Zoo number two of the day was located 1.5 hours from Dresden in the sleepy small city of Hoyerswerda. This town really is located in the middle of nowhere and it is no surprise that when wolves made it back to Germany they settled in this area in Eastern Germany. I did see no wolves from the train, but I saw European cranes and a Red fox in this empty landscape of meadows and forests. Zoo Hoyerswerda is located in a park surrounding a small castle. The zoos pelicans, Flamingo and Brown bears have access to the water moat, which is a nice little touch. Overall this is however not a zoo one should rush to, to visit. In a way it is a small zoo that tries to be a big zoo and its lay-out and species composition made me think most of what happens if you let a kid draw up a zoo. The only enclosure that I found really nice was one for European otters, which also feature in the logo. But generally there are a lot of straight angles, obiquitous fencing and not so much of an idea behind the location of enclosures. A large part of the zoo still shows that this place is struggling to cope with old GDR style cages. These cages hold a diverse array of species like Fennec foxes, Spider monkeys, Chinese leopard, Serval, White-handed gibbons, Hyacint macaw, Siberian tiger and others. A small pheasantry has some pheasants as well as Prevost and Pere David rock squirrels and some owls and ravens. A walkthrough features a group of Red-necked wallabies and an Emu called Hilde. Domestic species are also well represented ranging from Camel to Ouessant sheep, but some of the paddocks also hold exotic species in the form of Sable antelope, Alpine ibex, Red-crowned crane and Zebra. Species-wise the highlight would be a trio of Black capuchin monkeys in a small cage or the Manchurian golden eagle. The overall species list is somewhat random and is at the bottom of this post. A small tropical house looks good from the outside and some of the terraria are very well done and keep species like Rhinoceros iguana, Fiji iguana, Ball python and Sting rays (signed as Devil rays). An enclosure for a huge breeding pair of Cuban crocodiles is also fine, but there is also a tiny all-indoor enclosure for two Pygmy hippo, which really is a shambles. An ugly cage for Oriental pied hornbills is also present, but at least they will soon get an outdoor enclosure. Another side enclosure holds Three-toed armadillo, the male called Günther and the female Gwendolyn. Two-toed sloths walk around freely through the house, as do some birds like Brazilian tanager, Red-whiskered bulbul, Superb starling and Red-and-yellow barbet. Zoo Hoyerswerda shows that Germans cannot be trusted when it comes to naming animals and that there are still plenty small to medium-sized zoos in Eastern Germany that have a lot of work to do. The size of the Chinese leopard enclosure now under construction, does however not look as if that will be anywhere near big enough, as it is roughly the size of an Alfred Brehm house cage. Apparently formerly Lions were kept there. A species list is as follows for mammals, birds & the highlight reptiles: Long-tailed chinchilla European harvest mouse Indian crested porcupine North-American tree porcupine Pere David’s rock squirrel Sumatran prevost squirrel Mara Lesser hedgehog tenrec Two-toed sloth Southern three-toed armadillo Red-necked wallaby Eurasian otter European brown bear Fennec fox Serval Siberian tiger North-Chinese leopard Meerkat Chapman’s zebra Alpine ibex Sable antelope Bactrian camel Llama Domestic goat & sheep Black capuchin Gouldi’s monkey Bearded emperor tamarin Cotton-top tamarin Common squirrel monkey Colombian black spider monkey White-handed gibbon Birds Common emu Greater rhea Humboldt penguin Great white pelican Greater flamingo Honduras boat-billed heron Scarlet ibis White-faced whistling duck Whooper swan Red-crowned crane Manchurian golden eagle Brown wood owl Little owl Snowy owl Red junglefowl Golden pheasant Silver pheasant Common quail Laughing kookaburra Southern pied hornbill Galah Hyacint macaw Rose-ringed parakeet Cuban grassquit Common raven Superb starling Brazilian tanager Red-whiskered bulbul Red-and-yellow barbet Reptiles include: Cuban crocodile Galapagos giant tortoise Fiji banded iguana Pictures will follow when a gallery for this zoo is created.
Somewhat yes, I didn't know much about this zoo, as nobody seems to go there. There certainly is potential and it has its nice bits, but there is a lot of crappy old stuff remaining, certainly more than expected.
