Snowleopard's 2019 Road Trip: Netherlands, Belgium, France & Germany

Somebody told me that a tour guide took a group of tourists to Beijing Zoo and left the zoo after they'd seen the giant panda. Similarly, a tour guide left Taronga Zoo after the tourists had seen the kangaroos. Like you, I'd have been very frustrated.

 

I'm the same way. While I do love seeing large collections, I would rather see a decent-sized collection in larger habitats (Safari Park, Tierpark) over a more traditional zoo with a larger collection in generally smaller habitats, however well the presentation may often be in the latter. For me, seeing large mammals in birds in large fields or wooded areas is a more enjoyable and adventurous experience than seeing large mammals in a more traditional zoo setting.

Of course, as a big fan of reptiles, birds, amphibians, and small mammals, I also enjoy seeing a high diversity of those as well, and those kinds of animals are often kept in lovely habitats in more traditional modern zoos. I love the look of Berlin Zoo's bird house, for instance, as well as many of the terraria.

Therefore, I would say the perfect zoo would be a combination of Tierpark and Berlin Zoo, or a combination of SDZ and SDSP. Something that has a nice collection of reptiles, birds, and other small- and medium-sized animals in nice habitats, but that also has larger mammals and birds in large habitats. The Bronx Zoo or Omaha (the latter which I haven't been to, but their new Asian and African areas look fantastic, especially the goral/takin area) would perhaps be the closest American examples of this, even if my personal favorite zoo is the San Diego Safari Park.

Either way, looking at the descriptions and pictures of both Berlin zoos, they both sound fantastic, although I suspect I would personally prefer Tierpark, especially with the upcoming rainforest house with indoor and outdoor exhibits.

 

I totally agree with your choices and (full disclosure) my niece even works at Northwest Trek.
Another Zoo vs sister Wildlife Park could be the Columbus Zoo vs The Wilds, but this comparison is a joke! Columbus is far, far better!!!

 

This is not unusual. Plenty of visitors to Moonlit look "only" at the kangaroos and koalas, pretty much ignoring everything else even when it is right in front of them. And we have people rush in to see the kangaroos and rush out again, staying no more than 10 or 15 minutes. Their usual comment is something like "I have been in Australia for four weeks and am leaving tomorrow, and have not seen a kangaroo yet". We have had people stop on the way to the airport.

 

DAY 28: Saturday, August 10th (3 zoos)

Before I start my trio of reviews, I want to point out something that it important to me. Those of you that have been following along on all of my North American road trip threads, especially the last few summer trips (2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018) will know that at one point on probably every single zoo trip I've ranted about electronic signs. The expansion of those awful creations into many zoos and aquariums has been intriguing and frustrating, because invariably at every single facility with electronic signage there is always at least one sign that is broken. Or, if you are a zoo enthusiast attempting to put together an extensive list of species, then you patiently stand there as the signs slowly roll over on their screens. It's a fate worse than death at some locations, especially with a long list of animals in a particular set of exhibits. While spending two full days at the big Berlin zoos, I think that if my memory serves me well then there are ZERO electronic signs anywhere at the Berlin parks. If those world-class zoos can showcase 1,250 species (Zoo) and 800 species (Tierpark) then why not every other crappy little zoo in the world? I loved the fact that both Berlin zoos had real, actual signs. Brilliant!

After Hagenbeck, Berlin Zoo and Berlin Tierpark in successive days, it was almost a pleasure to not have another behemoth awaiting my arrival. Instead, it was time to check out the Hannover area and see a trio of attractions that are all fairly close together. I had my most difficult drive of the entire trip beforehand, as it took me a full 5 hours to reach Hannover from Berlin and that was after an extremely tiring day. There was rain at times, construction projects that reduced highway traffic to a single-lane, and it was very late at night and after a tremendously long couple of days of walking, that I finally had a steaming shower and crashed onto a hotel bed. I woke up the next day rejuvenated and ready to tackle the last leg of this journey.

I had some great company today, as Markus Fritsche joined me for all three zoos, and he was an amazing resource of information. Markus is a 28-year-old zoo nerd (or zoo ‘freak’ as he puts it) who lives 45 minutes from Hannover. He’s somewhat famous in Germany as he founded the fabulous website ‘zootierliste’, which almost all European zoo nerds are well aware of. It is a tremendous website that basically lists every single species at every single zoo in all of Europe and I freely admit that I checked out zootierliste almost daily when planning my trip. Markus began zootierliste many years ago and now he is one of 7 individuals that maintains that website, pays for its operating costs and runs it with help from many zoo enthusiasts who provide a constant stream of updates.

Markus sent me a message while I was still trekking around Berlin Tierpark and I was delighted to say 'yes' to meeting up with him. He often attends German zoo nerd/freak meetings that are sometimes held on a monthly basis, and Markus has tentative plans to travel to California in October and if things work out as he hopes then he could visit zoo #400 while in the USA. Considering that he is 28 years old, that would be an astonishing achievement. His lifelong goal is to visit every single German zoo, and as of right now he’s at 220 zoos just in that one nation.

