Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Dresden Zoo Review, 02/08/24
A quick note before this review starts. This will not be a full walkthrough-length review in the same sense as my Burgers’, Antwerp or Zurich reviews for three reasons: one, I am writing while travelling, from the small touch screen of an iPad or phone as opposed to the comfort of my laptop; two, I want to save my appetite for long writing for once I have visited Prague in a few days, of which there will definitely be a walkthrough; and three, a great review already exists from just five years ago, which was posted by Lintworm, thus making an even longer review feel like a slight waste of time.
Again a result of writing from an iPad / phone, there will not be any pictures or a species list attached.
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Located within 13 hectares of the Grosser Garten, the largest park in the city centre, is Zoo Dresden, the fourth oldest zoo in Germany (only Zoo Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne are older), home to around 240 species. The park in which it was located is also noteworthy for the Rudolf-Harbig Stadium, home of SG Dynamo Dresden. Nine-time champions of the DDR-Oberliga (former East German league), they have struggled since the reunification of Germany brought about a united Bundesliga, being relegated to the second division after just four seasons and, three seasons ago, having collapsed even further with a relegation to the third division (in which they finished fourth last year, just five points away from guaranteed promotion). Even still, as cycling into Dresden and passing much evidence of SGD fans, including stickers, posters, and people wearing kits, it is clear to say that the club’s struggles in recent times have not put them off in team, a testament to German football culture.
Football rant over, and back to the review. The first animals at Dresden, a pair of South American Coati, can be seen before even entering the zoo, which, given that the zoo is right opposite a tram station, allows for the entire city to watch them climbing and resting as they pass by. After paying €19 for admission, which was a fairly reasonable price for a zoo of its size, although not a complete bargain either, you pass an outdoor enclosure for Mandrills and enter the Africa House, which is a large glass-roofed hall. With its multiple stories, large size and good use of space (filling the gaps between enclosures with interesting plants, such as mango trees), I thought this was a very good exhibit - perhaps lacking somewhat in free-flying birds, but the many swallows circling the building made up for this with regards to entertainment. Round-eared Sengis and Naked Mole Rats were the first species seen, which yet again left me wondering why zoos don’t ever allow their mole rats to dig, instead providing them a network of glass tunnels, before the indoors for the Mandrills (sizeable with a lot of good climbing) and the indoor African Elephant enclosure. With the many feeders, large offshow portion, sand dunes to roll in and the sheer size of it, this may be one of the best indoor elephant enclosures that I have seen. The outdoors was less impressive, being somewhat small and barren, but the large pool and many hanging feeders made up for it in terms of enrichment. What impressed me the most, however, was Tonga, the zoo’s bull who arrived in late 2020. Not sure that I have ever seen an elephant with such impressive tusks!
Opposite the elephants is the Ring-tailed Lemur walkthrough. Presumably due to the rain, it was closed on my visit, but I still had the most fun that I have ever had watching the species in their indoor area. Watching several lemurs attempting to retrieve food from a hanging water container through all means other than the obvious method of reaching in with their arms (and then making it difficult for any lemurs who did try this by lifting it up onto the branches) was brilliant, and made me realise that, even with how common they are in zoos, this species can still be entertaining. However, what stood out to me the most here was the lack of any obvious means of containment for the lemurs. I feel somewhat foolish for saying this, but I genuinely could not see what was preventing escapees.
A huge rock which appeared to be a former carnivore cage of some description is now a confusing network of tunnels and cages for children to explore, as well as for visitors to climb and use as a view point. Sadly, the Lion enclosure attached to it was a little on the small side, both indoors and outdoors, with little on offer in terms of enrichment as well, barring a very short pole for climbing. Quite possibly the only subpar enclosure in the entire zoo! Nearby is a huge Banded Mongoose enclosure, a very pleasant and spacious Caracal, an average Black-tailed Prairie Dog enclosure, and the former Terrarium, closed to save costs for the opening of the Orangutan-Haus.
My favourite exhibit in this area, however, is the Giraffe Haus, which, with its clean and modern design using wooden planks, is very pleasing to the eyes, and is presumably rather cheap to construct, logical for such a small zoo. As well as offering decent stables for Kordofan Giraffe and Chapmann’s Zebra, it was the first example of the wonderful attention to detail found at Dresden with their enclosures for smaller species through the three fish tanks. One is themed to the Congo Basin and stood out with its Upside-down Catfish, while another is Lake Malawi themed with many cichlids and the third is themed to Lake Tanganyika. They were masterfully crafted in a way that exceeds even the best specialist aquaria, and I only wished that there were more than three. The Giraffe Haus also stands out due to its multi-level viewing, with Gundi in a small terrarium upstairs, while a praying mantis enclosure can be found at the base of the stairs.
Upon leaving the Giraffe Haus are two fairly standard enclosures, both featuring delightful and fairly scarcely kept species - the Chinese Dhole and the North American Porcupine. The former were very active throughout the day but the latter was more reluctant to venture outdoors; until, that was, the keeper laid out some branches with leaves as food, and it picked up the courage to peer outdoors momentarily. Around the corner are four species of caprine; Chinese Goral, West Caucasian Tur, Himalayan Tahr and, the highlight, my first ever Golden Takin. I saw all three takin on two occasions, at first being fed indoors and later in the day outdoors, climbing up the rocks in the centre, briefly clashing heads with one another and resting on the grass - in person, their namesake gold colour is far more pronounced than I had expected it to be! For reference, the four species of caprine here is just one short of the entire UK, and equal to it if Highland Wildlife Park is to be excluded. Another thing to note is that the takin share with Red-crowned Crane.
