Saarbrücken Zoo

The Saarbrücken Zoo (German: Zoologischer Garten der Landeshauptstadt Saarbrücken) is with over 200.000 visitors annually, and over 1.700 animals from 160 Species the largest Zoo in Saarland. The Zoo is specialized in African animals.[1]

Saarbrücken Zoo
Main Entrance
SloganHallo im Zoo
Date opened1956
LocationGraf-Stauffenberg-Straße 66121 Saarbrücken, Germany
Coordinates49°13′50.74″N 7°2′22.49″E
Land area13 hectares (32.1 acres)
No. of animals1760 [1] Tierarten aus Afrika, Südamerika und Madagaskar
No. of species160 Species
Annual visitors260.000 (2014)
MembershipsEAZA,[2] WAZA[3]
DirectorRichard Francke
Websitewww.zoo.saarbruecken.de

History

In 1870, the land for the present Zoo was used as a quarry, and until 1926 a funicular. The old Zoo was founded in 1932, but became totally destroyed during World War II. 1956 the work started to rebuild the zoo on a new site, consisting 15 hectares (37.1 acres) on the foot of the hill Eschberges.

In February 1995 the elephant Danka killed the head elephant keeper Uwe Rothe, by headbutting him against a wall, and a year later, in March 2006, both elephants were sold to Alexandria Zoo in Egypt where both elephants died the same day a month later.[4][5]

During the end of 2005 the north gate closed due to less visitors coming to the zoo, and some northern parts of zoo was redesigned to residential building. The longtime Director Vaclav Ceska was removed from office, and plans were made to renew the popularity among the public of Saarbrücken.

Since 2008 a lot of improvements have been made, including renewing of enclosures and contact with financing sponsors.

Pictures

Literature
  • Eugen Grittmann: 80 Jahre Saarbrücker Zoo. 1932–2012. Hrsg.: Zoologischer Garten Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken 2012.

See also

References
  1. .zoo-infos.de
  2. "EAZA Member Zoos & Aquariums". eaza.net. European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  3. "Zoos and Aquariums of the World". waza.org. WAZA. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  4. Elephant Database: Danka at Alexandria Zoo
  5. Elephant Database:All elephants at Saarbrücken Zoo in Germany


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.