Zoo/Aquarium # 82: Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Hannover, DE)

The zoo opened in 1865 and it is the 5th oldest zoo in Germany, although it is important to note that during the past 20 years the zoo has been completely modernized and updated, resulting in staggering visitor numbers ranging from 1.3 million to 1.6 million annual visitors over the past decade. The zoo is therefore extremely popular, set on 54 acres/22 hectares, has had tremendous success in breeding Asian Elephants (with a record-setting 5 births in a single year – 2010) but Hannover for the most part left me cold. I loved ZOOM in Gelsenkirchen, the zoo most often compared to Hannover, but ZOOM had a fantastic Alaskan loop, an almost equally impressive African loop, and a slightly underwhelming Asian loop during my 4-hour visit. At Hannover, Markus and I were finished in 3 hours, including sitting down for a nice lunch. He loves Hannover as it’s essentially his local zoo and the changes over the years have been tremendous, but I adored one section and felt that the rest of the park was lacking in quality. Judging from ZooChat reports over the years, it seems as if most zoo enthusiasts are in agreement with me. Hannover is themed within an inch of its life, with mud huts and temples and everything else that can be tossed into a zoo, and occasionally that comes across as jarring.

A substantial section of the zoo is an African loop, and with these ‘Erlebnis’ zoos that means a one-way trail past themed areas. An Eastern Black Rhino area of 2-3 enclosures is seen from various vantage points, and a nice African Savanna with Common Eland, Grant’s Zebra, Thomson’s Gazelle, Impala and Ostrich is well done. The zoo has three flamingo species (Chilean/Caribbean/Greater), pelicans, Marabou Storks and Great Cormorants before visitors come across a decent Common Hippo pool. However, the underwater viewing is in a cave-like structure and the mock-rock is actually a deterrent to obtaining a great view of the creatures. A single, massive acrylic window is the only way to truly showcase hippos underwater, as tiny viewing areas set in mock-rock is simply a headache for frustrating visitor congestion. There are Meerkats, Indian Crested Porcupines, Somali Wild Ass, Addax, incredibly themed lavatories (this is the case all around the zoo as we popped into all of them – haha!), Kirk’s Dik-diks (at least 10 of them), Red River Hogs, domestic goats and sheep, a tiny Giraffe House with outdated stables, Roan Antelopes, Blesboks and Springboks. Everything is slick and adequate, but it simply doesn’t reach any high level.

Next up is a primate zone, with Chimpanzees and Lowland Gorillas in exhibits that are only just barely acceptable. There is grass, mock-rock galore, and shaded areas, but nothing to set the heart-racing and it’s all a bit perfunctory. One new exhibit that is truly terrific is the Drill/De Brazza’s Monkey habitat, with a mock-rock tunnel that the monkeys can clamber over and there are naturalistic exhibits on each side of the pathway. The whole thing was probably my favourite part of the African zone, featuring a couple of species that are rare in European zoos. Unlike the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, where literally everything seems brand-new, Hannover has some older sections and the Monkey House (which holds the Drills and De Brazza’s Monkey indoor quarters) is almost Krefeld-like in its age and appearance. There is a new, walk-through African Aviary with at least 10 species that is nicely done, although it’s not really large enough to accommodate the huge crowds at this very popular zoo. There is an African Lion exhibit and then a very outdated Lemur House, with species inside such as Ring-tailed Lemur, Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Degu, Fat Sand Rat, Spiny-tailed Monitor, Jayakar’s Oman Lizard, African Pancake Tortoise and Cornsnake. It is the kind of building that you wonder if it will still be standing in another 5 years. After an hour and fifteen minutes we were done the African trail, which encompasses approximately 50% of the zoo’s acreage. Even with so many big-name animals, I feel that the exhibits were only of an ‘okay’ quality, with the stand-out being the Drill section and the new African Aviary. I should point out that Markus and I had no intention of sitting in a boat together, as he pointed out that the ride doesn’t offer up anything that we hadn’t already seen.

Up next was Yukon Bay, a Canadian-themed zone that honestly blew me away with its high level of quality. There are Timber Wolves, American Woodland Caribou (yes, they were imported just for this exhibit), Raccoons, American Bison, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and I believe that it is generally acknowledged that the two Polar Bear exhibits are amongst the best in all of Europe, with the huge crane being used for keeper presentations, the naturalistic landscape, the underwater viewing, the massive pools with crashing water courtesy of wave machines, etc. Even the big, deliberately-rusty Yukon Mining Trading Company sign above a slumbering bear works well. It’s all quite spectacular and later on we had lunch in the Yukon Market Hall restaurant that overlooks that part of the zoo. Here, for once, Hannover has piled on its tremendous themed areas and pulled off a masterstroke. The Yukon Queen ship that has crashed into the harbour, with its African Penguin inhabitants, is rather bizarre but the penguin exhibit is decent, and the underwater viewing is excellent with penguins overhead. Lastly, there is Yukon Stadium with its pinnipeds and here are California Sea Lions, Northern Fur Seals and at least one Baltic Sea Grey Seal all together amidst the crashing waves from another hidden wave machine. Underwater viewing is from within the bowels of a huge ship, and on the way out of this area is an exhibit for American Red Squirrels and then a spacious aviary for Snowy Owls and Great Grey Owls that has tripled in size in recent years. Yukon Bay is fantastic.

Asia has a mock-temple theme that rarely every works in my opinion. So many zoos attempt to pull off the ‘ruined temple’ vibe and I feel that the animal exhibits become secondary to the glitz and glamour of India, or Cambodia, or wherever. Many American zoos have crappy temple areas, and the same probably goes for Europe, and if a zoo is going to attempt such an endeavour then it needs to be something on the Pairi Daizi scale where the temples are a million times more authentic than cheap imitations. Hannover has had a lot of success with its Asian Elephants and at the moment the area is under construction as the entire complex is being expanded. A bull yard is almost finished being built, and then the herd will shift over there while the cow yard is significantly enlarged. As things stand right now, I was not impressed with the elephant exhibit and both Berlin zoos, where I was also critical of the elephant environments, have better setups than what is in Hannover. Maybe I’m just picky after seeing loads of American zoos with sprawling acres for elephants, but very popular German zoos are not meeting the requirements for the world’s largest land mammal over and over again.