Past enclosures for Tufted Deer and Pygmy Donkey is what most zoo enthusiasts consider the highlight of the zoo, the bird zone. On the zoo’s map, the bird area forms a column that runs down the centre of the zoo, from the Europäische Kleinvögel (small European birds) aviaries in the north to the Begehbare Flamingovoliere (flamingo walkthrough aviary) in the south. The northern aviaries are what stood out to me the most as they focused very heavily, but not entirely, on native European birds, who are so poorly represented in zoos. It began with a diving ducks aviary featuring underwater viewing, then a sizeable Snowy Owl enclosure, a pair of lovely, shaded aviaries housing my first ever Spotted Nutcrackers, and then finally Eurasian Hawk-owls. All four aviaries are brilliantly designed, with choice boreal vegetation, brilliant landscaping with many hidden creeks, and the very clever use of mock rock. My visit to Dresden was entirely during a very long period of heavy rain, and this was one of the few areas where the rain not only did not hinder my visit, but instead enhanced it, by complimenting the cold-climate vegetation. Sadly, the Tundra walkthrough was closed for the breeding season, although the biggest rarity it houses, the Common Sandpiper, was thankfully visible externally, as it was perched on the door that served as the walthrough’s entrance.
Next in this initial ‘block’ of aviaries is the Ibisvoliere, which, as well as the namesake Southern Bald Ibis, houses some very impressive Yellow-billed and African Openbill Storks, many African Spoonbills, Cattle Egrets and, the highlight for me, my first ever Saddle-billed Stork, a very welcome lifetick as a lover of pelecaniformes and a truly impressive birds, who made for good viewing by lingering at the front of the very long and very well-landscaped aviary. The aviary enclosure in this block is the Geiervoliere (vulture aviary), a large dome-shaped structure that once held Gelada. Birds of prey are so often disrespected in zoos, but this aviary, housing Rüppel’s Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture and Verraux’s Eagle-owl (although I did not see the latter) may well be the best bird of prey aviary that I have ever seen, and is certainly the largest (excluding exhibits like Burgers’ Desert or Beauval’s Hippo Aviary in which birds of prey are not the main focus in a larger walkthrough), rivalled only by the Black Vulture aviary at Chester.
Opposite these huge aviaries are a row of four smaller ones for yet more native European birds (the aforementioned Europäische Kleinvögel aviaries), which were notable due to having the two most significant lifeticks of the visit for me - Common Redstart and White-crowned Wheatear, two closely related, and very rarely seen, native birds, kept in just three and two onshow European zoos respectively. The wheatear made itself very easy to spot, perching on a branch at the back of its aviary for some time before flying elsewhere, while the redstarts (of which Dresden has multiple, scattered throughout a variety of aviaries in this area of the zoo) made themselves much more difficult to see, requiring us to return to these aviaries twice, searching all of them very thoroughly, before one revealed itself among the many goldfinches with whom they share. Both were gorgeously coloured birds and very welcome lifeticks. I also managed to spot Europe’s only captive Ortolan Bunting and had great views of two European Stone-curlews performing what I assume was a courtship dance, but sadly missed out on the Little Bittern (who I imagine is all but impossible to spot among the many reeds in their enclosure) and the Pin-tailed Sangrouse. In terms of exhibitory, all four of these aviaries are very much standard, but they yet again caught my eye with how well-landscaped they are, and how they types of vegetation and rockwork present did so well to represent a cold-climate in a way that so few aviaries do. Other highlights here included Corn Crake and European Bee-eater, as well as a few more diving ducks.
Beyond these aviaries is the newest exhibit at Zoo Dresden, the Orangutan Haus. The most ambitious project in the zoo’s history (costing €22 million to construct), its main focus is the namesake Sumatran Orangutan who share their enclosure with Francois’ Langurs, but other species were present, too. The Orangutan Haus is a circular building in which indoor exhibits can be found in its perimeter with outdoor exhibits in the ‘hollow,’ outdoor centre, that can be traversed by a wooden boardwalk over a small body of water that places enclosures on either side. Architecturally, it wasn’t all too interesting, but was easy on the eyes compared to other modern exhibits at zoos, and was easily recognisable due to the silhouetted orangutans swinging on the Haus’ walls. It began with Binturong, who were generously treated to an indoor area bigger than some zoo’s entire exhibits and an outdoor area big enough and interesting enough with several climbing features that it could easily pass for primates. Then, Indochinese Smooth-coated Otters had a very deep and very clear pool with several rock features for them to swim around, and a huge land portion with natural substrate for them to dig among. The outdoor enclosure, one of two that can be found in the aforementioned centre of the house, is even better, with a huge pool in which two otters could be observed playfighting throughout the day. Then are a few enclosures for reptiles (which, with the unfortunate closure of the Vivarium, is just about all Zoo Dresden has on offer in terms of reptiles), housing Green Tree Monitor, Fiji Banded Iguana, and then a mix of Blue-tongued Skink and Frilled Lizard. And while the species selection was standard enough to leave reptile lovers wishing for more rarities, the enclosure quality was high enough, with great amounts of space, abundant foliage, and lots of areas for the animals to retreat, that my only real wish was that the zoo would have a few more reptile species! They delivered on this front with a Reticulated Python enclosure featuring a large pool, and an Aldabra Giant Tortoise enclosure, sizeable both indoors and outdoors, for three individuals named Hugo II, Hugo III and Hugo IV - the zoo has been naming their giant tortoises ‘Hugo’ since Hugo I and Hugo II arrived together in the seventies, and with the other two who have arrived since the tradition was continued!
