The German Adventures Of A Tea-Loving Dave - April 2014

My dad has finally handed in his dissertation, so on we go! In order to catch up on the backlog somewhat, I'm trying to limit my use of "purple prose" so that I can get the walkthrough posts written from my notes a bit quicker.

Part VII: Bear Exhibit, Aquarium and "Monkey Islands"

We then passed a rather pleasant mixed exhibit for Indian Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus ursinus) and Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta); it comprised two enclosures side-by-side, divided by rock walls which also formed the back of each enclosure, each of which were well-vegetated and contained wooden poles and tree trunks designed in such a way as to provide ample climbing opportunities. Each enclosure seemed quite large, certainly sufficient to contain both taxa displayed within without compromising on the welfare of the animals. As such, although the rockwork gave a grotto-effect to the whole, I rather liked this enclosure.

We then reached the Aquarium, an attractive white building which looked somewhat old-fashioned and ornate from outside; something which I felt worked in its favour. Rather than being purely functional and up-to-date, lacking in much of the charm that an old building can have, it gave an impression of history which I rather like to see in a zoo as old as Leipzig and which is often lost as a collection is redeveloped.

However, the contents of the Aquarium were anything but old-fashioned; dozens of varied tanks displaying a wide range of taxa were to be found within on multiple floors. Each tank was designed to depict a particular ecosystem or geographic location, and almost all comprised mixed-species exhibits. One end of the overall Aquarium building comprised a Terrarium; this was the only portion of the Aquarium for which I took comprehensive notes on which taxa were displayed within. As such, rather than providing a full list of species displayed within the Aquarium I will instead discuss particular highlights in my opinion, before turning my attention to the Terrarium.

The centrepiece of the Aquarium in both physical and metaphorical terms was undoubtedly the circular exhibit found in the upper floor of the Aquarium, which extended 360 degrees around the room and depicted the outer stretches of a reef, where rock and coral gives way to the open sea floor. This exhibit included a wide variety of smaller fish, along with larger taxa such as Blue-and-yellow Grouper (Epinephelus flavocaeruleus), Japanese Wobbegong (Orectolobus japonicus) and Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus).

Another rather good exhibit was a large pool which displayed a wide variety of corals, sponges and anemones, along with various sea urchins, small shellfish and gastropods and numerous varieties of clownfish. Although exhibits such as this are not uncommon in aquariums, I thought that the scope and size of this one was particularly well-done.

One exhibit of note which one would have thought would have been located within the Terrarium was the enclosure for Ogooué Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis tetraspis) - one of the few exhibits within European collections for this little-known taxon, which is at the forefront of crocodilian taxonomic change. As is widely becoming clear, the Dwarf Crocodile as previously understood comprises three taxa which merit full species status; the well-known West African population which has always been identifed as the nominate subspecies, the Congo population which has always been known as O. t. osborni and a newly-identified and little-known population in the Ogooué Basin, which would therefore require a new taxonomic name. However, it is now apparent that the original type specimen for the Dwarf Crocodile, and therefore the nominate subspecies, belongs to this little-known third population and not, as previously assumed, the West African population. As such, the best-understood taxon of Dwarf Crocodile is currently without an official taxonomic name, something which will come once the work demonstrating all three taxa merit full species recognition is eventually published. It is purely due to the fact this work is not yet published that I refer to the animals at Leipzig at subspecies level; the split is widely-accepted to be valid.

I will now discuss the Terrarium in more detail. A lushly vegetated room, with equally well-vegetated tanks located around the walls which blended into the overall feel of the room rather well, the following exhibits were located within:

Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)
Florida Softshelled Turtle (Apalone ferox)
Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), Western Hingeback Tortoise (Kinixys belliana nogueyi), Rainbow Mabuya (Trachylepis margaritifera) and Mozambique Girdled Lizard (Smaug mossambicus)
Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) and Cuvier's Madagascar Swift (Oplurus cuvieri)
Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) and Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis)
Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum), Colorado River Toad (Incilius alvarius) and Texas Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri)
Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake (Crotalus polystictus)
Ring-necked Spitting Cobra (Hemachatus haemachatus)
Tiger Ratsnake (Spilotes pullatus)
Broad-banded Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus)
American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus)
Amazon Tree Boa (Corallus hortulanus) and Spotted Toad (Rhaebo guttatus)
Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis
Fiji Banded Iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus)
Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) and Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons)
Chinese Water Dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) and Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle (Mauremys sinensis)
Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) and Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides)
Prehensile-tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata)
Blue Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus cyanogenys), Common Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater), Baja California Rock Lizard (Petrosaurus thalassinus) and Great Plains Toad (Anaxyrus cognatus)
Tiger Ratsnake and Cane Toad (Rhinella marina)
Peach-throated Monitor (Varanus jobiensis)
Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila dendrophila)

Overall, then, I was very pleased with the Aquarium and Terrarium at Zoo Leipzig; the exhibits within were of high quality and displayed a wide variety of taxa, with a satisfying number of lifeticks to be found among the inhabitants of the Vivarium in particular. Moreover, it achieved the purpose it set out towards without relying on excessive theming, extraneous decoration and - most importantly - retaining a high level of diversity whilst also retaining a high level of welfare standards.

On leaving the Aquarium, we decided to start making our way towards the one remaining major area of Leipzig we were yet to see - the Pongoland complex. En-route, we passed through the "Monkey Islands" courtyard, an area just opposite the Bird House which contained Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) and Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) in a pair of exhibits which were, in some ways, rather akin to those already discussed which held Prairie Dogs and South American Coati. Whereas these had achieved a "grotto" feel with the use of fake rockwork, the monkey exhibits used brickwork interspersed with logs and wooden poles to achieve a similar effect. However, I couldn't quite see what the aim was - it rather gave the impression that the monkeys were inhabiting the shell of another building!

