I highly doubt it was a "submachine gun" like the article says, papers almost never get the type of gun correct and that type of weapon is usually only used by special forces police.
I really don't understand why it was necessary to release the grim information about the shooting of the injured ape. I would believe that they did the best they could in a horrible situation, but I really did not want to read this nor do I see any reason why the public needs to have this information. The way the media are portraying it is sensationalized as per usual and could well re-ignite the controversy and the tide of negative statements towards the zoo. Speaking of negative statements, PETA Germany has started promoting a petition against the possible future construction of a new ape house at Krefeld Zoo called "No new ape prison at Krefeld Zoo". To support it they are spewing their usual nonsense, like that monkeys or apes are taken from the wild to be put on display, that zoos have no conservation value or at zoos are animal prisons. PETA also accussed the zoo of not having had adequate fire prevention/security and of not having had anyone to supervise on sight in the night of New Year. So far a few thousand people have signed the petition. So the crazy scum at PETA are at it again - capitalizing on tragedies and misery to further their own insane agenda and get attention for their extremist cause. I really hate these animal-killing extremists and I am disgusted by their tactics. Duizenden mensen tekenen petitie tegen opnieuw opbouwen van afgebrand apenverblijf
Those who do not wish to read the grim details should not read on. Sadly, the 5(!) surviving apes had to endure for some hours in this inferno until 0,2 orangs and 1,0 gorilla needed to be redeemed of their severe suffering (2 by medication, 1 by bullets) and the 2 chimpanzees could be rescued and brought to hospital with their wounds. It must have been a horrific experience for all animals and humans involved in this.
Special forces police were stationed around the house while it was on fire, to protect firefighters in case any animals escaped. All reports mention 'submachine gun'.
Krefeld Zoo has decided there will be a new ape house in the future. The planning process has started anew under the working title "Neubau Artenschutzzentrum Affenpark" ("New construction Conservation center Ape park"). The major of Krefeld is also behind the project. Good to hear they aren't giving up on keeping apes in the wake of the terrible tragedy that happened, and aren't giving in to all the criticism and negativity they have been getting. Zoo Krefeld beschließt Bau eines neuen „Affenparks“
Not very surprising as the zoo already had quite some funding for the proposed Chimpanzee outdoor enclosure and the zoo has received >20.000 gifts since the new year tragedy.
Yes, I believe I read or heard somewhere that they received around 1.4 million euros in donations already. It won't pay for a new ape house but it is definitely a big step in the right direction.
I just finished reading the interesting book The Zookeepers' War: An Incredible True Story from the Cold War (Nov. 2019 edition) and there is one page that briefly discusses Krefeld Zoo's 'new' ape house. "But just one year after the all-weather zoo (Munster) opened its gates, the nearby Krefeld Zoo set a new standard in keeping apes. There, gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans lived in family units in a tropical hall with a warm, humid climate and jungle plants, separated from visitors by only a narrow moat. Krefeld's tropical ape house was a pioneering structure in modern animal keeping..." It's fascinating that what was once exemplary is now considered atrocious. I know that in North American zoos at least 95% of all great ape exhibits have an attached outdoor enclosure and I'm guessing that the same applies to European zoos. Hopefully Krefeld can raise enough funds to build a world-class Primate House in the near future. Former Chimpanzee exhibit (with no outdoor access) at Krefeld Zoo: Former Orangutan exhibit (with no outdoor access) at Krefeld Zoo:
Everything is judged by the standards of its day. I visited Krefeld and Cologne on the same visit some years ago and seem to remember their buildings shared the same, design, footprint and construction? Please correct me if I'm wrong. The Krefeld building had moats as shown with concrete islands, and the Orangs were sitting on the floor morosely with hessian sacks over their heads. At Cologne the moats were part of the apes area, increasing the floor space, with tall glass windows and a mesh roof turning the whole into a large 3 dimensional cage, and their Orangs were active and brachiating happily. It left a lasting impression. Moats are space greedy (however pretty, outdoors at least) and the conditions for the animals would often be better if they were roofed. Krefeld could have quite economically 'sorted it' by copying their neighbour. Apart from this building, I much preferred Krefeld to Cologne...
Precisely correct same roof material too, I believe, so hopefully the latter collection is now looking at replacing the roof!
Don't know much about these plastic roofs; but they seem to be used widely. Most big zoos have some kind of tropical house, from Newquay and Thrigby, to Chester, Burgers and the Eden Project. Chester's and Krefeld's burnt, so will all these be replaced with something different? Cotwold's is all glass I think, but must be horribly energy inefficient...
The roof of the Monsoon Forest at Chester did not burn: it was melted by the flames below. As far as I know, the new roof which is now in place is made of the same material.
Point taken. As the end result was quite similar, be it melted or burnt, presumably the replacement will have to be different?
Sorry I edited my post while you were replying, but the effect was not the same. If the roof had caught fire all the animals in the building would have probably been killed. In fact the animals in the northern part of the building were unharmed, although some birds escaped through the part of the roof that had melted.
That implies that Chester's plastic is/was safer than Krefeld's plastic, thank you for the clarification. Has Cologne's house been condemned/closed, as a result of the Krefeld fire? So presumably Chester's roof is being replaced like for like? I just wondered if Cologne was unique now in its choice of an unsafe material, or if other roofs would have to be replaced too. These buildings are very common - garden centres, butterfly houses, commercial green-houses...
Chester's dome was recently built with modern day state of the art materials and the old Krefeld Great Ape House was built in 1975 with the knowledge of the day. So, you are making a rather rough ride comparison here. You might really want to look at the new design planning to what this - not so big on cash - can make do in 2020 while redesigning a new Great Ape facility. Personally, I really wish they would ramshackle the next door KFC Uerdingen 05 Krefeld soccer stadium and relocate that elsewhere. It would make a nice addition to the zoo. Alas, big money has been spent (10 mio euro on renovating that). BTW: the local soccer team is Dritte Liga.