The centrepiece of the Haus, however, is of course the orangutans themselves. Five are kept at the zoo, although strangely enough, two youngsters born at the zoo (apologies for not knowing the names) are not being kept with the others in the main house, and instead in the former one, which is a rather unattractive affair with small, barren outdoor cages with rusting walls and decent, but a little lacking in height, indoor ones. Now for two orangs this former house isn’t too bad, but it is significantly worse than the new one and leaves me wondering why these social animals aren’t all living together. For five orangs, however, it would definitely be too small, so I respect Zoo Dresden for being able to recognise what areas of the zoo are substandard and focus on fixing them first before moving onto other projects which, ultimately, are needless improvements on something already excellent (*cough* Zurich *cough*). This new orangutan enclosure, housing the Sumatran species who share with the aforementioned Francois’ Langurs, is outstanding, and may well be the second best orangutan enclosure that I have ever seen after RotRA at Chester. Indeed, there are a fair few similarities between the Dresden and Chester enclosures, with the former in some ways feeling like a scaled down version of the latter. Both manage to address the two most fundamental issues that affect orangutans in zoos - complex social structure and reluctance to live arboreally as they would in the wild - and both do so through the same measures. To address the former, multiple enclosures are provided, with Dresden offering six (four indoors, two outdoors), all of which can be combined and separated (the langurs can enter all six on some days, but on others are confined to their own enclosure). To address the issue of the arboreal lifestyle, Dresden has lined all of the enclosures with mesh, and even the roof, which I assume allows for scatter feeds, just as Chester does. They have many hanging ropes and logs, although manage to strike a nice balance that it doesn’t feel too cluttered, as well as raised platforms immediately in front of visitor viewing windows, in which a variety of food and enrichment items were placed there to encourage the orangs to use it (rather curiously was what appeared to be a pine come dispenser of sorts). With this Orangutan Haus, the Chester comparisons actually run deeper than that - both mix the orangs with another primate species, both feature many reptiles within the house, and both (here referring to Chester as a whole, not just RotRA) excel in providing often disrespected animals with abnormally large spaces (very few otter and binturong enclosures are near as big as those at Dresden). One of the reasons that I enjoyed Dresden so much is that I didn’t know much about it and had no expectations coming into it, so it was bound to surpass what I anticipated. However, with it being so new, opening last June, the Orangutan Haus was the one area that I in fact did expect quite a bit from, and knew a fair bit about preemptively. And yet it still shattered anything that I anticipated from it. If only the species selection was a little more noteworthy, then I can see this being regarded as one of the great European zoo exhibits.
As the Orangutan-Haus is new, I will be uploading images of its enclosures and layout to the ZooChat gallery when I return to London.
Opposite the Orangutan Haus was yet another one of the zoo’s biggest houses, the Professor Brandes Haus. One of many exhibits in continental Europe that is trying to be many things at once, with elements of a reptile house, a rainforest house and a primate house all intertwined, along with a few other additions, for one of the most random, but enjoyable, types of zoo exhibit. You begin with two primate enclosures on either side of the entrance boardwalk, with one housing Lion-tailed Macaques and the other housing one of Dresden’s few significant mammal rarities, the Red Howler. The outdoor islands are huge, well-planted and offer great height in terms of climbing, but sadly, the primates had more common sense than I did and chose instead to shelter from the rain. Indoors, the enclosures are also very good, allowing the animals to reach great heights, and it was in here that, thankfully, I managed to see the howlers! Past these, some Crowned Lemurs, and another indoor enclosure, in which I could only locate unsigned Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (in a group of four, very large for hornbills in zoos), although I would later find out that it also holds the scarcely kept Javan Chevrotain, is the main rainforest hall section of the house. Sadly, the only free-ranging species here are Two-toed Sloth and Crested Wood Partridge, and I could not help but feel that free-flying birds would be very welcome (at first, I dismissed this as a result of having an open-topped crocodilian enclosure, but that didn’t deter Hagenbeck, Paignton or other zoos from doing the same). Even still, seeing the three most active sloths that I have ever seen in zoos make great use of the network of branches and ropes (it even has an outdoor area) made up for it. The highlight of this area, for me, was the False Gharial, the biggest individual of his species that I have ever seen by far, although Dresden is no stranger to big crocodiles, as his enclosure was once home to ‘Max,’ a Saltwater Crocodile and one of the biggest in Europe. The pool was very deep and clear, and did make me wish that the downstairs portion would include underwater viewing! The downstairs portion in question was where the lack of free-flying birds was most agitating, as it is where you are most immersed in the foliage and rockwork, although there were two nice mixed exhibits, one for Southern Tamandua and White-faced Sakis, and another for Emperor Tamarin and Three-banded Armadillo.
Back upstairs is the indoor area for Kikuyu Colobus (whose enclosure is similar to those for the howlers and macaques), as well as a row of very small terrariums, predominately for invertebrates but with a few amphibians. The two species that stood out the most were Blue-winged Grasshopper (I had no clue that grasshoppers of any species grew so big) and Land Hermit Crab, the latter being a species that I had longed to see for some time. The stars of the Professor Brandes Haus are the Northern Koalas, among the very few in Europe. This marked my sixth time seeing koalas, which I tend to find is, unless the animals are particularly active or interesting, around the time when you begin to take them for granted. And, sadly, koalas are as far from active as it comes, so I didn’t spend all too long watching them here, although I did like their enclosure and it is always nice to see such an iconic species that, just a few decades ago, was nowhere to be found in Europe.