In this mock-temple area are Amur Tigers, which, naturally, is a species commonly found in ruined temples around Asia, Hanuman Langurs in a ghastly and inappropriate enclosure, leopards, Red Pandas, Reeves’ Muntjacs, Northern Tree Shrews, Ball Pythons, those classic temple inhabitants Madagascar Spider Tortoises and a few other reptiles. A small Australian zone has Red Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies, Bennett’s Wallabies, Emus and Common Wombats amidst red sand, and then a South American section has Rheas, Vicunas, Capybaras, Maras and Alpacas in a pair of grassy exhibits. The zoo ends with a petting farmyard area that would be boring to practically every zoo enthusiast, but in truth it is very nicely done and walking around gives the sense of being in a German rural farming community.

Hannover Zoo is frustrating, because the last few sections (Australia, South America, Farmyard) are nice enough but all fairly inconsequential. The Asian zone is also not very big and, in my opinion, pretty much a total disaster. The huge chunk of the zoo that is the African area is decent, adequate, with a few good bits and bobs, but overall a zone that at times borders on mediocrity. Yukon Bay, with its outstanding Polar Bears and pinnipeds, is so impressive that it is miles ahead of anything else in the zoo. For a facility with most of its exhibits all having been built in the past 20 years, and with mammoth attendance figures, I was expecting a lot more from the zoo. Again, I will point out that ZOOM Gelsenkirchen was far more impressive. However, I suppose that the public enjoys seeing a ton of marquee mammals (elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, lions, tigers, leopards, gorillas, chimpanzees, polar bears) and Hannover does show a desire to keep improving. The new Drill/De Brazza’s Monkey exhibit is superb, the African Aviary is nicely done, the elephants are getting an expansion, a new Giraffe House and exhibit is on the immediate horizon (perhaps even 2020) and then I'm told that a Madagascar House is probably going to be the next major project. The biggest thing there is a huge new entrance, which literally is brand-new, and there is now a bit of a walk once you are inside the zoo to the first animal exhibit. The zoo has space to improve and that's a nice bonus for the future.

We then drove 15 minutes down the road, unable to resist the lure of yet another Sea Life Aquarium.

Zoo/Aquarium # 83: Sea Life Hannover (Hannover, DE)

Come to Sea Life Hannover and see sharks, turtles, Nemo, Dory, and other aquatic delights all in one location…just minutes from Hannover Zoo. There is even a Botanical Garden next door if one tires of eels and wrasses. This facility is a typical Sea Life Aquarium, right down to the 45-minute visit, except that at the end of the typical loop is a spacious Tropical House. Originally there was only the Tropical House as a stand-alone attraction, and then years ago someone came up with the bright idea to build a Sea Life Aquarium around the existing ‘jungle’ building. There is a mock-temple theme here, right down to the cement Cuban Crocodile exhibit and an Asian Water Dragon enclosure. There are 4 Red-footed Tortoises named after Ninja Turtles (cute idea), poison dart frogs, various turtles and concrete temple heads in the jungle, but no free-flying birds or small mammals and that’s a distinct omission. There is a spiral staircase around a tree that takes visitors up to the canopy, and Markus and I made the journey in the humid environment, but with no animals free-ranging it is all a bit of a waste. At least this Sea Life, with its Tropical House addition, is unique compared to perhaps any other Sea Life in the world.

We then drove 45 minutes north to a big German safari park.

Zoo/Aquarium #84: Serengeti-Park (Hodenhagen, DE)

This is a large safari park-style zoo with 1,500 animals, 800,000 annual visitors and a lot of attractions on its 200 hectares/495 acres. The place is huge and essentially 100 acres larger than Berlin Tierpark, although walk-around zoological attractions are only a fraction of the entire site. Some families spend days at Serengeti-Park, as there are Safari Lodges, Adventure Lodges, Masai Mara Lodges, Ranger Lodges, Tent Lodges and Jungle Lodges, and a whole swathe of the grounds is set aside for overnight accommodation. There are roller-coasters, show arenas, the “world’s largest mobile indoor coaster” (whatever that is!), some kind of ‘Ice Age Safari’, a stunning Restaurant Manyara that is brand-new, a fairground area with more than 40 attractions, a ‘Black Mamba’ boat ride and a ton of other attractions. The closest equivalent in North America would probably be Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. There is a big push for ‘extras’ such as can be found at San Diego Zoo Safari Park, so here in Hodenhagen, Germany, visitors can take the VIP Jeep Safari, or Predator Safari, or Safari Express or Elite Safari where they can sit inside vehicles that get extra close to the animals.

Markus and I spent close to 3 hours at the park to end our very long day, and we did the two main animal attractions. There is a Petting Safari (Alpacas, Pygmy Goats and Donkeys) that we drove by, but it was inconsequential for a pair of zoo enthusiasts. Our focus was the walking section known as the Jungle Safari, and the drive-through Serengeti Safari. The park has many advertisements promoting the fact that it opened in 1974 and thus 2019 is officially the 45th anniversary of the zoo, and it does appear to have a lot of areas that are all relatively new.

