I have now officially joined the ranks of Zoochatters that have been to see Baby. He is truly a lovely animal. It's bittersweet to think I probably won't be seeing his kind again myself
Also got to see two Tazzie Devils having a bit of a disagreement, lots of noise! Saw most things, but you would have been disappointed, not a single Sun Bear in sight at Cologne
I’m really surprised! Bali, Charlotte and Gula were all pretty active even in the cold and rain of December when I was there. Chica is a guaranteed no show however as he is old and now blind, so he never goes outside anymore, preferring to stay indoors in the comfort of his night den. His keeper let me go inside to visit him when I was there. Did you have any grizzly sightings?
I know how you feel. I first saw him thirty-eight years ago; in those days, in addition to the South American river dolphins, there were a trio of beluga and a trio of Commerson's dolphin too. With every subsequent visit to Duisburg Zoo, I've always thought that I'll probably never see "Baby" again but fortunately he's still there. I hope I get to see him again but, like you, I suspect that when he dies I'll sadly never see another river dolphin.
@beccasunbear we get to the bear grottos towards the end of the day, it was cold and there had just been a heavy hail shower. The grizzly was out briefly, feeding on a scatter feed of carrots. @Tim May it really is a sad thought, but am very glad I've had the chance to finally see him. I've been thinking about making this trip for 4 years; any longer and I don't think he would have been around to visit. Where did they keep the belugas and Commersons dolphins? The pool for the bottlenose dolphins doesn't seem big enough
I saw the belugas and Commerson's dolphins on my first four visits to Duisburg. They were housed together in an outdoor pool (that no longer exists) not in the current dolphinarium.
Thank you Tim, very interesting it seems strange that a provincial zoo like Duisburg could have such a rarity-filled collection of dolphins over the years
One of the former directors was a fanatic species collector, even Giant armadillo were kept at some point...
In addition to the cetaceans, Duisburg had a rich collection with a number of rarities; it was the first place I saw fossa and giant otter back when they were very unusual zoo animals. I remember an African forest elephant and an elephant seal too and, on my first visit, a shoebill.
