A Bonobo has been born on May 10, the mother is Opala. Plans for a new Rhino house have been published. This will be on the grounds of the current Rhino house and the Camel enclosures. Species included are Indian rhino, Malayan tapir, Visayan warty pig and S-American tapir. The Black rhino will move to the Tierpark and the Black rhino house in the back of the park should become an Australian area with Kangaroo.
The bonobo link: Willkommen Baby Bonobo! And a link to the masterplan for the Zoo: http://zoo-blog-berlin.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ZEP_Zoo-Berlin-plan.jpg
The latest Annual report for both Zoo and Tierpark Berlin can be downloaded here: Investor Relations New mammalian arrivals in the Zoo include Short-tailed oppossum and already posted here White-tailed deer, Japanese macaque & Emperor tamarin (the latter two from the Tierpark). Not kept anymore are Woodchuck, Merriam's kangaroo rat, Stump-tailed macaque, Warthog, Red river hog and (temporarily) Jaguar.
It is not news that the Swine house is too small for all the species kept there, especially since the under the former director both Collared peccary and Visayan warty pig were added to the collection. So this seems part of refocussing and in this case downsizing the collection to focus on endangered species like Babirusa. I don't know what will happen with the Warthog enclosure, but it would make sense to redevelop it as a second Pygmy hippo enclosure, so the zoo actually would have 2 outdoor enclosures, instead of one animal having to spend its time indoors...
Zoo Berlin just presented new details about and pictures of the new exhibits for Indian Rhinos, Tapirs and Pustelschweine (I don't know the correct English term). As the original Indian pagoda was listed, Zoo Berlin had to drop a close copy of the original predecessor. Instead there will be a simplified pagoda, while the actual indoor exhibit will resemble the neighboring hippo dome. Copyright Zoo Berlin (both pictures) I think this is a rather good solution. A close copy of the original building would have appeared more spectacular, but this way the animals will receive plenty of natural light and the money goes into function rather than design (the complex still costs some 20 mio Euro, half of which will be paid by European funds). I quite like the hippo enclosure, so I am quite happy. Most importantly, the animals will receive much more space and it will even be possible to watch them under the water. It will be another state of the art exhibit to complement the existing highlights. It will also be the second entirely new large project under Knieriem, (if we don't count the remodelling of bird house, Aquarium, carnivore building, petting zoo and other exhibits).
Same sex King Penguin pair 2.0 Skipper and Ping are incubating an egg abandoned by the sole female of the colony. It is not known if the egg is fertile. The last hatching of the species at the zoo was in 2002. Berlin gay penguins adopt abandoned egg
According to the homepage of Berlin Zoo there is a very good probability (85%) that Meng Meng - their female giant Panda - is pregnant, expecting to give birth end of August / early September. Is she or isn’t she?
Of course she is in hope- several times natural mating and a "helping Hand "by A.I.( Pandaland-Double Tap). How couldn't she not be pregnant ? I
Meng Meng just gave birth to twin cubs. A video with the typical sound of little baby bears is available on Zoo Berlin And here are some pictures: Copyright: Zoo Berlin