The Serengeti Safari is a vast, sprawling section of the park where visitors take their own vehicles through various zoogeographic areas. I’m not usually a big fan of such things, much preferring to walk around on my own two feet, but as far as these types of things go it was probably the biggest and best that I’ve ever seen. There are a whopping 17 different drive-through sections, and here is a breakdown which includes the major species, and in the order that one drives through the zones. Almost all of the animals are able to roam around the vehicles if they so choose to do so (we had giraffes poke their heads into Markus’s car), but some species are in separate, enclosed exhibits.

Serengeti Safari Tour:

East Africa – Reticulated Giraffe, Common Wildebeest, Common Waterbuck, Sable Antelope, Gemsbok, Common Eland, Patas Monkey and White-headed Brown Lemur.

Central Africa – Greater Kudu, Sitatunga, Impala, Nile Lechwe and Bongo.

Europe – Tarpan, Highland Cattle, Fallow Deer and Muscovy Duck.

West Africa – Roan Antelope, Dama Gazelle, Nyala, Arabian Oryx and Nile Lechwe.

North America – American Bison, Wapiti and Wild Turkey.

Russia – Sika Deer, Blackbuck, Yak and Amur Leopard.

South America – Lowland Tapir, Guanaco, Zebu, Capybara, Greater Rhea and some type of spider monkey.

Asia – Nilgai, Blackbuck, Pere David’s Deer, Axis Deer, Bactrian Camel and some type of gibbon (no sight of the animals and there are no signs).

Asia – Tiger (no barriers whatsoever other than perimeter fences)

Africa – Lion (no barriers whatsoever other than perimeter fences)

Asia - White Tiger (no barriers whatsoever other than perimeter fences)

Africa - White Lion (no barriers whatsoever other than perimeter fences)

North Africa – Kulan, Dromedary, Barbary Sheep, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Ostrich and then what appeared to be Hamadryas Baboons and Olive Baboons in the same exhibit.

Kenya – Cheetah and Greater Flamingo.

Southern Africa – White Rhino, Grant’s Zebra, Watusi Cattle, Addax and Ostrich.

Ivory Valley – African Elephants (bull and cow yards that are functional and adequate, although the public must feed them because the elephants just hang out near visitors) and Red River Hogs.

Masai Mara – Reticulated Giraffe, Black Wildebeest, Roan Antelope, Gemsbok, Vervet Monkey, Ostrich, Grey Crowned Crane and Helmeted Guineafowl.

After we finished the big drive-through section, stopping at one point to get out and have closer looks at the zoo’s 5 or 6 African Elephants, we then embarked on the Walking Safari. This part of the zoo has many walk-through primate exhibits, with some ‘hands-on’ visitors. We saw several Ring-tailed Lemurs all jumping on the backs of visitors, a Squirrel Monkey sitting on a girl’s head while people took photos, and a lot of primate-on-primate ‘action’!

Here is the list of species in the walk-through safari: Chimpanzee, Siamang, Mandrill, Barbary Macaque, Lion-tailed Macaque, White-throated Capuchin, White-faced Saki, Common Squirrel Monkey, White-faced Marmoset, Cotton-top Tamarin, Ring-tailed Lemur and Black and White Ruffed Lemur. Add in the Vervet Monkeys and the White-headed Brown Lemurs from earlier, and the park has a total of 14 primate species. My best estimate is that when this month-long trip is done that I’ll have seen at least 55 different primate species throughout the 95 zoos.

There is also a Tiger exhibit that is seen on the walking tour, along with Meerkats and Agoutis, but a major complaint of this zoo is that all of the exhibits are very basic and functional. Many of the primate exhibits are not adequate in terms of climbing opportunities, shade structures or are anything close to an enrichment-packed enclosure. Everything is very basic and borderline mediocre, while other sections of the park have grandiose restaurants and extensive gift shops with thick guidebooks. I felt as if the park would be amazing for the families that spend a weekend away, but for the primates the accommodation is a bit stark at times. Even the group of Chimpanzees were not allowed out of their indoor, off-show quarters, because there is a drought in this part of Germany and the moat around the chimp island is too shallow to risk letting the great apes loose. I wonder how many days, or even weeks, the chimps will be locked inside?

It was a great day with Markus, who enjoyed practicing his excellent English and he even arrived bearing gifts as he gave me a zoo guidebook, a hardcover book about German zoos from 1981, and several maps. Not only that, but he managed to obtain free tickets and so we essentially had free parking and free or half-price admission for the entire day at all three of the attractions. Splendid! I enjoyed seeing Hannover Zoo and its brilliant Yukon Bay section, even though it was a zoo that I didn’t really like overall and I honestly thought that I'd be much more of a fan. The Sea Life Aquarium was better than most other Sea Life facilities, while I also had the experience of touring what must be one of Europe’s largest and most popular safari parks. Another day done!

 

Having “enjoyed” @snowleopard’s navigational skills earlier on this trip, I cannot believe that those 5 hours were not duo, at least in part, to his accidentally driving halfway to Munich...

 

I have been in walk-through enclosures containing Barbary macaques, squirrel monkeys, ring-tailed lemurs and/or black-and-white ruffed lemurs.
Does the Serengeti-Park have walk-through chimpanzee and/or mandrill enclosures?

 

Only if you enter their exhibits by accident...
@snowleopard your guide forgot to mention the most famous primate at Hodenhagen:
Justin Bieber's pet monkey still "has issues" five years after the singer abandoned him in Germany

 

I doubted that the Serengeti-Park would let people walk through a chimpanzee or mandrill enclosure. Despite warning notices, a friend touched a Barbary macaque in Gibraltar. The macaque didn't bite her, but some macaques bite visitors.

