Would anyone happen to know if Antonia the polar bear is still alive? A very special bear born in 1989 at the Karlsruhe zoo, she was born with deformed limbs, which never grew properly, but her head and neck grew at a normal rate. Zoo-AG Artikel: Antonia the pygmy polar bear
She was still there in mid March as I saw her. It's kind of a shame that she's all alone, but I guess that's the way it has to be.
Did you enjoy the zoo? It doesn't always get a positive reaction here, but I liked it very much, a few things need working on (but which zoo's are perfect anyway), but overall I was very impressed with the place. I'd like to go in better weather to see how it looks then as my visits have been in November and March.
Yes, I liked it very much and thoroughly enjoyed my visit there. (I had visited the old Ruhr Zoo at Gelsenkirchen many years previously, but this was my first visit to ZOOM. It has been completely transformed from the old zoo that I remember from twenty-odd years ago.) There are so many interesting zoos in that part of Germany, that you’re spoiled for choice. On my recent trip to Germany, I also went to the zoos in Cologne, Duisburg, Wuppertal and Dortmund; all zoos I had visited many times before. Personally, I prefer those zoos to ZOOM, but I am really pleased I went to ZOOM too.
Yes far to many to chose from in one trip I'd say! Dortmund is the one in your list I haven't done, but hope to put that right at some point. Krefeld wasn't on your list, if you haven't been then I would go next time you have a chance, it's a lovely little zoo.
We are digressing from the original topic of the polar bear ‘Antonia’....... Dortmund is lovely zoo too; especially notable are the Angolan giraffes and the Edentate House. (The Dusseldorf Aquarium, too, is another place in this in this region of Germany that is well worth a visit.) Yes, I have been to Krefeld on several occasions, but not for some years; shortage of time prevented me visiting there on my recent German trip.