(Attached are images showing the signage in the circular "reef" exhibit of the Aquarium, a "Lake Malawi" exhibit, the American Alligator, an example of educational display within the Terrarium, and one of the "Monkey Islands")

 

I believe that the current "no subspecific status" listings comprise both known-hybrid collections, and collections which were listed as holding West African prior to the third lineage becoming apparent; in order to err on the safe side, due to the confusion between West African and Ogooué any "West African" listings which have not been proven to be one or the other in the preliminary research undertaken by Leipzig (who hold the studbook for Dwarf Crocodiles "sensu lato") have been placed in "no subspecies status" until their status can be determined.

As such, eventually both the Ogooué and West African listings will be rather more numerous, and there will be fewer "no subspecies" listings. Conversely, the number of Congo is pretty much certain.

 

Part VIII: Pongoland And Environs

As we made our way towards the Pongoland complex, we took the opportunity to once again view the Kiwara Savannah in the futile hope of being able to spot the Thomson's Gazelle which were located in the enclosure. This having been fruitless, we continued past the Savannah and the lion enclosure, and reached the viewing area for the first outside exhibit of Pongoland.

This exhibit comprised a spacious and well-vegetated island, divided from the path by a wide moat, and was the outdoor enclosure for Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). I rather liked it, containing as it did a large amount of vegetation dotted around the island, with various trees, wooden poles and platforms located in the rough centre of the enclosure and connected by ropes. Certainly it was entirely suited to the inhabitants, although at the time of my viewing the enclosure none of the gorillas appeared to be outside and as such my evaluation of this particular matter may well be somewhat lacking. However, in my opinion it represented one of the best outdoor enclosures for gorillas which I had seen up to that point, if not the best.

The path then took us past a very similar outdoor enclosure for Bonobo (Pan paniscus); much like the preceding enclosure it largely comprised areas of thick, lush vegetation with trees and ropes sited around the island, but possibly provided less climbing opportunities overall than had the enclosure for the gorillas. However, this too was a very good outdoor enclosure for the taxon indeed, and without a shadow of a doubt superior to those at Twycross and Zoo Berlin.

We then passed a complex of several connected enclosures - three, if memory serves me correctly - which contained Okapi (Okapia johnstoni) and Natal Red Duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) in a mixed species situation; hardly the most unusual combination of taxa, as I had seen the same combination at Chester and Zoo Berlin, but one which I am particularly fond of. As I have noted elsewhere in this thread, this mix seems to work very well both in terms of geographic appropriateness and frictionless interaction of the taxa involved - however this particular exhibit was very much the superior to the outdoor exhibits for this mix at Chester and Berlin, in my opinion. For all intents and purposes, the exhibit comprises an area of natural woodland which has been fenced off and divided as appropriate subsequent to a central barn and being constructed, with all the vegetation and shade inherent to such an environment having been retained. This lush, thick vegetation and woodland simulates the native environment of both taxa found within the exhibit, as far as is possible in central Europe, and as such very much improved the "feel" of the exhibit as far as I was concerned. This is the kind of "immersion" I like in an exhibit, not the artificial and forced kind which I have remarked upon elsewhere in my discussion of Leipzig!

Opposite this exhibit, we were able to view the outdoor enclosure for the Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) held at Zoo Leipzig; of the two species of orangutan, I believe this is the one which I prefer, so I was quite pleased to see the taxon held in a spacious and attractive enclosure. Broadly speaking, this enclosure was very much akin to the previous outdoor ape exhibits, but possibly included slightly less vegetation and rather more climbing opportunities, with many poles, tree trunks, wooden platforms and ropes allowing quite extensive movement for the inhabitants; unlike my experience with the previous two Pongoland enclosures, I was able to view the Sumatran Orangutans making full use of the enclosure, and as such feel on firmer ground in saying that the enclosure was well-designed for the taxon. However, in this particular case I will not say it was the best outdoor enclosure for the taxon that I had seen, for the outdoor enclosures for both species of orangutan at Chester Zoo are far and away the superior to those at Leipzig.

The path now took us to a row of three wooded paddocks a little further along from the Okapi enclosure, each being broadly similar to one another and more or less comprising areas of natural woodland and vegetation which had been fenced off, with indoor housing and small wooden shelters constructed for the inhabitants. These paddocks contained the following taxa:

White-naped Crane (Grus vipio)
Myanmar Thamin (Rucervus eldii thamin)
Japanese Crane (Grus japonensis) and Taiga Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus)

As I am rather partial to all four of these taxa - the Musk Deer in particular, as this is a species which has been lost from the UK in the past few years and is increasingly uncommon in continental collections - I rather liked this area of the zoo. The path continued on, towards the indoor central house of Pongoland. Prior to reaching the indoor house, a relatively small outdoor enclosure for non-subspecific Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) along with pure Western Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) designed along similar lines to the other outdoor Pongoland enclosures was viewable, along with another viewpoint onto the Sumatran Orangutan enclosure. The outdoor exhibit for the chimpanzees was not in use at the time I viewed it, contained somewhat fewer climbing opportunities than the preceding enclosures, and was the "least" of the outdoor Pongoland enclosures I had viewed thus far, but by the standards of enclosures I had viewed for the taxon elsewhere was entirely suitable to the inhabitants.