Just outside is a row of aviary-like structures for the cold-climate inhabitants of Central Asia. The star animals here are Snow Leopards. After seeing them on the map, and realising that their enclosure was among a row of aviaries, I expected to see a classic example of a large cage-like box with a few climbing platforms. So often zoos give snow leopards (and for that matter, leopards, jaguars and clouded leopards as well) such unusually substandard enclosures for such a large and popular species, and as such any exceptions to this, such as the wonderful enclosures of Zurich and Highland Wildlife Park, become enthusiast favourites and are widely discussed. And while the Dresden enclosure isn’t on the same level as any of those, it is probably the third best snow leopard enclosure that I have seen by some margin. It is indeed aviary-like, only that the aviaries are huge and are walled with large rock outcrops for climbing, littered with caves, dens and bushes, that did remind me of a scaled down and netted over version of the Zurich enclosure. With that, the Prof. Brandes Haus, the Orangutan Haus, the European aviaries, the caprines and the Giraffe Haus, Dresden was on a strong run of excellent exhibits that exceeded anything I expected from this small zoo. And while nothing else in the rest of the collection would really live up to these highs, there would be no major letdowns either. A decent Yellow-throated Marten enclosure, a few small aviaries and a Swinhoe’s Squirrel enclosure followed, although I only managed to find a single bamboo partridge between all the aviaries (by this time the rain was getting much heavier).
By now, I decided to stop for lunch at the Penguin Cafe, named such due to providing a view of the Humboldt Penguins nearby. Although the penguin pool was very deep (which I believe is far more important than area, due to it being the most significant factor in whether or not the penguins can dive and porpoise), the land area did look a little small. Not that this mattered, because all the penguins were in the pool, without any exceptions, which I find is strangely a rare sight in zoos. Nearby, a pair of Cheetahs (a species that I didn’t even realise Dresden held until seeing two large cats in the distance while eating lunch, so was pleasantly surprised by) were by far the most active that I had ever seen them, which was strange, as it was a rainy midday and they weren’t being fed for quite some time. A pair of pleasant enclosures, with their house being one of the very few traditional, as opposed to modern, zoo buildings at Dresden, and it made for a very nice backdrop. Nearby were four very impressive cattle species: Ankole Watusi, Javan Banteng and Congo Dwarf Buffalo. Both the banteng and buffalo had calves who were very nice to watch, and although their enclosures were ultimately simple, sandy yards with occasional pasture and some nice bushes, I thought they got the job done. Strangely, the buffalo house had an offshow aviary attached to it, one of many examples of such a thing that I found on my visit to Dresden.
I was impressed by the size of the Red Panda and Bat-eared Fox enclosures, especially the latter, although as a result of its area, and the poor weather, the foxes proved impossible to locate. Beyond the meerkats and a few domestics is what I was surprised to learn is in fact the largest enclosure at Dresden Zoo by area, an Asian plains-themed exhibit for Nilgai and Hog Deer. A very attractive large field with some very attractive hoofstock is not something to complain about, although I did not expect it to be bigger than the elephant enclosure! Right besides them are Bactrian Camels in a fairly standard yard, although I could not help but wonder why the zoo didn’t add the camels to the mix as well. Between those two enclosures is ‘Zoo unter der Erde,’ which essentially means an underground zoo. Upon seeing this on the map, I was of course very curious to see what it entailed, and I did rather enjoy it. Dimly lit, with some enclosures impersonating what I suspect are sewage systems or train tunnels, which combined with being surrounded by amphibians, insects and rodents could make this quite the uncanny experience for more phobic visitors. Although I did find some of the enclosures a little too small, the atmosphere and character of this place was quite special. Regrettably, the two biggest rarities in here (Etruscan Shrew and Brongersma’s Toad) did not reveal themselves, but great views of European Harvest Mouse and Ribbed Newt made up for it.
The remaining exhibits at Dresden is the lower half of the bird zone from area. Although slightly less interesting than the previous zone, without the focus on European species, much less impressive landscaping. Unfortunately, due to the rain, I also missed some of the more interesting species in the smaller aviaries, including Yellow-necked Spurfowl and a few other fairly interesting species. What is most interesting in this area were the walkthroughs, of which there are two for birds and one for slightly out-of-place Red Kangaroos. The Kirk’s Dik-dik and Grey-crowned Crane walkthrough, with a few small ducks living with them, was delightful and very well-designed. The Caribbean Flamingo, Roseate Spoonbill and Scarlet Ibis aviary, again with a few noteworthy ducks, was huge, and it is always nice to be in a walkthrough with flamingos, who aren’t displayed in such a way often enough, especially as it has the added benefit of offering the flamingos flight. However, I did find most of these aviaries rather standard, with the exception of the spurfowl and Long-tailed Fiscal aviary, due to Dresden being one of just two European holders of the latter! I was delighted to have no issue seeing the fiscals, with several perched and others flying in and out of their indoor area. Around here, I found the only area that I had missed from earlier, an undulating Vicuña and Darwin’s Rhea mix, which concluded my visit to Dresden Zoo.
