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Berlin Tierpark Tierpark Berlin news 2020

Discussion in 'Germany' started by Elephantelephant, 4 Jan 2020.

  1. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    @twilighter Thank you for this interesting update! I actually agree with all of your remarks. Hopefully, the tropic hall will still get better with the years.

    The second one only arrived very recently. But what is a "joye"? I didn't find a translation for it or anything else about this.
     
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  2. twilighter

    twilighter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Joey is a newborn baby in the pouch
    :)
     
  3. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    I suspect they accidentally misspelled "joey" :p I've fixed the spelling error in edit.
     
  4. twilighter

    twilighter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Yes, my bad sorry :)
     
  5. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Ah, that's very good news then! I'm happy to hear that :)

    Some not so good news:
    Apparently, the king cobra died. It was 14 years old.

    Some other news (Here everyone has to decide for themselves, if it is good or bad news):
    -The last African Elephants just left the park. So it will be some years, before there will be new ones. On the other hand, the complex should be much more attractive for both visitors and animals by then...
     
    Last edited: 29 Aug 2020
  6. twilighter

    twilighter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Personaly, wouldn't mind, if there's always one zone under construction in the TP. There's more than enough to see there. The elephant house desperately needs renovation and hopefully they will apply similar approach as in the ABH.

    Another curious thing:

    Besides the Sumatran tigers, the ZTL lists Malayan tigers ssp jackosoni, but in the park they are actually signed Indochinese tigers ssp corbetti. The two subspecies been lumped lately, but I don't think this is the explanation.
     

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  7. PossumRoach

    PossumRoach Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I'm more concerned about that blue bottle cap on the pond.
     
  8. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    @twilighter As far as I know, they are indeed Malayan tigers. For some reason or other, however, the Tierpark keeps displaying them as Indochinese tigers (this has a long tradition and just wasn't changed under the new administration). Zootierliste even used to list them as Indochinese tigers as well, until there was a discussion about this. The whole issue actually has been a point of debate in Germany: "Why would you actually do this 'wrong' labeling? Which type of visitors even cares about the difference? Is it an issue at all any longer with scientific updates on subspecies status?" and so on...

    Well, as they are going to leave the park anyway, this curious anecdote is going to find an end (but if they get transfered to Zoo Berlin, it will be interesting to see what they get labeled as over there).
     
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  9. twilighter

    twilighter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Very interesting, thanks for clarification :)
     
  10. Bib Fortuna

    Bib Fortuna Well-Known Member

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    Which zoological system is actually the valid one? The only true system? Which of the roughly estimated 1,000 opinions on tigers, zebras, giraffes and, and, and should be used? Of all of them, who is right? If Wilson and Mittermeier have its way, there are over 50 species of duikers ... wow ... If a former zoo director doesn't go along with this nonsense, and doesn't immediately re-label his tigers just because a guy suddenly says that there are 10 instead of only 2 tiger species, is he automatically wrong, or what? He has my respect that he didn't do that - and I agree with him.By the way, meanwhile a completely different guy says that there are only two tiger forms - a mainland tiger, and an island tiger. Hey, why haven't all of the zoos changed their tiger enclosure signs? They all still live on the moon. Also, when it comes to giraffes, there are now 4 species ...but all the exhibit sgins are still the outdated ones....

    By the way-according to the"Handbook of the Mammals of the World"(Wilson & Mittermeier) there is no Panthera tigris jacksoni, only P.t.corbetti and four other subspecies.. Well, I guess, they are wrong in this case, but they are right with 50 species of duikers. Well, everyone makes his own zoological system, right ?
     
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  11. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    The Marbled ducks is a threatened species and because its bred very well in captivity, in 2009 it was started to release captive-bred animals on Mallorca.
    In 2017 Tierpark Berlin joined this project and since then 44 Tierpark Berlin bred animals were released on Mallorca and also the young bred this year will be send to Mallorca to be relaesed :).
     
  12. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Twilighter already mentioned the newly arrived European sousliks/ ground squirrels. They are kept in the carnivore cages between Brehm building and domesticated animals. Now the Tierpark informed the public about their plans: They received 6 animals and plan to breed with them, as they take part in a programme for resettling the species into the wild.

    Something else: I came across a quite recent video analysis of the Tierpark and even though it's in German I would like to share it with you. I think, the pictures mostly speak for themselves and I can give you a rough outline of what is said.

    Video:


    Outline:
    0:00' - 1:15' (intro): Far more than you may expect
    People may consider Tierpark Berlin irrelevant due to the more popular Zoo in the western centre of the city. However, it actually is far bigger than Zoo Berlin. Further, the park offers quite a lot, even though there aren't (m)any historical buildings apart from the old castle.

    1:15' - 3:52': About old structures and first attempts to modernise the park
    Having said that, most buildings and structures in Tierpark Berlin aren't really modern either, often still clearly showing its GDR (German Democratic Republic) era heritage.
    While some areas seem quite outdated, there have been recent developments to successfully giving old structures a new look/ appearance.
    -> Some newly developed areas:
    1:45' - 2:22' North America
    2:23' - 2:43' Africa: monkey building
    2:44' - 3:20': Africa: penguin enclosure
    3:21' - 3:29': Africa: cheetah enclosure
    3:30' - 3:52': Africa: vulture aviary

    3:53' - 5:15': The new old Brehm building (Asia/ South East Asian islands)
    Unfortunately, the building still was under construction. Nevertheless, it looks very promising and brings huge progress, particularly for the sun bears.