We then entered the Pongoland house itself; where the outdoor exhibits had impressed me by their pleasant, spacious appearance and the high density of climbing opportunities and vegetation, the indoor house fell short of the standard that had been set. One merit of the house, it must be said, was the presence of free-flying birds within; although there was no signage apparent giving a list of which taxa were visible, I believe the following list compiled from observation is more or less accurate:

Red-and-Yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus)
Purple Grenadier (Granatina ianthinogaster)
Western Bluebill (Spermophaga haematina)
Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)
Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)
Violet Plantain-eater (Musophaga violacea)
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli)
Uganda Red-billed Firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala ruberrima)

Although difficult to spot, let alone photograph or observe for any real length of time, it was quite pleasing to find free-flying birds within Pongoland, as this was something I had been unaware of prior to my visit. The enclosures within the house, however, were less to my taste as alluded above. There were five enclosures within; one for each ape taxon displayed outside, with two displaying chimpanzee. None were bad, per se, but compared to the outside enclosures they fell short, having succumbed to the one great failing of Zoo Leipzig as a whole - excessive theming and use of mock-rock. Although spacious and providing plenty of room for their inhabitants to move around, and with wooden climbing frames and ropes providing ample climbing opportunities, the overall "look" of the enclosures did nothing for me. Although good enclosures for the species they held, with the exception of the Bonobo enclosure - which I have to admit was the best indoor enclosure for the taxon I had seen, for the simple reason neither the Twycross nor Zoo Berlin ones are nearly as good - none came close to meriting the praise which Pongoland often seems to receive. They were good, but not great, and I have seen far superior indoor exhibits for the other three taxa displayed within Pongoland in the UK; the Realm of the Red Ape at Chester is a much better indoor exhibit for Sumatran Orangutan, the Budongo complex at Edinburgh is possibly the best indoor exhibit for Chimpanzee in Europe, and although just as unattractive as the indoor exhibit within Pongoland - if not moreso - the indoor enclosures and cages for Western Lowland Gorilla at the two Aspinall collections are far superior in terms of enrichment, climbing opportunies and animal welfare.

On leaving the indoor portion of Pongoland, we were able to see the second and far larger outdoor enclosure for chimpanzees, again containing a mixed group of non-subspecific and pure Western individuals, and again following the same excellent layout and design of the other outdoor Pongoland exhibits. Overall, then, I wanted to like Pongoland a lot more than I did; I thought it was a good exhibit, with the outdoor enclosures being particular highlights and worthy of the praise which has been cast on the development as a whole, but when it comes to the central indoor exhibits of Pongoland it is merely that - a good exhibit, not a great one or a world-class one. If some of the indoor exhibits I mention above were to be combined with the outdoor exhibits of Pongoland, the hypothetical exhibit that were to result *would* be world class, in my opinion.

With very little of the zoo left to view, we made our way towards the development for Amur Leopard.

(Attached are images of the outdoor exhibit for Western Lowland Gorilla, the outdoor exhibit for Bonobo, an example of signage for the Natal Red Duiker, the outdoor exhibit for Sumatran Orangutan, the Myanmar Thamin paddock and one of the indoor exhibits for Chimpanzee)

 

I went through that area too..... it just made so little impression on me that I had completely and utterly forgotten about it!

 

Part IX: Final Thoughts And Return To Berlin

Immediately after exiting Pongoland, we reached the enclosure for Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis); one of the newest portions of the collection at the time of our visit, the animals having recently moved out of the sub-standard housing we had seen that morning. I felt that the enclosure was quite spacious and rather pleasant, comprising a combination of open and thickly vegetated areas, with boulders, trees and logs dotted here and there. Despite spending some time at the enclosure, the animals were evidently more than capable of hiding from the public gaze; something which seems to be a particularly important factor for leopard taxa in my opinion, as they strike me as somewhat more nervous than do lions and tigers.

Next to the leopard enclosure, we came to the "Tiger Taiga" exhibit for Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica); in my opinion the best of all the big cat enclosures we had seen at Zoo Leipzig. It was roughly twice the size of the leopard enclosure, and much more thickly vegetated, with a large pool at the front-centre of the enclosure. However, unlike the leopard enclosure we *were* able to view the inhabitants of this enclosure, which seemed relatively relaxed and comfortable and with no stereotyping observed by ourselves. There were ample viewing opportunities provided at several points and levels, but it was obvious that the tigers were able to escape public view if they so wished. Strangely, within a neighbouring house we found a small tank for Eurasian Harvest Mouse (Micromys minutus) - something of an unexpected taxon, but nonetheless welcome as I have a sneaking fondness for this species!

After a final, once again unsuccessful, attempt to spot the Thomson's Gazelles at the Kiwara Savannah, and another wander around the Bird House in order to take additional photographs of certain taxa, we made our way towards the exit. Here, then, would be a good point to go over some final thoughts about Zoo Leipzig as a whole.

The first, and most important, point to make is that I *did* enjoy the collection - I felt it was a good zoo, and I felt a number of exhibits were truly excellent; the Kiwara Savannah was very good - despite my reservations about the over-the-top theming - and I thoroughly enjoyed the Bird House and Aquarium. As noted elsewhere, I also thought that the outdoor enclosures which were part of Pongoland were some of the best outdoor primate exhibits I had seen, and the ability to watch an elephant bathing underwater made the Elephant Temple well-worth the time spend visiting it even before one takes into account the Chinese Pangolin also visible there. Although my overall view of the Gondwanaland house was mixed, as I have discussed at great length already, I must emphasize that as an achievement of architectural design and engineering, it was unmatched in my experience and for that it was well-worth a visit.