Before visiting Zoo Dresden, while enjoying my hotel buffet for breakfast, I had an exciting realisation that I was about to visit a zoo that I knew next to nothing about. For the first time in many years, I had avoided any pictures of the zoo and, for that matter, any spoilers at all other than a brief look at Zootierliste to see what rarities I had to look out for, and at the news thread to see if there were any recent births, and to query about how long a visit would take. I did, however, know not to expect much. I was aware that Dresden as a city was sadly damaged severely during the war, and suspected that this impacted the zoo (I was correct here - only 20 animals survived the bombings, and it is quite remarkable that this zoo even still exists!). I knew also that German zoos are often closely linked to, or even operated by, the city, which leads to much income for subsidies, but I was not entirely sure whether this was also the case in East Germany, which Zoo Dresden was part of during its recovery after the war. Learning that the Vivarium had to be closed to save enough money for Orangutan-Haus construction lowered my hopes further. Expectations, and how the real thing compares to them, is decisive in terms of one’s enjoyment of everything in life, not just zoos, and my low expectations of Dresden absolutely helped its case. I absolutely adored it. Within the restricting area of an urban zoo, it cares for a sizeable collection of large ungulates and carnivores, even with elephants, and with the exception of the lions (whose enclosure isn’t even that bad), no animals receive bad enclosures as a result. There is a heavy emphasis on native animals, an excellent ability to use regional plants and coloured rocks in landscaping, and a surprising level of ambition for a zoo with its budget. I got several lifeticks among the smaller species, but also got great enjoyment from the old favourites who were all displayed well here. While the aforementioned expectations may have been a factor here, I truly believe that (as far as zoos that I have visited go), Dresden is better than Magdeburg, Paris, Hagenbeck, Colchester and Cotswold among other enthusiast-favourites, and isn’t far off Antwerp or Whipsnade level. I would genuinely regard it as one of the best zoos that I have ever visited and cannot recommend a visit enough.
A quick note before this review starts. This will not be a full walkthrough-length review in the same sense as my Burgers’, Antwerp or Zurich reviews for three reasons: one, I am writing while travelling, from the small touch screen of an iPad or phone as opposed to the comfort of my laptop; two, I want to save my appetite for long writing for once I have visited Prague in a few days, of which there will definitely be a walkthrough; and three, a great review already exists from just five years ago, which was posted by Lintworm, thus making an even longer review feel like a slight waste of time.
Again a result of writing from an iPad / phone, there will not be any pictures or a species list attached.
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Located within 13 hectares of the Grosser Garten, the largest park in the city centre, is Zoo Dresden, the fourth oldest zoo in Germany (only Zoo Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne are older), home to around 240 species. The park in which it was located is also noteworthy for the Rudolf-Harbig Stadium, home of SG Dynamo Dresden. Nine-time champions of the DDR-Oberliga (former East German league), they have struggled since the reunification of Germany brought about a united Bundesliga, being relegated to the second division after just four seasons and, three seasons ago, having collapsed even further with a relegation to the third division (in which they finished fourth last year, just five points away from guaranteed promotion). Even still, as cycling into Dresden and passing much evidence of SGD fans, including stickers, posters, and people wearing kits, it is clear to say that the club’s struggles in recent times have not put them off in team, a testament to German football culture.
Football rant over, and back to the review. The first animals at Dresden, a pair of South American Coati, can be seen before even entering the zoo, which, given that the zoo is right opposite a tram station, allows for the entire city to watch them climbing and resting as they pass by. After paying €19 for admission, which was a fairly reasonable price for a zoo of its size, although not a complete bargain either, you pass an outdoor enclosure for Mandrills and enter the Africa House, which is a large glass-roofed hall. With its multiple stories, large size and good use of space (filling the gaps between enclosures with interesting plants, such as mango trees), I thought this was a very good exhibit - perhaps lacking somewhat in free-flying birds, but the many swallows circling the building made up for this with regards to entertainment. Round-eared Sengis and Naked Mole Rats were the first species seen, which yet again left me wondering why zoos don’t ever allow their mole rats to dig, instead providing them a network of glass tunnels, before the indoors for the Mandrills (sizeable with a lot of good climbing) and the indoor African Elephant enclosure. With the many feeders, large offshow portion, sand dunes to roll in and the sheer size of it, this may be one of the best indoor elephant enclosures that I have seen. The outdoors was less impressive, being somewhat small and barren, but the large pool and many hanging feeders made up for it in terms of enrichment. What impressed me the most, however, was Tonga, the zoo’s bull who arrived in late 2020. Not sure that I have ever seen an elephant with such impressive tusks!
Opposite the elephants is the Ring-tailed Lemur walkthrough. Presumably due to the rain, it was closed on my visit, but I still had the most fun that I have ever had watching the species in their indoor area. Watching several lemurs attempting to retrieve food from a hanging water container through all means other than the obvious method of reaching in with their arms (and then making it difficult for any lemurs who did try this by lifting it up onto the branches) was brilliant, and made me realise that, even with how common they are in zoos, this species can still be entertaining. However, what stood out to me the most here was the lack of any obvious means of containment for the lemurs. I feel somewhat foolish for saying this, but I genuinely could not see what was preventing escapees.
A huge rock which appeared to be a former carnivore cage of some description is now a confusing network of tunnels and cages for children to explore, as well as for visitors to climb and use as a view point. Sadly, the Lion enclosure attached to it was a little on the small side, both indoors and outdoors, with little on offer in terms of enrichment as well, barring a very short pole for climbing. Quite possibly the only subpar enclosure in the entire zoo! Nearby is a huge Banded Mongoose enclosure, a very pleasant and spacious Caracal, an average Black-tailed Prairie Dog enclosure, and the former Terrarium, closed to save costs for the opening of the Orangutan-Haus.