Did you know that Bieber is German for 'beaver'? I also think it's funny when men show they are wearing Calvin Klein briefs. Klein is German for 'small'

 

I guess I'll add some smiling emojis to indicate the next time I make a joke.

It's not; the German word for beaver is Biber. Next to being a family name, Bieber is the name of several locations and rivers.
"Klein" is a pretty common surname in Germany, and in its original Middle High German origin, it could, among others, also mean clean; so *shrugs*.

 

Agreed, and you can add crashed planes and errand landrovers. However an exception would be the simple outdoor Hindu temples found in Bali and I presume other Hindu regions. The offerings of food often left after ceremonies often attracts wild animals. We stopped at one in West Bali National Park and straight away saw Javan lutung, wild boar, munjac and a serpent eagle. Would have made a great mixed species exhibit.

 

DAY 29: Sunday, August 11th (4 zoos)

Today was almost the longest day of the entire trip, as I yet again plunged ahead in driving around to smaller zoos. I keep having the mindset that I’m in Europe for only the second time in my life (Italy and Switzerland in 2003 being the first) and therefore I feel as if I need to pack my days. I do take my time, as I’ve only been in a rush around a zoo twice the entire trip. There was Fauna Flakkee, a small Dutch zoo that I was enjoying except for a pelting rainstorm, thunder and lightning that hastened my exit. The only other occasion was Aquazoo Dusseldorf, where I had an hour and a half but felt that I could have used at least 30 more minutes. This all brings me to my 4.5 hours at Walsrode, which is probably a sacrilegious time frame for many zoo enthusiasts and my honesty with my times will likely result in a few raised eyebrows at what is either the #1 or #2 ‘bird zoo’ on the planet…with apparently only Jurong close. So, 4.5 hours at Walsrode but a great 4.5 hours. Deal with it.

Zoo/Aquarium # 85: Weltvogelpark Walsrode (Walsrode, DE)

With 270,000 annual visitors and a threat of closure a decade ago, it would have been a real shame to lose this fantastic, avian-themed zoo. It is almost unbelievable that if one goes back 50 years, then Walsrode had a million annual visitors in the late 1960s. Set on 89 acres/36 hectares, although not all of that land is filled with exhibits, this park has a tranquil setting and I saw more elderly visitors then at any other zoo on this entire trip. Much like Vogelpark Avifauna’s hotel, there is something about puttering around a vast bird garden that brings out the geriatric form of the species homo sapiens. The zoo’s website states that there are 650 species and I know that total specimen numbers range past 4,000 birds. If I was just in the Berlin/Hannover/Walsrode area and had a handful of zoos on my itinerary, I might well have spent all day here. But, putting it into the context of a month-long jaunt that was now reaching its 85th milestone, Walsrode had a tremendous variety of birds that I’d already seen on dozens of occasions and in truth I saw many far superior aviaries at loads of other zoos that dwarfed the Walsrode exhibits. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed dodging old people and making my way around the park and I can absolutely see why some zoo nerds consider Walsrode to be one of the pinnacles of the zoo world. The facility also caters to families, with a large playground area directly inside the front entrance.

I puttered along past a variety of bird exhibits, with highlights including Western Capercaillie, Wattled Crane, Saddle-billed Stork, European White Stork and Snow Goose, before the trail winds down to a long, narrow, basic exhibit for Humboldt Penguins. There are Siberian Cranes and then a series of aviaries for birds of prey such as Milky Eagle Owl, Southern White-faced Owl, Brown Wood Owl, Ashy-faced Owl, Spectacled Owl (including a specimen with very light brown feathers – almost leucistic), Buffy Fish Owl, Southern Boobook and Oriental Bay Owl. It’s not every day that you see some of those owls! There are then a series of ponds, with species such as American Pelican, Humboldt Brown Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican, Great White Pelican, Australian Pelican, Great Cormorant, Cuban Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo. All of these pools are filled with extremely stinky birds, in environments that are nicely designed but nothing spectacular.

Up next is ‘Uhu-Burg’, which is essentially ‘Owl Castle’ in English. Here can be found Common Raven, Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Common Barn Owl, Great Grey Owl, Snowy Owl, Little Owl, Black Kite, Common Kestrel and American Kestrel all found in what appears to be an abandoned castle. At this point in my visit I’d already seen 13 owl species, 5 pelican species and a range of other birds in smaller aviaries, thus showcasing the diversity and quantity of birds at this specialist zoo. Some other species down the trail include Madagascar Blue Pigeon, Yellow-faced Myna, Gilded Barbet, Bearded Barbet in tiny aviaries, with Brown Kiwi not showing themselves in a darkened side exhibit. I think that I probably went 0-4 or 0-5 in terms of kiwi sightings on this trip, which is par for the course as kiwis + zoo visitors = poor display animal at seemingly every zoo.

There are Greater Flamingos and then a series of 5 bird-of-paradise aviaries that are so densely planted that locating a bird is an achievement even with repeat visits to the area. King in one exhibit, Raggiana in two, and then 12-wired in two are the three species on-show to the public in those five aviaries. There is an Ostrich, Marabou Storks and Northern Ground Hornbills all together in an exhibit with a red-brick house (as the indoor quarters) that looks as if it belongs on a German farm. There is a Shoebill Stork exhibit that is easily the smallest I’ve seen for that species in the 5 or 6 zoos where I’ve watched Shoebills. In fact, my review so far has words like ‘small’ and ‘tiny’ used, as one thing that struck me about Walsrode is that plenty of the aviaries are not very large. I’m aware that at some zoos a great deal of breeding success has been achieved with enclosures that are cozy for the inhabitants, but the single biggest shock for me at Walsrode was the seemingly endless list of aviaries that really are nothing special in terms of size. The reason the park has 650 bird species is that very few of those birds have spacious surroundings. This is a conversation that I had with @jwer later in the trip, and he’s a big fan of Walsrode, but time and time again the park has average-sized or smaller aviaries than normal. It’s not necessarily a complaint, but the ‘wow factor’ at Walsrode is only truly seen during the bird show.