    5:16' - 8:07' (conclusion and outlook): Much potential but much left to be done/ next projects
    While most of the other enclosures seem adequate for the animals, many still look a bit boringly functional and bleak. As the park by itself is strikingly beautiful with some very attractive old and modernised enclosures, however, there actually is much potential.
    The next projects are very important, as they eliminate both some of the last remaining disgraceful enclosures (pachydermy building) as well as some adequate yet unimpressive ones (mountain region).
    Even now the Tierpark is worthwhile visiting, particularly with the new Brehm building, the park's very nice spots and its many interesting species.
    While, at present, the more complete and round Zoo Berlin is the far better choice for tourists, the trend with the nicely embedded landscapes may actually push the Tierpark ahead in the near future. Having said that, both zoos still have a huge potential to become (even) better and more attractive.
    -> Some plans for the near future:
    5:40' - 5:54' Africa: elephant building
    5:55' - 6:32' Asia: Himalaya mountains area

    My thoughts on this:
    I can actually appreciate most of what is being said about the Tierpark (and both of the zoos). Personally, I already like Tierpark Berlin (even) better than Zoo Berlin and I actually did so for as far back as I can remember. Still, there is a lot which can and needs to be improved in this park. And as stated in the video, I like what has been achieved and what is planned (which also goes for the zoo). Exciting times for zoo enthusiasts living in Berlin.
     
  13. Shorts

    Shorts Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    And those living in Europe too. If you build it we will come. :D
     
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  14. Bib Fortuna

    Bib Fortuna Well-Known Member

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    Very nice Video. To answer the last question of it, what corner of the Animalpark you like the most ? So my favourite corner of the park are the small carnivore cages. Especially the Ratel Exhibit. I like the little guys so much.
     
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  15. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Everyone is welcome here, particularly zoo enthusiasts! My wording wasn't the best/ inclusive enough ;)

    I actually even hope Tierpark Berlin also will get far more popular among regular tourists, once the new metro line 5 directly connects the park with some major hotspots in the city centre: main train station (Hauptbahnhof), Brandenburg Gate, Bundestag and other government buildings, TV tower, city hall, reconstructed city castle facades, top museums, busy shopping streets (...). But I guess it still won't be easy to get their attention and actually attract them to the park.
     
  16. Sneeuwpanter

    Sneeuwpanter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Question : is the parking from Tierpark outside of the Umweltzone ?
     
  17. JurassicMax

    JurassicMax Well-Known Member

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    That would be great! I only found out about tierpark a few years ago when I was reading about it on a different forum, but was confused about the mentioned species (manatees) and it turned out there was a second zoo :eek:. I went there last year with friends and the connection might not have been direct from the city centre, it only took around 30 minutes (not sure) to get to tierpark. For me 30 minutes isn't such a long commute for a zoo of that size and magnitude! Hopefully more people will learn and go to tierpark, it's totally worth it! I ended up spending almost an entire day there, so it was a day well spent!
     
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  18. Someokapinextdoor

    Someokapinextdoor Well-Known Member

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    Personal opinion: I love walking the path between the nilgai/hog deer and the Chacoan peccary exhibits and the Kamelwiese opens up and you can see the flamingos in the distance. It's usually a very empty corner and you feel like you are far, far away from the loud and hectic city.
     
  19. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    It is. Umweltzone is surrounded by the S-Bahn cycle (Ringbahn), whereas Tierpark Berlin is located further east in Lichtenberg/ Friedrichsfelde (4 metro stations from the cycle).

    [​IMG]
    Source: berlin.de

    Personally, I would still recommend public transport. Traffic can be quite busy and annoying and the official parking lots may be full on busy days.
     
  20. markmeier

    markmeier Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I actually think this is the main problem. Not only is Zoo Berlin located in the (western part of) city centre, but it is also far more famous/ popular. And of course it offers all the main attractions in a very convenient way. So visitors without a zoonerd background likely never even hear let alone care about Tierpark Berlin.

    Whereas, if they do go there, many are surprised the trip doesn't even take that long and it is quite an interesting park (on average online reviews are at least as positive as those on the zoo) - just as you put it:

    The main difference indeed won't be saving some minutes and the trouble of once changing the line (although this will make the trip still more convenient). The main difference will be visabilty. The Berlin senate wants tourists to discover the outer districts so the centre gets less crowded and visitors get more reasons to return. Part of this strategy will be promoting the long U5 metro line as an underground connection of many tourist hotspots AND other attractions. So there probably (hopefully!) will be adverts for Tierpark Berlin on many central metro stations. And if only a tiny fraction of visitors get curious this way, it already makes a real difference to the park. In return, visitors numbers are crucial to get additional funding for new attractions like the South America/ Amazon building.
     
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