My favourite exhibit in this area, however, is the Giraffe Haus, which, with its clean and modern design using wooden planks, is very pleasing to the eyes, and is presumably rather cheap to construct, logical for such a small zoo. As well as offering decent stables for Kordofan Giraffe and Chapmann’s Zebra, it was the first example of the wonderful attention to detail found at Dresden with their enclosures for smaller species through the three fish tanks. One is themed to the Congo Basin and stood out with its Upside-down Catfish, while another is Lake Malawi themed with many cichlids and the third is themed to Lake Tanganyika. They were masterfully crafted in a way that exceeds even the best specialist aquaria, and I only wished that there were more than three. The Giraffe Haus also stands out due to its multi-level viewing, with Gundi in a small terrarium upstairs, while a praying mantis enclosure can be found at the base of the stairs.
Upon leaving the Giraffe Haus are two fairly standard enclosures, both featuring delightful and fairly scarcely kept species - the Chinese Dhole and the North American Porcupine. The former were very active throughout the day but the latter was more reluctant to venture outdoors; until, that was, the keeper laid out some branches with leaves as food, and it picked up the courage to peer outdoors momentarily. Around the corner are four species of caprine; Chinese Goral, West Caucasian Tur, Himalayan Tahr and, the highlight, my first ever Golden Takin. I saw all three takin on two occasions, at first being fed indoors and later in the day outdoors, climbing up the rocks in the centre, briefly clashing heads with one another and resting on the grass - in person, their namesake gold colour is far more pronounced than I had expected it to be! For reference, the four species of caprine here is just one short of the entire UK, and equal to it if Highland Wildlife Park is to be excluded. Another thing to note is that the takin share with Red-crowned Crane.
Past enclosures for Tufted Deer and Pygmy Donkey is what most zoo enthusiasts consider the highlight of the zoo, the bird zone. On the zoo’s map, the bird area forms a column that runs down the centre of the zoo, from the Europäische Kleinvögel (small European birds) aviaries in the north to the Begehbare Flamingovoliere (flamingo walkthrough aviary) in the south. The northern aviaries are what stood out to me the most as they focused very heavily, but not entirely, on native European birds, who are so poorly represented in zoos. It began with a diving ducks aviary featuring underwater viewing, then a sizeable Snowy Owl enclosure, a pair of lovely, shaded aviaries housing my first ever Spotted Nutcrackers, and then finally Eurasian Hawk-owls. All four aviaries are brilliantly designed, with choice boreal vegetation, brilliant landscaping with many hidden creeks, and the very clever use of mock rock. My visit to Dresden was entirely during a very long period of heavy rain, and this was one of the few areas where the rain not only did not hinder my visit, but instead enhanced it, by complimenting the cold-climate vegetation. Sadly, the Tundra walkthrough was closed for the breeding season, although the biggest rarity it houses, the Common Sandpiper, was thankfully visible externally, as it was perched on the door that served as the walthrough’s entrance.
Next in this initial ‘block’ of aviaries is the Ibisvoliere, which, as well as the namesake Southern Bald Ibis, houses some very impressive Yellow-billed and African Openbill Storks, many African Spoonbills, Cattle Egrets and, the highlight for me, my first ever Saddle-billed Stork, a very welcome lifetick as a lover of pelecaniformes and a truly impressive birds, who made for good viewing by lingering at the front of the very long and very well-landscaped aviary. The aviary enclosure in this block is the Geiervoliere (vulture aviary), a large dome-shaped structure that once held Gelada. Birds of prey are so often disrespected in zoos, but this aviary, housing Rüppel’s Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture and Verraux’s Eagle-owl (although I did not see the latter) may well be the best bird of prey aviary that I have ever seen, and is certainly the largest (excluding exhibits like Burgers’ Desert or Beauval’s Hippo Aviary in which birds of prey are not the main focus in a larger walkthrough), rivalled only by the Black Vulture aviary at Chester.
Opposite these huge aviaries are a row of four smaller ones for yet more native European birds (the aforementioned Europäische Kleinvögel aviaries), which were notable due to having the two most significant lifeticks of the visit for me - Common Redstart and White-crowned Wheatear, two closely related, and very rarely seen, native birds, kept in just three and two onshow European zoos respectively. The wheatear made itself very easy to spot, perching on a branch at the back of its aviary for some time before flying elsewhere, while the redstarts (of which Dresden has multiple, scattered throughout a variety of aviaries in this area of the zoo) made themselves much more difficult to see, requiring us to return to these aviaries twice, searching all of them very thoroughly, before one revealed itself among the many goldfinches with whom they share. Both were gorgeously coloured birds and very welcome lifeticks. I also managed to spot Europe’s only captive Ortolan Bunting and had great views of two European Stone-curlews performing what I assume was a courtship dance, but sadly missed out on the Little Bittern (who I imagine is all but impossible to spot among the many reeds in their enclosure) and the Pin-tailed Sangrouse. In terms of exhibitory, all four of these aviaries are very much standard, but they yet again caught my eye with how well-landscaped they are, and how they types of vegetation and rockwork present did so well to represent a cold-climate in a way that so few aviaries do. Other highlights here included Corn Crake and European Bee-eater, as well as a few more diving ducks.
