Anything to know about Bavarian Zoos?

Mehdi

Mehdi

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I am going to Münich in less than a week now (21st of December) and I'm planning to at least visit Tierpark Hellabrunn and Tiergarten Nürnberg but might add Zoo Augsburg as well if we have time (definitely won't have time for more zoos though as although we're there for a week, it's a family holiday so it would be insensitive of me to just visit as many zoos as I can and leaving my family behind).

I was wondering if there was anything I needed to know about hidden species in any of the zoos or if there was anything particular to look out for at either of them that week. Any feedback/comment about anyone who's visited the zoos (or just knows about them) is appreciated

Definitely excited for it to happen as I've heard great things about all of them (and I might as well be just in time for a certain mustelid at a certain zoo :P)
 
Unfortunately, I haven't been to Nuremberg yet. But it is actually among the zoos I am most keen on visiting in the future. The beautiful pictures always intrigued me. So I cannot provide any information, but would very much appreciate your feedback on how you enjoyed it. I also haven't been to Augsburg nor heard much about it (but apparently they are going to receive elephants from Berlin Tierpark soon), so I would enjoy your feedback on that one as well.

As to Hellabrunn, I only visited once as part of a daytrip to Munich. It has some beautiful parts, especially the bit where they incorporated the natural landscape of the Isarauen area with their small creeks into the park. I just love it, when a park is integrated into 'original' nature like this (I think this is true for both Munich and Nuremberg) and the flowing water is just lovely. Other than that I actually enjoyed the walking-through bat enclosure best. But that is just personal taste. I would recommend to just enjoy it as a whole and perhaps use the website to make sure not to miss any of your potential highlights. As with the other two parks I would enjoy to hear how you liked it and what your favourites were.

Btw (as I can well relate to travelling with family): I think Munich and Nuremberg sounds like the perfect combination. In doubt (or in case of conflicting interests) I probably would concentrate on just these two. And even visiting just one of them would be great and probably a nice experience for the entire family. Personally, I never regretted not visiting all zoos or other potential highlights in an area, when travelling and spending precious time with my family.
 
I've visited all of the collections you highlight, @Mehdi :) unfortunately I never got around to writing about Nuremberg or Augsburg, but I wrote a very in-depth walkthrough account of Hellabrunn some years ago. It'll be a little outdated but still gives a good picture of the collection:

The Bavarian Adventures Of A Tea-Loving Dave - April 2015

As for the other two collections, I'll write up a few pointers tomorrow :) but in the meantime, if you have any specific questions feel free to ask!
 
markmeier said:
Unfortunately, I haven't been to Nuremberg yet. But it is actually among the zoos I am most keen on visiting in the future. The beautiful pictures always intrigued me. So I cannot provide any information, but would very much appreciate your feedback on how you enjoyed it. I also haven't been to Augsburg nor heard much about it (but apparently they are going to receive elephants from Berlin Tierpark soon), so I would enjoy your feedback on that one as well.
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Same here! Everything I've heard about Nürnberg seems to point out to a world-class zoo and especially to exactly the kind of zoo I like: great exhibits with major highlights (Manatee House, Desert House...), a few rarities here and there and a nice forest feeling to it. Probably the zoo I'm the most eager to see on that whole trip.

markmeier said:
Btw (as I can well relate to travelling with family): I think Munich and Nuremberg sounds like the perfect combination. In doubt (or in case of conflicting interests) I probably would concentrate on just these two. And even visiting just one of them would be great and probably a nice experience for the entire family. Personally, I never regretted not visiting all zoos or other potential highlights in an area, when travelling and spending precious time with my family.
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That's definitely our plan as well, Münich will be our "headquarter" so visiting the zoo is a no-brainer (unless something impromptu happens) and Nürnberg also has other highlights barring the zoo so should be doable as well. They are definitely the two animal-related attractions we're focusing on (as unfortunately most of the birding hotspots in the area are quite far away) and Augsburg would only be a plus if we have nothing planned on a day. Thank you for the other suggestions by the way, it's very helpful!