However, as I suspect many of you will have gathered in reading my account of visiting Zoo Leipzig, I was nowhere near as taken by the collection as I was by Zoo Berlin, Tierpark Berlin nor Zoo Magdeburg. My issues with the excessive use of theming in some areas, the feeling of artificiality and a lack of soul, and an apparent focus on looking polished and impressive rather than the quality of what was presented are all well-documented, and I stand by these opinions. In many ways, the collection struck me as a little insubstantial - it has fantastic modern-looking developments, and no shortage of unusual taxa on display, but it could have been so much better; with a little less space and money given to unneccesary theming and decoration and a little more given to presenting a greater quantity and variety of taxa Gondwanaland could have so easily matched the hype, and this is something which I think can be fairly applied to much of the zoo as a whole.

Of course, such things are very much ruled by personal taste and interpretation; possibly the best comparison that can be given is to Colchester Zoo and Blackpool Zoo here in the United Kingdom. Both are undeniably good collections, with many qualities to recommend them, yet neither are collections that have "grabbed" me, so to speak. In the case of Colchester the reason is somewhat easier to convey; much like Zoo Leipzig it is a collection which has taken theming and decoration to great lengths, lengths which I feel are unnecessary and distract from the collection itself. However, in the case of Blackpool I cannot grasp the reason it failed to appeal to me anywhere near as strongly as one would have expected it to - in many ways it is similar in feel to Chester Zoo, a collection I undeniably love, yet it fails to move me. Equally, Zoo Leipzig is a collection which is deemed by many on this site to be world-class, with some believing it is superior even to the two collections found in Berlin, but as far as I am concerned it is merely a very good zoo indeed, albeit one which is over-hyped and possibly suffers as a result. If it were within the United Kingdom, with rather fewer "high-end" collections to compare it to, I am quite sure I would have enjoyed it more. But visiting it within the same week as three other collections which I enjoyed so very much more, along with my sense of the collection being over-hyped, over-themed and a little insubstantial, somewhat spoiled it for me.

I *will* return. Of that, I am sure, and despite my criticisms I do hope that when I return, I will enjoy Zoo Leipzig more than I did on my first visit. But as I walked away from the zoo, heading towards Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, I did not feel the same sorrow at leaving that I had felt over the past few days of visiting German collections.... and that, I feel, is the most honest way I can convey how I feel about the collection.

On reaching Leipzig Hbf, we had a few hours before our train back to Berlin was to depart; something which we had deliberately chosen both to take advantage of a cheap advance train, and also to permit us to get something to eat in one of the many cafes and restaurants within the Hbf and the surrounding area. However, we had not reckoned with the famously picky diet of Javan Rhino! After close to 45 minutes with no consensus on where to eat having been reached, Chris having demurred at any suggested location, we elected to get something to eat in what I rather suspect was where Chris had set his heart on all along..... Pizza Hut. We took some small solace - and amusement - in allowing Chris to awkwardly attempt to ask for a menu in faltering German before I chipped in, and pointed out that the staff had already offered us menus in fluent English!

Having eaten, we caught our train in good time. Chris, Ang and Helly took the opportunity to have a sleep on the train, whilst I sorted through the photographs I had taken over the course of the day and took the opportunity to write down notes of key points and opinions. When the other three awoke, not long before our train arrived at our destination, we discussed our plans to meet at Tierpark Berlin the following morning; the second visit of the trip for both couples. Having made plans to meet an hour or so after opening time, to allow us all to catch up on a little sleep, we parted ways in Berlin Hbf. Helly and myself made our way back to the EastSeven hostel, and within minutes were fast asleep.

 

Some photographic highlights from Zoo Leipzig.....

http://www.zoochat.com/443/dall-s-sheep-ovis-dalli-dalli-423299/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/maned-wolf-chrysocyon-brachyurus-zoo-leipzig-423314/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/round-eared-elephant-shrew-macroscelides-proboscideus-423300/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/fat-sand-rat-psammomys-obesus-zoo-423301/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/dalmatian-pelican-pelecanus-crispus-zoo-leipzig-423313/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/chinese-pangolin-manis-pentadactyla-zoo-leipzig-423302/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/chinese-pangolin-manis-pentadactyla-zoo-leipzig-423303/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/chinese-pangolin-manis-pentadactyla-zoo-leipzig-423304/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/chinese-pangolin-manis-pentadactyla-zoo-leipzig-423305/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/greenish-acuchy-myoprocta-pratti-zoo-leipzig-423306/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/black-spotted-rock-frog-staurois-guttatus-423315/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/sunda-gharial-tomistoma-schlegelii-zoo-leipzig-423307/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/asian-blue-quail-coturnix-chinensis-zoo-423316/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/barred-buttonquail-turnix-suscitator-zoo-leipzig-423317/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/sclater-crowned-pigeon-goura-scheepmakeri-sclateri-423308/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/southern-luzon-giant-cloud-rat-phloeomys-423309/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/vietnamese-small-flying-fox-pteropus-hypomelanus-423312/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/rainbow-mabuya-trachylepis-margaritifera-zoo-leipzig-423310/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/ring-necked-spitting-cobra-hemachatus-haemachatus-423311/
http://www.zoochat.com/443/peach-throated-monitor-varanus-jobiensis-zoo-423318/

Next: Day 2 of Tierpark Berlin......

 

Can't say I noticed them, but that isn't to say they weren't there!

 

Those who have met him will know what I mean by "picky diet" - the poor soul tends to only eat fast food, fizzy soda and bars of chocolate although I believe Ang is making good headway in training him to eat food!

As someone who enjoys trying new food, had it been up to me alone we certainly would have eaten the kind of things you suggest you will note from an earlier post that I did try quite a few odds and ends that morning when we arrived into Leipzig Hbf.