Beyond these aviaries is the newest exhibit at Zoo Dresden, the Orangutan Haus. The most ambitious project in the zoo’s history (costing €22 million to construct), its main focus is the namesake Sumatran Orangutan who share their enclosure with Francois’ Langurs, but other species were present, too. The Orangutan Haus is a circular building in which indoor exhibits can be found in its perimeter with outdoor exhibits in the ‘hollow,’ outdoor centre, that can be traversed by a wooden boardwalk over a small body of water that places enclosures on either side. Architecturally, it wasn’t all too interesting, but was easy on the eyes compared to other modern exhibits at zoos, and was easily recognisable due to the silhouetted orangutans swinging on the Haus’ walls. It began with Binturong, who were generously treated to an indoor area bigger than some zoo’s entire exhibits and an outdoor area big enough and interesting enough with several climbing features that it could easily pass for primates. Then, Indochinese Smooth-coated Otters had a very deep and very clear pool with several rock features for them to swim around, and a huge land portion with natural substrate for them to dig among. The outdoor enclosure, one of two that can be found in the aforementioned centre of the house, is even better, with a huge pool in which two otters could be observed playfighting throughout the day. Then are a few enclosures for reptiles (which, with the unfortunate closure of the Vivarium, is just about all Zoo Dresden has on offer in terms of reptiles), housing Green Tree Monitor, Fiji Banded Iguana, and then a mix of Blue-tongued Skink and Frilled Lizard. And while the species selection was standard enough to leave reptile lovers wishing for more rarities, the enclosure quality was high enough, with great amounts of space, abundant foliage, and lots of areas for the animals to retreat, that my only real wish was that the zoo would have a few more reptile species! They delivered on this front with a Reticulated Python enclosure featuring a large pool, and an Aldabra Giant Tortoise enclosure, sizeable both indoors and outdoors, for three individuals named Hugo II, Hugo III and Hugo IV - the zoo has been naming their giant tortoises ‘Hugo’ since Hugo I and Hugo II arrived together in the seventies, and with the other two who have arrived since the tradition was continued!
The centrepiece of the Haus, however, is of course the orangutans themselves. Five are kept at the zoo, although strangely enough, two youngsters born at the zoo (apologies for not knowing the names) are not being kept with the others in the main house, and instead in the former one, which is a rather unattractive affair with small, barren outdoor cages with rusting walls and decent, but a little lacking in height, indoor ones. Now for two orangs this former house isn’t too bad, but it is significantly worse than the new one and leaves me wondering why these social animals aren’t all living together. For five orangs, however, it would definitely be too small, so I respect Zoo Dresden for being able to recognise what areas of the zoo are substandard and focus on fixing them first before moving onto other projects which, ultimately, are needless improvements on something already excellent (*cough* Zurich *cough*). This new orangutan enclosure, housing the Sumatran species who share with the aforementioned Francois’ Langurs, is outstanding, and may well be the second best orangutan enclosure that I have ever seen after RotRA at Chester. Indeed, there are a fair few similarities between the Dresden and Chester enclosures, with the former in some ways feeling like a scaled down version of the latter. Both manage to address the two most fundamental issues that affect orangutans in zoos - complex social structure and reluctance to live arboreally as they would in the wild - and both do so through the same measures. To address the former, multiple enclosures are provided, with Dresden offering six (four indoors, two outdoors), all of which can be combined and separated (the langurs can enter all six on some days, but on others are confined to their own enclosure). To address the issue of the arboreal lifestyle, Dresden has lined all of the enclosures with mesh, and even the roof, which I assume allows for scatter feeds, just as Chester does. They have many hanging ropes and logs, although manage to strike a nice balance that it doesn’t feel too cluttered, as well as raised platforms immediately in front of visitor viewing windows, in which a variety of food and enrichment items were placed there to encourage the orangs to use it (rather curiously was what appeared to be a pine come dispenser of sorts). With this Orangutan Haus, the Chester comparisons actually run deeper than that - both mix the orangs with another primate species, both feature many reptiles within the house, and both (here referring to Chester as a whole, not just RotRA) excel in providing often disrespected animals with abnormally large spaces (very few otter and binturong enclosures are near as big as those at Dresden). One of the reasons that I enjoyed Dresden so much is that I didn’t know much about it and had no expectations coming into it, so it was bound to surpass what I anticipated. However, with it being so new, opening last June, the Orangutan Haus was the one area that I in fact did expect quite a bit from, and knew a fair bit about preemptively. And yet it still shattered anything that I anticipated from it. If only the species selection was a little more noteworthy, then I can see this being regarded as one of the great European zoo exhibits.
As the Orangutan-Haus is new, I will be uploading images of its enclosures and layout to the ZooChat gallery when I return to London.
Opposite the Orangutan Haus was yet another one of the zoo’s biggest houses, the Professor Brandes Haus. One of many exhibits in continental Europe that is trying to be many things at once, with elements of a reptile house, a rainforest house and a primate house all intertwined, along with a few other additions, for one of the most random, but enjoyable, types of zoo exhibit. You begin with two primate enclosures on either side of the entrance boardwalk, with one housing Lion-tailed Macaques and the other housing one of Dresden’s few significant mammal rarities, the Red Howler. The outdoor islands are huge, well-planted and offer great height in terms of climbing, but sadly, the primates had more common sense than I did and chose instead to shelter from the rain. Indoors, the enclosures are also very good, allowing the animals to reach great heights, and it was in here that, thankfully, I managed to see the howlers! Past these, some Crowned Lemurs, and another indoor enclosure, in which I could only locate unsigned Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (in a group of four, very large for hornbills in zoos), although I would later find out that it also holds the scarcely kept Javan Chevrotain, is the main rainforest hall section of the house. Sadly, the only free-ranging species here are Two-toed Sloth and Crested Wood Partridge, and I could not help but feel that free-flying birds would be very welcome (at first, I dismissed this as a result of having an open-topped crocodilian enclosure, but that didn’t deter Hagenbeck, Paignton or other zoos from doing the same). Even still, seeing the three most active sloths that I have ever seen in zoos make great use of the network of branches and ropes (it even has an outdoor area) made up for it. The highlight of this area, for me, was the False Gharial, the biggest individual of his species that I have ever seen by far, although Dresden is no stranger to big crocodiles, as his enclosure was once home to ‘Max,’ a Saltwater Crocodile and one of the biggest in Europe. The pool was very deep and clear, and did make me wish that the downstairs portion would include underwater viewing! The downstairs portion in question was where the lack of free-flying birds was most agitating, as it is where you are most immersed in the foliage and rockwork, although there were two nice mixed exhibits, one for Southern Tamandua and White-faced Sakis, and another for Emperor Tamarin and Three-banded Armadillo.