I sat and watched the Bird Show and it was easily the best bird show that I’ve ever witnessed in a zoo. I was apprehensive at the building as there is an ultra-cheesy video on a gigantic screen, then smoke emerging from the bushes as a pretend plane crash occurs…then the host emerges with a Kea on his gloved hand. Things got better from there, with a Barn Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Andean Condor, a whole bunch of African Grey Crowned Cranes (what an ending!), various macaws and a few other birds all presented with glitz and glamour. A bit more ‘Las Vegas-style’ than I was expecting from a German vogelpark, but nonetheless very entertaining and I'm glad that I saw it.

The ‘Fasanerie’ (Pheasantry) is a zoo nerd’s paradise, with a very lengthy line of more than 30 aviaries that are nicely-planted and full of rarities. I really enjoyed this part of the park, although the aviaries are all 8 feet tall and therefore do not offer up a great deal of height. Some of the larger birds, such as hornbills, are a bit constrained for space, although I’m sure that most zoo enthusiasts don’t care because there are easy views of all the inhabitants. I’ll not provide a full species list, but I will list some of the more notable birds found here: Maleo, Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, Kagu, Wattled Guan, Horned Guan, White-crested Guan, Golden-headed Quetzal (two exhibits), Cuckoo Roller, Black-casqued Hornbill, Sulawesi Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Northern Rufous Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Knobbed Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Toco Toucan, Channel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-eared Aracari, Crested Myna, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Wonga Pigeon, Bare-faced Curassow, Helmeted Curassow, Giant Coua, Chestnut-backed Scimitar-babbler, Piapiac, Bornean Crested Fireback and Australian Brush Turkey. Essentially it is an amazing lineup of species in modest surroundings. The birds are all easy to spot, are fun to locate, all look to be in splendid condition, but the aviaries are all of average-to-small in size. Zoo nerds can make ticks in their notebooks and there is little to no effort in finding the birds in their aviaries.

There is a Tropical House called Paradies-Halle (Paradise Hall) that is basically a series of yet more 8-foot high aviaries that in some cases are fairly lengthy and there are at least two-dozen aviaries here. Yet more Golden-headed Quetzals are found inside, with a trend all over the park of some species in multiple aviaries in different locations. Other species include Pygmy Falcon, Wattled Jacana, Fire-tufted Barbet, Spangled Cotinga, Writhed Hornbill, Jungle Bush-quail and tons of others. There is a free-flight aviary with at least a dozen species, but the visitor path snakes along one side of the area and is so narrow that it restricts the opportunity to stop and glance around at birds because by doing that it could hold up the line in the congested area. At the entrance to this building is Toowoomba, one of those feeding stick Rainbow Lorikeet/Budgrigar walk-throughs.

Moving north towards the zoo’s restaurant, there are plenty of aviaries all along the trail with innumerable species on display to the public. It becomes almost the norm to see a Kagu once a visitor passes the third aviary for the species in the span of maybe 30 minutes. More quetzals? Boring! Another couple of toucans or hornbills? Yawn. I’m teasing here, as it really is staggering to see the quantity and diversity of birds at this park even for someone who has seen a thousand bird species in the past month. There is the Pukara building with its small aviaries with species such as Edwards’ Fig-parrots, Orange-breasted Fig-parrots, Desmarest’s Fig-parrots, Chestnut-eared Aracaris, Pale-mandibled Aracaris, Curl-crested Aracaris and many others one-after-the-other. The Jungle Trail building is a large Tropical House with a steamy, humid jungle inside packed with a plethora of bird species. Some are free-ranging while others are in the standard vogelpark aviaries, and the species list here includes Great Blue Turaco, Violet Turaco, Thick-billed Euphonia, Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Capuchinbird, Yellow-knobbed Curassow, Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Wattled Jacana, Snowy-headed Robin, White-naped Pheasant Pigeon, Great Kiskadee and White-throated Kingfisher. I enjoyed this building and it was nice to see birds in a free-flight aviary instead of a long line of standard little aviaries.

One of the real highlights of Walsrode is the Kolibri-Haus (Hummingbird House), because how often are hummingbirds showcased in any zoos around the world? San Diego Zoo and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum are two examples of zoos that I’ve visited with free-ranging hummingbirds in brilliant exhibits, but this is Walsrode and so the visitor sees a row of small aviaries instead. Green-tailed Trainbearer, Sparkling Violet-ear and a third species (Amazilia Hummingbird) are flitting around and entrancing visitors. I should give Walsrode some credit here in terms of exhibit design, as the aviaries are nicely-furnished, have feeders to entice the birds to eat and display natural behaviours, and there are informative signs, a video playing and a peek into the kitchen that all adds up to a terrific building. Just like the bird-of-paradise section, there are 3 species spread between 5 aviaries. I course I didn't go upstairs, but of note is that there are more than 20 off-show hummingbird aviaries directly over the heads of visitors.

