Berlin Tierpark Tierpark Berlin News 2019

Some updates:

-There has been a bit of unrest in German zoo forums, as all birds have been removed from the crocodile building, including the corresponding signs and the nets. After experiencing the rather sudden closure of the snake farm some years ago, some people were quite alarmed about this. A possible closure of the building has been a topic for some time anyways, as the building doesn't appear in the future plans and Mr Knieriem has been complaining about the high costs of heating this old building. So one user asked the Tierpark about the recent activities and was told that the birds "for the time being" live elsewhere in the park. But apparently this doesn't indicate a (near) closure.

-After the continuing failures with the aardwolves, it seems like there won't be any new specimen. The banded mongoose have just been put in the former aardwolf enclosure. So now the Tierpark is down to two hyena species.

-Last but not least some good news: There finally is a fresh update on the Brehm building, more precisely the Sun Bear enclosure. In my opinion this looks quite promising.

 
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markmeier said:
-After the continuing failures with the aardwolves, it seems like there won't be any new specimen. The banded mongoose have just been put in the former aardwolf enclosure. So now the Tierpark is down to two hyena species.
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Note for members, the discussion about (the ethics of keeping) Aardwolves in captivity has been split off into its own thread, which can be found here: Aardwolves in captivity
 
The Brehm building now is to reopen in spring 2020, while some animals should move in by the beginning of the year.

And this is what the tropical hall looks like at the moment:

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Copyright Tierpark Berlin
 
Quite an amzing change within the old building - looks really good...
 
I still miss some of the large old plants which had grown in there for several decades before the first renovation started. But fortunately the pictures do look very promising. It will take some time, but eventually everything could look even better than ever before.

The Tierpark also posted a picture of one of the indoor halls (probably the one for the Sun Bears):

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Copyright Tierpark Berlin

I quite like that one as well. There will be natural ground substrates as well as living plants. I just hope the animals don't destroy it too much.
 
markmeier said:
After the continuing failures with the aardwolves, it seems like there won't be any new specimen. The banded mongoose have just been put in the former aardwolf enclosure. So now the Tierpark is down to two hyena species.
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Some good news on this topic: The mongoose just had some offspring (0,0,3). The pictures are quite cute, although it is virtually impossible to watch them this close in real life (there is quite some distance due to ditch and fence):

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Copyright: Tierpark Berlin
 
As of today, there are no more Indian Rhinos in Tierpark Berlin. Recently, 0,1 Betty and her calf 1,0 Karl have been moved to Berlin Zoo and today 1,0 Belur was transfered to Nuremberg. The administration also announced that further animals are to leave the pachydermy building soon, as the building process is scheduled to begin in 2020.
 
I am planing to revisit the Berlins on 03/11 and 04/11 and most likely will be in the Tierpark on the second day. Could someone give information, what part of the ABH is visible now ? Last year, it was access to the back side outdoor exhibits, the Cheetahs and the Tigers. I think, I have seen Ratel, Margay, Genet and Banded Mongoose. It was rumors, that they will open part of ABH soon, but I do not have false hopes.
 
twilighter said:
I am planing to revisit the Berlins on 03/11 and 04/11 and most likely will be in the Tierpark on the second day. Could someone give information, what part of the ABH is visible now ? Last year, it was access to the back side outdoor exhibits, the Cheetahs and the Tigers. I think, I have seen Ratel, Margay, Genet and Banded Mongoose. It was rumors, that they will open part of ABH soon, but I do not have false hopes.
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Assuming the situation is still the same as last September when myself, @TeaLovingDave and @ThylacineAlive visited, the front exhibits with the margay, banded mongoose and honey badgers should still be visible (Malayan civet and Palawan leopard cat have died/left the collection), and the back exhibits for Malayan tiger, Amur tiger (do they still have these?), cheetah and snow leopard should also still be visible. We also could just about see Javan leopard and Sumatran tiger through the construction fence to the left of the main entrance but that was it.....I’m sure @markmeier or someone else could provide a more up to date answer...!
 
Thank you for the fast reply @ShonenJake13 . This was exactly the situation, when I was there in October last year. I haven't seen the Javan Leopard though.