 

April 8th 2014 - My second day at Tierpark Berlin

Part I: Pottering Around Once Again

After a lie-in which we felt was well-deserved after the busy few days we had enjoyed, Helly and myself awoke refreshed and looking forward to returning to Tierpark Berlin. Although there was not a great deal of the collection remaining for us to see, the opportunity to revisit areas which we had particularly enjoyed or where we had failed to spot given taxa was one we were eager to seize. Moreover, as we planned to once again meet up with Chris and Ang at the Tierpark, we knew we would be in good company.

Once again, we caught the U2 line from Senefelderplatz to Alexanderplatz, changing there onto the U5 line which took us to the U-bahn stop for the Tierpark. There, our plan was to meet Chris and Ang within the giftshop next to the Bear Gate, which we had been informed stocked a very good selection of old zooguides both for Tierpark Berlin and other zoological collections, along with other zoo literature. However, when we arrived they were nowhere to be seen; a quick conversation on the phone with Chris revealed that they had decided to start wandering around the Tierpark whilst they waited for us to arrive, and as such would take a few minutes to return to the gift shop. Once they joined us, we spent a very pleasant twenty minutes or so perusing the stock within the gift shop, with each of us departing with a number of old guidebooks to add to our collections!

After we left the giftshop and entered the Tierpark, we took note of a very pleasant and attractive mosaic map of the collection on the outside wall of the giftshop; judging by the general style and appearance of the mosaic, it was based on one of the maps to the Tierpark which had been enclosed within the guidebooks released in the 1970's. Prior to heading deeper into the collection, we took a brief detour to have a closer look at the enclosures for Wisent (Bison bonasus) and American Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae) located just opposite, which we had only seen briefly on our departure from the collection some days previous. I was particularly interested in seeing the Wood Bison, as these represented a lifetick and I was curious to see how they would compare to the Plains Bison with which I was somewhat more familiar. The two paddocks stood opposite one another, with the footpath passing between the two, and broadly speaking were very similar to one another; each was large and relatively spacious, thickly wooded at the margins as one would expect of paddocks set within a large expanse of natural woodland, and with moats surrounding much of their perimeter. It was quite interesting to observe two species of Bison at close proximity to one another, and to note the fact that - although possibly less robust than those Plains Bison I had seen in the past - the Wood Bison was nonetheless significantly more robust than the Wisent were.

Although we were yet to see the deer paddocks which extended to the north of these enclosures in any detail, we elected to leave these until later in the day as we suspected the inhabitants would not prove difficult to see, whereas other taxa remained to be seen which would potentially require multiple visits to be sure of success. However, the nearest paddock to ourselves was worth a closer look nonetheless, containing as it did the only group of Barbary Stag (Cervus corsicanus barbarus) within Europe. As such, this represented yet another lifetick for the day – and given the uniqueness of the taxon, quite a satisfying one. We were also quite pleased to note that the paddock – which was pleasant and shady as a result of being set within the thick woodland found throughout much of the Tierpark – was relatively large and seemed to be well suited to the occupants. We then made our way towards the enclosures for Spectacled Bear and Polar Bear and observed the inhabitants for a time, discussing our thoughts about the two enclosures with one another and comparing them with those enclosures for the taxa we had seen elsewhere, before heading towards the monkey enclosures found just beyond the “Tierkinderzoo”. Our primary motivation for visiting these enclosures in particular was that fact that both Helly and myself, and Chris and Ang, had been unsuccessful in seeing the Colombian Red Howler (Alouatta seniculus) held in this portion of the Tierpark on our previous visits. It was, therefore, to our considerable satisfaction that we found the group of Howler Monkeys was both visible and highly active. We stood watching the group for some time, attempting to take photographs of the highly active monkeys – meeting with mixed results, as the agility of the inhabitants and the angle at which we were viewing them meant the mesh of the cage impeded our endeavours to some degree.

After a short time spent taking photographs of the various taxa found within the seabird aviary just beyond this area, we then made our way to the various carnivore enclosures which were in close proximity to the Alfred-Brehm Haus, along with the small cat exhibits found just to the left of the main entrance of the ABH. Due to the slightly different time of day when compared to our first visit to Tierpark Berlin, we were quite pleased to discover that not only were the inhabitants of these latter exhibits visible and active, but that the angle of the sun was not causing reflections detrimental to photography. As a result, we were able to not only get a good view of the inhabitants once again, but also obtain high-quality record shots of these taxa. An additional visit to the interior of the Alfred-Brehm Haus followed, before we returned to the Elephant House in order to take further photographs of some of the rodents and small mammals displayed within. As we wanted to view the various birds of prey held not far from the Monkey House, we then made our way in that general direction, taking the occasional detour in order to view a particular enclosure or taxon which we wished to see again. One such detour, just before we reached the bird of prey area itself, took us past the enclosure for Gayal (Bos frontalis) – a taxon which we had failed to view on our visit some days prior due to the fact the inhabitants of this and surrounding enclosures had been shut inside by the time we reached this particular area. As Gayal represented a new taxon for Helly and myself, we were quite pleased to find that the inhabitants were now easily visible, along with the other breeds of domestic cattle displayed in this portion of the Tierpark.