Up next is a walking loop that takes visitors past some larger species. There are enclosures side-by-side for Dwarf Cassowary and Northern Cassowary, almost Berlin-style, then other species such as Bateleur Eagle, Steller’s Sea Eagle, Bald Eagle, White-tailed Sea Eagle, Black-chested Buzzard Eagle, Palm-nut Vulture, Bearded Vulture and Andean Condor. I’ve really grown to appreciate birds of prey on this 95-zoo jaunt through Europe, and zoos in this part of the world always seem to have loads of eagles, owls and vultures. North American zoos also have many eagles and owls, and especially hawks, but there is not the range of diversity on-show and North American zoos are poor when it comes to vultures. Often zoos don’t have any vultures whatsoever, or there are some on African Savannas with clipped wings. European zoos have fully-flighted vultures in large aviaries and in some cases (such as at Berlin Tierpark, Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam, or Munster Zoo) the vulture aviaries are some of the highlights of an entire zoo.

A small lake has a looping trail around it, again with larger birds on display such as Black-necked Cranes, Sarus Cranes and many storks and various species of ibis. The Freiflughalle (Free-flight Hall) is a substantial walk-through aviary with the same regular species seen at a myriad of other zoos, except here the birds all line up along the path as if being called to attention as there are feeding machines and I saw at least 40 people feeding the birds. The aviary was packed and obviously it is a favourite part of the zoo for many visitors, but Walsrode tumbled down a notch in my estimation when I witnessed mass feeding on an epic scale. How is that encouraging natural behaviours in the birds? There is a nice Inca Tern aviary at the very end, again with a wave machine that I’ve now seen a half-dozen times for birds or pinnipeds and it is fantastic. C’mon North American zoos, get some wave machines as they will revolutionize your exhibits!

There is yet another building, this one called the Papageienhaus and here are macaws, cockatoos and various other parrots. The exhibits are all of a standard size, with beautiful rock-work as backdrops that is aesthetically appealing. Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Palm Cockatoos, Hawk-headed Parrots, Pesquet’s Parrots, Red-fronted Macaws and many other species are located here.

There are many standard-sized aviaries all over the grounds of Walsrode, and days later my appreciation for the array of species that I saw grew. I enjoyed the bird show immensely, loved seeing a long list of rarities that would make many zoo nerds insanely jealous, and there is much to recommend at this German bird park. However, I feel that Walsrode is truly missing a ‘wow’ moment, whether that is a huge walk-through aviary with 100 species and a crashing waterfall, or a massive series of eagle aviaries seen via a mountainous boardwalk, or something else that can be placed front and center on all of their posters, maps and guidebooks (of which I purchased a brand-new one). Walsrode is a place that I’m glad I added to my itinerary and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. I was there long enough to be able to conjure up a 13-paragraph review that mentions approximately 125 species…but there are so many more at this bird zoo that it truly boggles the mind. Many of the species are behind-the-scenes, as showcasing 4,000 total specimens to the public would be a daunting task, but mention should also be made of this zoo’s grounds. The rhododendrons in bloom, the pruned foliage, the historic windmill, etc., all add to the atmosphere of this zoo.

I then drove an hour west to my next stop.

Zoo/Aquarium # 86: Tierpark Petermoor (Bassum, DE)

This is a very small zoo that has free admission, free parking, a small entrance gate and an actual zoo map posted on a wall of one of the few buildings on the site. The star attraction is a Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit, with the primates able to be viewed both indoors and on their island. There is a long overhead tunnel that stretches from the indoor quarters to the tiny island, but the outdoor section does include some tall trees that the lemurs were accessing on my visit. The zoo then consists of a single loop around a lake, with exhibits for Llamas, Rheas, Grey Crowned Cranes, Axis Deer, Blackbuck, Parma Wallabies, Black Swans, a petting farm zone, at least half-a-dozen aviaries with pheasants and small, colourful birds, and then I was back at the lemurs. I saw the whole zoo in less than 30 minutes. One note of interest is that the zoo’s website makes it seem as if the facility was founded in 1967, then became the first ‘Ark Park’ in Germany in 2007, and then received EU approval as a zoo as recently as 2015. That's interesting...

I then drove 40 minutes south to my next zoo.

Zoo/Aquarium #87: Tierpark Strohen (Wagenfeld, DE)

This place was much larger than Tierpark Petermoor, my 30-minute free zoo. At Tierpark Strohen, it was an hour and a half visit with some surprisingly large species on display. There’s a huge gravel parking lot and the zoo is divided into half by the main road. The southern half begins with a large playground area and the whole section resembles a typical German ‘wildpark’ as the trail takes visitors into dense woodland with European species along the path. An aviary for Barn Owls, a massive Fallow Deer paddock, Tarpan, Eurasian Lynx, Eurasian Eagle Owls, Snowy Owls, Mouflon, Sika Deer, Arctic Foxes and Nutria in a series of dull, unimaginative exhibits. Some of these exhibits probably date from the zoo’s 1959 opening. Speaking of that, I read that this year was indeed the zoo’s 60th anniversary and the zoo receives more than 100,000 annual visitors.

I then crossed the road to the second part of the zoo and here was to be found some surprising exotics. A paddock for Llamas and Rheas gives way to a nice exhibit for Ring-tailed Lemurs, then Lowland Tapirs, Squirrel Monkeys, a Rock Cavy exhibit, a smallish White-handed Gibbon enclosure, decent exhibits for Servals and Cheetahs, plus an American Flamingo/Hawaiian Goose pond. Paddocks for Sitatunga, Plains Zebra, Ostrich, Kulan and Bactrian Camel are all sandy, much like the visitor path, and then I came across five Pumas! I’m not sure how many times I’ve seen this species on the trip, if at all, but here there were a couple of adults in a smallish outdoor yard and then a mother and two very young cubs (maybe two months old?) in a covered area. Amur Tigers are next door, giving this zoo 4 cat species in total. I saw my daily does of Bennett’s Wallabies and Emus, Axis Deer, Blackbuck, Grey Crowned Cranes and then two more surprises: Red Lechwe and Banteng.