TeaLovingDave said:
I've visited all of the collections you highlight, @Mehdi :) unfortunately I never got around to writing about Nuremberg or Augsburg, but I wrote a very in-depth walkthrough account of Hellabrunn some years ago. It'll be a little outdated but still gives a good picture of the collection:

The Bavarian Adventures Of A Tea-Loving Dave - April 2015
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I have now read your excellent thread twice and plan to do it a third time before departing from Münich. I love those kinds of in-depth walkthroughs and always found it a shame that you never got around to writing about the other zoos planned (though what has already been written is of course excellent).

TeaLovingDave said:
As for the other two collections, I'll write up a few pointers tomorrow :) but in the meantime, if you have any specific questions feel free to ask!
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Thanks a lot! Nothing really pops up to my mind as of now but I think the Golden jackal exhibit is quite hard to find so I was wondering if you'd know where it's situated approximately in the zoo?
 
Mehdi said:
Thanks a lot! Nothing really pops up to my mind as of now but I think the Golden jackal exhibit is quite hard to find so I was wondering if you'd know where it's situated approximately in the zoo?
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Cross the bridge from the Red panda to the Penguin enclosure and then turn right. You should have the enclosure on your left hand.

Mehdi said:
That's definitely our plan as well, Münich will be our "headquarter" so visiting the zoo is a no-brainer (unless something impromptu happens) and Nürnberg also has other highlights barring the zoo so should be doable as well. They are definitely the two animal-related attractions we're focusing on (as unfortunately most of the birding hotspots in the area are quite far away)
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The Nuremberg Tiergarten is quite good for forest birds (and Red squirrels), with Middle-spotted woodpecker being quite common.

In Nuremberg I would advise to start with the Manatee and Desert houses as early as possible, as they fill up quickly. It is also worthwhile to check the Marten enclosure throughout the day (same goes for the other carnivores there), as they are not always active, but when they are it is a fantastic sight.


Augsburg is a charming typically German zoo, with a solid bird collection. Be sure not to miss the nocturnal section in the Tiger house and the Slow loris in the Elephant house. For the rest it is a rather straightforward place.

As potential other zoo you could think of Alpenzoo Innsbruck, which is a feasible day trip and has loads of interesting European stuff. Wallcreepers are back on display there and except the reptiles you won't miss much in winter... Definitely a better day out than Augsburg, but slightly further afield.

A bit further away is Wilhelma, which is a very solid all-round collection with interesting old architecture (and 70ies architecture). Still a good zoo to visit in winter, but quite a portion of the birds will be off-display. Kaka are still on-show though (but tend not to be very showy).
 
lintworm said:
In Nuremberg I would advise to start with the Manatee and Desert houses as early as possible, as they fill up quickly. It is also worthwhile to check the Marten enclosure throughout the day (same goes for the other carnivores there), as they are not always active, but when they are it is a fantastic sight.


Augsburg is a charming typically German zoo, with a solid bird collection. Be sure not to miss the nocturnal section in the Tiger house and the Slow loris in the Elephant house. For the rest it is a rather straightforward place.
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lintworm said:
Cross the bridge from the Red panda to the Penguin enclosure and then turn right. You should have the enclosure on your left hand.
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Thanks! Will look out for all of those then

lintworm said:
The Nuremberg Tiergarten is quite good for forest birds (and Red squirrels), with Middle-spotted woodpecker being quite common.
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That's great news, especially as the latter would be a lifer.

lintworm said:
As potential other zoo you could think of Alpenzoo Innsbruck, which is a feasible day trip and has loads of interesting European stuff. Wallcreepers are back on display there and except the reptiles you won't miss much in winter... Definitely a better day out than Augsburg, but slightly further afield.

A bit further away is Wilhelma, which is a very solid all-round collection with interesting old architecture (and 70ies architecture). Still a good zoo to visit in winter, but quite a portion of the birds will be off-display. Kaka are still on-show though (but tend not to be very showy).
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I thought about those two, especially Innsbruck (as Stuttgart is further away) and although I'd love to visit either I fear they are a bit too far (whereas Nürnberg and Augsburg seem to be 1hr/40mins trip single-way each).