We knew that the New Guinean Echidna were due to be fed within an hour or so, and as such once we had spent some time photographing the various birds of prey on display – paying particular attention to the Rusty-barred Owls and Harpy Eagles – we decided to make our way back to the Elephant House. However, we once again took a relatively relaxed approach to this task, ensuring we spent a little more time viewing the Gerenuk – time well spent we felt, considering how unique the taxon was in European collections, and how pessimistic much of the zoo community was about the prolonged survival of these individuals. On our return to the Elephant House, we found that food had been left within the Echidna enclosure; it was a mere matter of patience and time before first one, and then another echidna roused themselves from their slumber and started feeding. We took photographs along with video footage of the feeding echidnas, spending well over a half-hour at the enclosure observing these unusual little creatures. A brief visit within the Elephant House was also met with reward, as we found that the Lowland Paca held within was currently active and feeding – this permitted us to get excellent images of this taxon, something which is quite difficult in the normal course of events given the shy and nocturnal nature of the species.

As we were rather peckish by this point in time, we thought it would be an opportune time to get something to eat. Having already spent some time at the main cafeteria, we decided to make our way to the “Terrassencafe” located near the Bear Gate; our reasoning being that there was little reason why we should limit ourselves to experiencing only one option for refreshment. We again followed a relaxed and sedate pace and route, visiting various parts of the Tierpark as we made our way back towards the Bear Gate, with perhaps a little extra time spent at the enclosures for Chacoan Mara and Chacoan Peccary in particular. Although we had viewed these two taxa on our prior visit to the Tierpark, I was not entirely satisfied with my photographs taken at the time due to the failing light conditions; as such I was eager to rectify the matter. As the Terrassencafe was located at the southern end of the twin rows of deer paddocks which run through the woodland along the straight avenue leading to Schloss Friedrichsfelde, we agreed that this would be the next set of enclosures we would view after we left the cafe.
Once we entered the Terrassencafe, we were rather pleased to find that the interior walls of the cafe were decorated with a large number of attractive paintings of various tropical bird taxa – after ordering some food, the four of us spend a pleasant half-hour or so discussing our respective trips, our thoughts on the various collections we had visited and on Berlin itself.

We then made our way along the avenue which led past the various deer paddocks towards the Schloss - as already discussed, the Barbary Stag paddock was spacious and pleasant, and we found that the remaining seven paddocks were more or less identical, and as such entirely well-suited to their inhabitants. We were particularly pleased to see such a comprehensive variety of large woodland deer taxa; yet another example of the diversity and range of taxa which time and again struck us as such a large part of what makes Tierpark Berlin the collection that it is.

These paddocks contained the following taxa:

Barbary Stag (Cervus corsicanus barbarus)
Malayan Sambar (Rusa unicolor equina)
Vietnamese Sika Deer (Cervus hortulorum pseudaxis)
Timor Deer (Rusa timorensis)
Manitoba Wapiti (Cervus canadensis manitobensis)
Altai Maral (Cervus canadensis sibiricus)
Dwarf Wapiti (Cervus canadensis nannodes)
Bactrian Deer (Cervus elaphus bactrianus)

As five of these taxa were lifeticks, and the remainder were taxa which I had only seen on a single previous occasion, I was extremely satisfied with this portion of the Tierpark - and was also rather impressed with the accompanying signage discussing the variety of deer taxa found around the world. We then continued to make our way towards Schloss Friedrichsfelde.

(Attached are images of the mosaic map of Tierpark Berlin, a view of Schloss Friedrichsfelde from the woodland, some examples of the interior paintings within the Terrassencafe and an example of signage from the deer paddocks)

 

Part II: Last Hours At Tierpark and Final Thoughts

As we approached the Schloss, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised; whilst a handful of days prior the entire pelican collection which is usually displayed on the lawn and moats in front of the Schloss was still off-display, having been kept inside for the winter months, it was apparent that the pelicans were now being gradually reintroduced to their summer grounds with approximately a dozen individuals visible. Even more satisfying, these pelicans were individuals of one of the taxa which represented a lifetick for myself - Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), which acted as some consolation for the fact we knew we were still missing several other lifetick pelicans.

However, any disappointment we may have felt was very rapidly forgotten; on the lawn to one side of the Schloss, we knew a handful of Great Bustard (Otis tarda) had recently gone on-display, although Helly and myself had failed to see them on our first visit to Tierpark Berlin. Today, however, we very rapidly spotted all three individuals – as prior to this trip, we had never seen any member of the bustard family and had only recently seen White-Bellied Bustard at Zoo Berlin, we were extremely pleased to see these unusual European native birds which once were commonplace throughout Europe and indeed the UK. I was particularly taken with how attractive and extravagant the plumage of the birds – all male – was, and also how well they blended in with the fallen leaves of the trees under which they were sitting.
We knew there was one final portion of Tierpark Berlin which we had yet to see; the Sun Bear house near to the indoor housing for the Pelicans and the Schloss Gate. However, as we were not far from the “Snake Farm” and Crocodile House, we chose to briefly revisit these areas first in order to obtain further photographs of the treasures within.

As we made our way towards the Sun Bear house, it was very rapidly apparent that this corner of the zoo was little-visited, with a sense of quiet and stillness. The first enclosures we reached were a handful of thickly vegetated exhibits for Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus), Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) and Giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), the first of which represented a lifetick for all of us. Opposite were the outdoor enclosures for the Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus) held within the collection. These were small, ugly and in my opinion far worse than any of the external enclosures to be found around the Alfred-Brehm Haus, their only saving grace being the fact they *were* reasonably well-planted. However it was apparent that the bears were locked inside at the time of my visit. On entering the Sun Bear House itself, I found that the interior enclosures were somehow much worse again, a row of bare dirty cages with little to no climbing material nor enrichment within, other than the bars and walls of the cages themselves. Moreover, the cages were far too small to hold even the relatively small Malayan Sun Bear, let alone several individuals of said taxon. Having been aware that this house once held multiple species of great ape at a point in time when there was no external enclosure provided, I found myself rather thankful that this was no longer the state of affairs. Nonetheless, this house and the enclosures within was not only the worst that I had seen at Tierpark Berlin, but the worst I had seen on my trip as a whole – worse even than the old big cat cages at Zoo Leipzig.
There was a single glimpse of light in the darkness of the Sun Bear house; a handful of small rodent enclosures very much akin to those found within the Elephant House, which held the following taxa:

Chinese Striped Hamster (Cricetulus barabensis griseus)
Mongolian Jird (Meriones unguiculatus)
Himalayan Striped Squirrel (Tamiops mcclellandii)

The latter of these taxa was a particularly pleasing lifetick, being as the individuals displayed represented the only members of the taxon on public display within a European collection. As such, despite our overall distaste for this area of the Tierpark we did linger a while in order to take plenty of photographs of the Striped Squirrels, knowing that as rodents they are not apt to long life.

Whilst in the Sun Bear house, Helly and myself received a phonecall from her mother, asking us to meet them in the city centre for 7.30pm; as this was only two hours away, and we knew it would take us some time to return to the centre of Berlin, we decided to spend what little time remained to us revisiting final enclosures and taxa we wanted to see one last time. As we made our way past the Great Bustard enclosure, we took the opportunity to take a handful more photographs. However, a minute or two later keepers appeared to move the birds indoors for the night; a task they found difficult as the bustards were curious and kept attempting to approach us! As such, we left the enclosure and discussed where to head next; whilst Helly accompanied Chris and Ang to the Alfred-Brehm Haus, I quickly returned to the highland area of the Tierpark in order to obtain better photographs of the Sichuan Takin and Altai Lynx displayed there. Having been satisfied in this aim, I returned to the ABH and was reunited with the others, spending a final ten minutes or so observing the Palawan Leopard Cats before myself and Helly made our way to the Bear Gate, and caught the U-Bahn back to the centre of Berlin with a heavy heart, knowing we would not return to the Tierpark for some years.
This would be an opportune time to discuss my overall thoughts on Tierpark Berlin, and subsequently to compare the collection with Zoo Berlin in the west of the city; I do not doubt that many of those reading this post will disagree with some of the points and opinions which follow, but I hope that it nonetheless provokes a profitable and enjoyable level of discussion and debate!

As I observed when writing my overall summary of Zoo Berlin, in many ways the key issue is where to begin in order to adequately discuss a massive and world-famous collection such as Tierpark Berlin. As such, I should probably lay my cards on the table; I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, and both Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Berlin have usurped the first-place position in my mental ranking of zoological collections previously held by Chester Zoo. However, that is not to say that there were no facets of Tierpark Berlin which I did not enjoy, or which I thought failed to meet the standard which a collection such as this could – and should – reach. The best way to balance my discussion of Tierpark Berlin, given my admission that I now hold it as the joint-best zoological collection in the world, would therefore be to discuss the failings of the collection before I discuss the triumphs. As noted in discussions of the Alfred-Brehm Haus both elsewhere on Zoochat, and within the pages of this thread, the ABH is possibly one of the most divisive houses within European collections as a whole. As such, this is the best place to begin in discussing the faults of the collection.

In many ways the debate gets simplified to two opposing arguments on the matter – that the ABH is fantastic and should never be changed, and that it is terrible and represents a black mark on the zoo landscape which needs to be expunged. Of course, this black-and-white view does not *truly* represent the viewpoint of either side - barring perhaps a very small number of die-hard individuals – but unfortunately a divisive issue like this tends to make each side think the worst of the other. The resulting dichotomy does not allow for the possibility that there are people who overall enjoy the ABH but recognise it could and should be improved to bring it "up to date" - but who believe this can be done without losing the overall feel of the building as a whole; something which they may fear will happen with the planned changes under the new management. As I have noted elsewhere in this thread, this is more or less the stance on the matter which I hold - I very much enjoyed the ABH, but equally I acknowledge those areas in which it falls regrettably short and believe that these failings need to be addressed, although unlike many on Zoochat I think that it is entirely possible to retain the historic feel and environment of the Alfred-Brehm Haus and still increase animal welfare. Rather than attempting to find new words for those suggestions and observations I have already made, I will quote myself on a handful of key points before returning to the wider discussion at hand:

Discussing the small carnivore and clouded leopard external enclosures to the right of the ABH:

Discussing the external enclosures for big cats along the left-hand perimeter of the ABH:

Discussing the internal enclosures for big cats in the ABH:

Discussing the internal enclosure for Malayan Tiger in the ABH:

Discussing the Asiatic Lion enclosures, and changes I would make regarding them:

However, the ABH is infinitely better than the Sun Bear house which is found at the opposite end of Tierpark Berlin; as such I am somewhat surprised that when the collection is discussed, the former house is met with so much active vitriol whilst the latter house is merely dismissed with contempt. As will have been obvious from my discussion of the Sun Bear house, I have little-to-nothing positive to say about this exhibit – in point of fact I would go so far as to describe this as the single worst exhibit which I observed during my week in Germany, and one of the only portions of Tierpark Berlin which I would *happily* see demolished. The only positive points I can make about the Sun Bear house, in fact, are as follows; it is off the beaten track and easily missed, and at least it does not hold great apes as it once did!