If the shock of seeing species such as Puma, Kulan, Red Lechwe and Banteng at a rather obscure little German Tierpark wasn’t enough, I rounded a corner and saw Europe’s smallest Asian Elephant exhibit. There is a barn with apparently no doors, so the stalls are open to the elements, a small cement slab and then a sandy section off to the side that is just barely large enough for the two elephants at this zoo. This part of the zoo is very farm-like in appearance, with many barns and stables that house at least 50 or more horses. The zoo apparently has around 200 hectares/500 acres and part of the grounds is set aside for an Arabian Horse ‘stud farm’ with many expensive male horses for sale. There is a small show-ring inside one of the barns, with posters up showing elephants being led through the zoo with people all around them…no protected contact here! I feel as if the two Asian Elephants must certainly have a larger, grass-filled enclosure besides the concrete slab, and I'd be curious to find out the answer. There are grassy fields beyond the barn, but those were filled with horses while the elephants walked back and forth on cement. What an extraordinary little zoo!

I then drove just over an hour south to my 4th and final zoo of the day.

Zoo/Aquarium # 88: Olderdissen Zoo (Bielefeld, DE)

I arrived at my last stop of the day rather tired from going around Walsrode, then Petermoor and then Stohen, and so I was kind of hoping for a '30-minutes and then I’m outta-here' zoo. Alas, in a good way, this zoo was much larger than anticipated and I was here for close to two hours (and in almost pitch-black conditions at the very end) until I left very late in the evening. This is very close to a typical German ‘wildpark’ except that the exhibits are much more zoo-like in appearance and since the place is open 24 hours per day, I was able to squeeze in this 4th zoo even though I had a day that evoked memories of my Berlin Tierpark experience. Olderdissen Zoo has a really nice main area with many German-style buildings that are white with dark brown/black lines, and an impressive animal collection. The whole place is free of charge and for a two-hour zoo to have no admission fee and be very enjoyable was a delight…even with my tired legs as this zoo has many steep slopes that would not be ADA-accessible in North America. The whole zoo is 16 hectares/40 acres in size.

Mammal Species List (22 species): Wisent, Mouflon, Alpine Ibex, Chamois (two exhibits), Red Deer, European Fallow Deer, European Wild Boar, European Brown Bear, Grey Wolf, Silver Fox, Eurasian Lynx, European Beaver, Nutria (two exhibits), European Badger, Raccoon, Raccoon Dog, Wolverine, European Otter, European Pine Marten (Matres des pins), Beech Marten (Martes foina), Domestic Ferret and Alpine Marmot.

Bird Species List (partial list): Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Ural Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Long-eared Owl, Little Owl, Snowy Owl, Common Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Common Kestrel, Black Kite, Western Jackdaw, Golden Pheasant, Common Pheasant, Tenebrosus Pheasant, Barbary Dove and Indian Peafowl.

Olderdissen Zoo, even at the end of an 11-hour day of ‘zoo-ing’, was a real highlight. The European Brown Bear/Silver Fox exhibit is quite spectacular, the Wolverine exhibit is one of the best I’ve ever seen for that species, the Chamois and ibex yards are steep slopes, and the European Pine Marten, Beech Marten and Domestic Ferret exhibits all together in a row is very interesting in terms of comparing the sizes of the species. The zoo has them all in a big barn, divided into three, and there are tractors, wheelbarrows and other farmyard ‘junk’ as part of the exhibits. It doesn’t all work, but Hannover would be proud!

Another fantastic day done on the greatest zoo trip that I’ll ever venture on in my entire life.

 

It makes me chuckle to think of all the small German zoos that I've visited on this trip that are not in the ZooChat gallery. I've been to a large number of famous, big-name Dutch, Belgian and German zoos on my month-long jaunt through Europe, but it doesn't seem as if any of these 13 German zoos are to be found anywhere in the ZooChat photo gallery.

In random order:

Affen + Vogelpark Eckenhagen
Drachenwelt Reptile Zoo
Dunnwald Wildlife Park
Gronau Zoo
Tierpark Alsdorf
Wildpark Gangelt
Wildpark Reuschenberg
Tiergehege Kaisergarten
TerraZoo
Tiergarten Monchengladbach
Tierpark Petermoor
Tierpark Strohen
Olderdissen Zoo

 

That Bielefeld, Germany, conspiracy is hilarious! I was there...or was I?

The Walsrode guidebook that I bought was published in 2019, thus making it brand-new, and there are two images on the cover. The top section has several flamingos, while the main image is of a Curl-crested Aracari. (Remember that I'm not a bird guy, but that's my educated guess and I'll be impressed if I get it correct) The zoo didn't have an English version and so the guidebook that I purchased is in German.

 

Markus probably mentioned this, but for those who do not know: this exhibit is another good example of how a new exhibit can actually be considered a downgrade in comparison to its previous state. The Hanuman langurs used to be kept together with Barasingha deer, which, like many other exotic deer species, tend to be constant losers when it comes to zoo modernisations these days (=> Giant Panda exhibit at Zoo Berlin). Both species interacted nicely with one another and showed signs of the mutualism observed in the wild between Hanumans and chital deer. Now the langurs are left behind in said ugly "temple"...
https://www.researchgate.net/public...er_Axis_axis_Chance_Encounters_or_a_Mutualism