I am 99% sure, there were Amur tigers back then.
 
markmeier said:
As of today, there are no more Indian Rhinos in Tierpark Berlin. Recently, 0,1 Betty and her calf 1,0 Karl have been moved to Berlin Zoo and today 1,0 Belur was transfered to Nuremberg. The administration also announced that further animals are to leave the pachydermy building soon, as the building process is scheduled to begin in 2020.
Click to expand...

I am pleased that the catastrophic husbandry of rhinos at the Tierpark has finally come to an end. Nice that Belur can spend his last years of life in much better indoor and outdoor facilities. Hope he gets along well with Sophie, so Nuremberg can breed again with him.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
I am pleased that the catastrophic husbandry of rhinos at the Tierpark has finally come to an end. Nice that Belur can spend his last years of life in much better indoor and outdoor facilities. Hope he gets along well with Sophie, so Nuremberg can breed again with him.
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Catastrophic? The indoors weren't the nicest but the outdoor yards were fine as far as I remember. Surely calling them catastrophic is a bit extreme? Were there any other issues besides the indoors?

~Thylo
 
There is no need to discuss the indoor exhibits, they are and will remain a desaster. The animals did not even have a pool, and that is essential for indian rhinos. Each animal must be granted access to a bath at all times, inside and outside.The outdoor exhibits are very poorly structured and have to a too hard flooring for rhinos and have shade places only on the edge. In addition, a mud bath is missing. To call the husbandry of rhinoceros at Tierpark Berlin catastrophic is more than justified. Incidentally, there is a pool for rhinos inside. But that was for decades occupied with pygmy hippos and in 2018, marabou lived in it. .I believe, In the 30 years that the house has existed, no rhinoceros has ever bathed in that pool. By the way-there is not only one really good husbandry for indian rhinos in germany, but Berlin Tierpark was on second place for the worst facilities for that species after Stuttgart.
 
The fenced off area around the Brehm building has increased since then. By now you cannot approach any of the small enclosures (occasionally you may spot the animals from the distance, however, if you get close to the fence next to the reindeer exhibit - binoculars recommended ;)).

There also isn't any proper access to vulture aviary, cheetah exhibit or penguin enclosure any longer, as all of them receive a fresh-up presently.

You still do get to view snow leopards and tigers. And you can get sneak impressions of the building process, if you walk close to each fence and to the windows between the outdoor exhibits of the tigers in the court area (there are official ways up to the windows but hardly anyone bothers to get a look). By the way, an official tour of the construction site costs 1.000 Euro and I'm not joking here...

Generally speaking, it's sort of a cra**y, eh bad, time to visit the Tierpark I am afraid - particularly, if it is your first visit. There is still plenty of good stuff to see, of course, but some characteristic elements are missing: Mentioned Brehm building, of course. The pachydermy building also isn't quite what it used to be with a number of empty enclosures. There also aren't any more birds in the crocodile building (apparently you may find large snails instead now).

Having said that, it is a rather exciting period to visit at the same time. You get to witness what is in some way the largest transformation process this park has seen, since the Berlin Wall came down. Whereas the predecessor, Mr Blaszkiewitz, strongly added to and enhanced the existing structure (indeed filling large vast areas and bringing in new animals), he never really modified much. In a way, he easily built an entire new zoo (or two!) without making much of a fuzz about it or leaving prominent own landmarks. He was praised for this by some (the aged widow of founding Tierpark boss Dathe had a fond relation to Blaszkiewitz as he complemented Dathe's work rather than reinventing the park). He was heavily criticised by others, as he never much reacted to modern trends concerning design and presentation (but he also worked on minimal budget).

When you enter the Tierpark via the main entrance today, you immediately get an impression that there is a new administration with a new philosophy (and never heard of funds) now: A lot of new elements that try to embed the enclosures in an entirely new way. The same goes for the monkey building, which already has been transformed as well. Or the gibbon islands, the pekary enclosure, parts of the African enclosures, the katta island... But as the site is huge and things tend to take time in Berlin, you will spot a lot of the old park as well. The contrasts are very interesting and revealing. Often it is possible to tell, which area was coined by which of the three directors. By the way, I strongly respect all three of them, as they all did/ do what they were hired for and with a huge place like Tierpark Berlin this always means massive work...
 
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