green and the rockwork bright grey and almost cartoonish. The former will sort itself out of course...
Elephant cow Thi Ha Phyu, her daughter Maha Kumari and grandson Jung Bul Kne soon move to Copenhagen. In Copenhagen, it will expand its group of elephants and in Cologne will free space because their equipment is very crowded with elephants.
The lions have a new enclosure and as far is I can find they have two lions: Gina and Navin. I wonder where Tejas, there former male, lives now.
does anyone know what updates the zoo will be receiving in the next few years? A south American house was mentioned.
The S-american house is a whole complex and includes new enclosures for Jaguar; King vulture and possibly peccary as well. Currently the Tiger enclosure is under reconstruction. They should also start soon with a Ring-tailed lemur and Coquerel sifaka enclosure in the former Elephant exhibit.
On zoo's facebook page there is also information about another species - Geoffroy's cat should be included in the plan (they have kittens this year but will be off show till the new enclosure in South American section will be built)
That is part of the masterplan, but other ideas of that masterplan have already been shelved and if it is ever going to happen it will be a long time off...
The proposed Lemur + Sifaka walkthrough was for example not part of the masterplan as the former elephant house was supposed to hold only Black rhino, Honey badger and Red river hog. The plans for a monitor lizard house have also been shelved if I remember correctly.
A video of the Geoffrey's Cat on facebook comes with the news that it will go on display in the renovated South American House in 2021 Kletterkünstler
March 2018 the Cologne Zoo had the world first breeding with the Crocodile salamander Tylototriton vietnamensis. Spring 2019 the succes was repeated and totaly sofar 69 of these endangered species were succesfully raised. Now 8 of the captive-bred animals returned to their homeland were they are placed in the Melinh Station for Biodiversity with the aim to bred more of them and later to release them into the wild. From the other Cologne-bred animals satelite-groups will be placed in other zoos and also given in the care of experienced private breeders to found a stable captive population.
At Cologne Zoo a small group of the Madagascar rainbowfish-genus Bedolia have been identified by genetic-research as being Bedolia madagascariensis - an Endangered species. Even more important is that the species was bred for the first time this year at Cologne and some of the young can now be seen at the Aquarium. Also conserning Madagascar freshwaterfish : Cologne recieved a shipment of 3 species from Totonto Zoo - Canada : - Mangarahara cichlid - Ptychromis insolitus - Critically Endangered - kept at 4 other European zoos - Loiselles cichlid - Ptychromis loisellei - Endangered - Cologne now being the only keeper - Gemstone rainbowfish - Rheocles vatosoa - Endangered - next to Cologne only kept at London Zoo
Bedotia madagascariensis has a restricted range in the wild, but it is very common in the aquarium trade and is easy to breed. (They were formerly mistaken for B. geayi which is what older aquarium books and sites will call them).
The last Douc langur passed away last week, cause of death is still unclear. Apparently there were/are plans to import new Douc langurs in exchange for the male they had, so who knows what the future holds. For now it is the end of an era.