Another facet of Tierpark Berlin which does merit criticism to some degree is the Elephant House; the interior enclosures for the Asian and African Elephants and the Indian Rhinoceros are *far* too small for the taxa in question, with the only saving grace being the decent size and quality of the external paddocks surrounding the house, and the fact that the inhabitants of the house seemed to spend the vast majority of their time outdoors. Some on Zoochat have indicated that in their opinion, the Manatee enclosure is also displeasing, and even the worst in Europe. I would acknowledge that it is by no means ideal, and possibly somewhat on the small side, and as such I would be extremely happy if a superior exhibit were to be developed. However, I would not agree with those who believe that it is bad or detrimental to the welfare of the inhabitants. Overall, I would much rather that a collection like Tierpark Berlin were to have an interior elephant house befitting a world collection. Unfortunately, this would require an entirely new building to be constructed, due to the design and position of the existing house, and as such these improvements would be more difficult to achieve than those I propose for the Alfred-Brehm Haus.

The final major feature of Tierpark Berlin which I would suggest merits criticism is the Monkey House ; as noted elsewhere in this thread, this exhibit is one of the newer buildings at the collection at a shade over ten years old, but nonetheless rather disappointed Helly and myself. The animal enclosures were very “old-fashioned” and in some cases were smaller and even less visually appealing than those which tend to receive so much vitriol in the Alfred-Brehm Haus. Conversely, the public areas of the house were spacious and empty, giving a stark and clinical feel akin to the corridors and rooms of an empty hospital – much like the similar feel I observed at Zoo Berlin when visiting the newly-opened Bird House, in point of fact. The Alfred-Brehm Haus, the Elephant House and even the Sun Bear House are all decades-old, with faults which are intrinsic to their age and in some cases difficult to resolve as a result. These problems can therefore be understood to a degree, even if they cannot be dismissed. The Monkey House is a new build, and as such in a strange way it is worthy of more criticism than any of the other houses mentioned – much like the Bird House at the sister collection in the West, it represents a missed opportunity.

However, all of the above points are still very much outweighed by the positive features of Tierpark Berlin. The sheer variety and diversity of the taxa on display is overwhelming – in the realm of hoofstock the collection provides quite a comprehensive review of the diversity and range of form, a resource which in my opinion is precious to ensuring future generations understand and appreciate this diversity. Where else can one see every extant taxon of equine at species level, along with a vast number of caprines, camelids, cervids and bovids – let alone in such an attractive and peaceful setting? The animal collection at Tierpark Berlin also contains significant diversity in cool-climate birds, carnivore taxa from around the world and – increasingly unusual in non-specialist collections – a rather extensive range of birds of prey. Many have suggested that this level of diversity within an animal collection is not, in fact, a good thing – that it smacks of an antiquated 19th century “stamp-collection” mentality at best, and at worst is incompatible with the welfare of the taxa displayed. I would wholeheartedly contest this opinion. Granted the collection *could* be profitably reduced somewhat to improve matters for the remaining taxa, but the complete loss of this kind of diversity would be both unnecessary and a tragedy for future generations. Furthermore, criticism may be levelled at the amount of space provided within some of the animal houses at Tierpark Berlin, but no such criticism is possible when it comes to the vast majority of the outdoor paddocks and enclosures found throughout the collection. To name but one example, the foot plan of the central portion of Tierpark Berlin containing the various members of the camel family is larger than that of many zoos. Along with this portion of the collection, some of the exhibits and enclosures at Tierpark Berlin which I feel merit particular praise are the Vulture Aviary outside the Alfred-Brehm Haus, the Pheasantry and the Highland area in the northeast corner of the Tierpark - whilst I thoroughly enjoyed other areas of Tierpark Berlin, these particular areas are among those which I believe elevate the collection to “world class”. I suspect even those who are critical of Tierpark Berlin as a whole would find it hard to deny the value and quality of these exhibits.

Another key strength of the collection, in my opinion, is the setting and location – it is quite literally a park, with expanses of meadow and woodland full of wildlife integrated alongside the captive animal collections. As such, the wide open spaces of Tierpark Berlin provide an important counterpart to the dense city-centre location of Zoo Berlin – the two collections have grown and developed independently, as one would expect given the history of the city in which they are located, but nonetheless the one mirrors and complements the other. One is a large and spacious parkland collection, making full use of the space available, whilst the other is a classic “city zoo” making the best of limited space for development and expansion, with each largely selecting species appropriate to their situation and – since the reunification of Berlin – working together to ensure the animal collections complemented one another, with taxa lacking in one collection often to be found in the other. I could not have visited one without also viewing the other; equally I cannot rank the one above the other. As such, they are *both* equally worthy of the title I grant them above, the best zoo in the world.
As I have noted on a number of occasions throughout this thread, I view the future of both collections under the new management with some trepidation; a new management which as chance would have it began more-or-less simultaneously with my trip. I will discuss this matter in a little more detail when summarising my trip as a whole, but for now it suffices to say that I am extremely glad I visited Tierpark Berlin when I did; even if my fears are unfounded and the changes prove to make the collection even better – as I dearly hope they will - it will never be quite the same again.

On returning to the centre of Berlin, Helly and I quickly left our bags and cameras in our hostel room before heading down the street to meet up with her parents and Claire. From there, we once again went to the Pasta & Passione restaurant which we had thoroughly enjoyed on the evening of our trip to Magdeburg Zoo, discussed our day and made final plans for the following morning; Helly’s mother had booked all five of us onto a morning tour of the restored central dome of the Reichstag building, which we planned to follow with a visit to the Museum fur Naturkunde.

Returning to our room after the meal, it was not long before we were once again soundly asleep.

(Attached are images of signage at the Pelican Moat, two of the Great Bustard, one of the Sun Bear cages, an example of statue work near the Siberian Crane enclosure and the Wood Bison viewed immediately prior to our departure from Tierpark Berlin)