Another reason for a push to Augsburg is the Ruby topaz which I haven't seen in TP Berlin and which might be harder to spot in the wild than wallcreeper (neither are easy to see in the wild but I'm way closer to Wallcreeper range than to Ruby topaz range)
 
In general I found that the Munich map totally failed to prepare me for the size of the zoo. I had walked a ring of the perimeter exhibits and thought I was basically done and then when I went to mop up the middle it took me two hours. So that's something to be aware of.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the zoos, especially Augsburg which I haven't visited.
 
Mehdi said:
if there was anything I needed to know about hidden species
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There is one hidden, elusive species that you should be aware of in Bavaria, and that's the Wolpertinger. A close relative of the French dahu and the American jackalope, you might not encounter it in a Bavarian zoo, but more likely in the Bavarian wilderness. Non-Bavarian visitors even have a greater chance to spot one than locals - or so I've been told.

:p:D

On a (slightly) more serious note: in comparison to the zoos in the Ruhr area, travelling from one Bavarian zoo to another might take a bit longer than you'd expect from looking at the map. The A8 Autobahn between Munich and Nuremberg is notorious for long traffic jams. Therefore, I'd plan a day for each zoo and leave early for the road. Furthermorey be aware that this time of the year, the days are rather short in Bavaria.
My highlights of Munich: the Mhorr gazelle exhibit, the bat cave, the giant tortoise exhibit, the old elephant house, the large aviary. There's a good chance to watch wild Common kingfishers within zoo grounds.
My highlights of Nuremberg: the manatee house, the new desert house, the yellow-throated marten exhibit, the bearded vulture aviary and the dolphin lagoon.
Tierpark Nuremberg is a large, good zoo and I'm a fan of its current director's approach. Whether it's world class, is up to the observer.
Nuremberg's Christmas market is worth a visit - your family might want to stay there longer, tasting the local lebkuchen (i.e. gingerbread).
Zoo Augsburg is smaller than the other two, but also offers interesting aspects, such as slower loris, an "old school" bird house and good reptile enclosures. The closeby botanical garden includes one of the finest Japanese gardens outside of Japan.

If you want to visit zoos in Munich's periphery, Wildpark Poing and Vogelpark Olching can be recommended.
And if you're already on your way to Augsburg on a Thursday, you should stop at the village Baindlkirch, which offers the best Bavarian White Sausages in Bavaria, hands down.
 
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Batto said:
On a (slightly) more serious note: in comparison to the zoos in the Ruhr area, travelling from one Bavarian zoo to another might take a bit longer than you'd expect from looking at the map. The A8 Autobahn between Munich and Nuremberg is notorious for long traffic jams. Therefore, I'd plan a day for each zoo and leave early for the road. Furthermorey be aware that this time of the year, the days are rather short in Bavaria.
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Or take the ICE, there are very regular trains between Munich and Nuremberg, which take only 1 hour, might be more expensive than the car, but should definitely be faster (even with DB delays).
 
lintworm said:
Or take the ICE, there are very regular trains between Munich and Nuremberg, which take only 1 hour, might be more expensive than the car, but should definitely be faster (even with DB delays).
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That's exactly what we had planned as we don't plan to rent any car.

Thanks for the piece of advice and suggestions @Batto , will definitely take note of them. The bird house in Augsburg is definitely one of the main reason I want to visit. Poing, Olching and even other zoos like Straubing have all been thought about but were eventually crossed out of the planning list as we truly want to focus on the more important zoos (not having enough time to do all the wonderful zoos in the region)
 
Augsburg is a fantastic medium-sized zoo - if at all possible, do try to get there! Great bird house. Very nice small Reptile House. Handful of other top notch exhibits: buffalo mixed with baboons; otters and beavers; some rather pleasing 80s constructions for cats and African ungulates. New Elephant House coming soon (present one is awful).
 
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