Back upstairs is the indoor area for Kikuyu Colobus (whose enclosure is similar to those for the howlers and macaques), as well as a row of very small terrariums, predominately for invertebrates but with a few amphibians. The two species that stood out the most were Blue-winged Grasshopper (I had no clue that grasshoppers of any species grew so big) and Land Hermit Crab, the latter being a species that I had longed to see for some time. The stars of the Professor Brandes Haus are the Northern Koalas, among the very few in Europe. This marked my sixth time seeing koalas, which I tend to find is, unless the animals are particularly active or interesting, around the time when you begin to take them for granted. And, sadly, koalas are as far from active as it comes, so I didn’t spend all too long watching them here, although I did like their enclosure and it is always nice to see such an iconic species that, just a few decades ago, was nowhere to be found in Europe.
Just outside is a row of aviary-like structures for the cold-climate inhabitants of Central Asia. The star animals here are Snow Leopards. After seeing them on the map, and realising that their enclosure was among a row of aviaries, I expected to see a classic example of a large cage-like box with a few climbing platforms. So often zoos give snow leopards (and for that matter, leopards, jaguars and clouded leopards as well) such unusually substandard enclosures for such a large and popular species, and as such any exceptions to this, such as the wonderful enclosures of Zurich and Highland Wildlife Park, become enthusiast favourites and are widely discussed. And while the Dresden enclosure isn’t on the same level as any of those, it is probably the third best snow leopard enclosure that I have seen by some margin. It is indeed aviary-like, only that the aviaries are huge and are walled with large rock outcrops for climbing, littered with caves, dens and bushes, that did remind me of a scaled down and netted over version of the Zurich enclosure. With that, the Prof. Brandes Haus, the Orangutan Haus, the European aviaries, the caprines and the Giraffe Haus, Dresden was on a strong run of excellent exhibits that exceeded anything I expected from this small zoo. And while nothing else in the rest of the collection would really live up to these highs, there would be no major letdowns either. A decent Yellow-throated Marten enclosure, a few small aviaries and a Swinhoe’s Squirrel enclosure followed, although I only managed to find a single bamboo partridge between all the aviaries (by this time the rain was getting much heavier).
By now, I decided to stop for lunch at the Penguin Cafe, named such due to providing a view of the Humboldt Penguins nearby. Although the penguin pool was very deep (which I believe is far more important than area, due to it being the most significant factor in whether or not the penguins can dive and porpoise), the land area did look a little small. Not that this mattered, because all the penguins were in the pool, without any exceptions, which I find is strangely a rare sight in zoos. Nearby, a pair of Cheetahs (a species that I didn’t even realise Dresden held until seeing two large cats in the distance while eating lunch, so was pleasantly surprised by) were by far the most active that I had ever seen them, which was strange, as it was a rainy midday and they weren’t being fed for quite some time. A pair of pleasant enclosures, with their house being one of the very few traditional, as opposed to modern, zoo buildings at Dresden, and it made for a very nice backdrop. Nearby were four very impressive cattle species: Ankole Watusi, Javan Banteng and Congo Dwarf Buffalo. Both the banteng and buffalo had calves who were very nice to watch, and although their enclosures were ultimately simple, sandy yards with occasional pasture and some nice bushes, I thought they got the job done. Strangely, the buffalo house had an offshow aviary attached to it, one of many examples of such a thing that I found on my visit to Dresden.
I was impressed by the size of the Red Panda and Bat-eared Fox enclosures, especially the latter, although as a result of its area, and the poor weather, the foxes proved impossible to locate. Beyond the meerkats and a few domestics is what I was surprised to learn is in fact the largest enclosure at Dresden Zoo by area, an Asian plains-themed exhibit for Nilgai and Hog Deer. A very attractive large field with some very attractive hoofstock is not something to complain about, although I did not expect it to be bigger than the elephant enclosure! Right besides them are Bactrian Camels in a fairly standard yard, although I could not help but wonder why the zoo didn’t add the camels to the mix as well. Between those two enclosures is ‘Zoo unter der Erde,’ which essentially means an underground zoo. Upon seeing this on the map, I was of course very curious to see what it entailed, and I did rather enjoy it. Dimly lit, with some enclosures impersonating what I suspect are sewage systems or train tunnels, which combined with being surrounded by amphibians, insects and rodents could make this quite the uncanny experience for more phobic visitors. Although I did find some of the enclosures a little too small, the atmosphere and character of this place was quite special. Regrettably, the two biggest rarities in here (Etruscan Shrew and Brongersma’s Toad) did not reveal themselves, but great views of European Harvest Mouse and Ribbed Newt made up for it.
The remaining exhibits at Dresden is the lower half of the bird zone from area. Although slightly less interesting than the previous zone, without the focus on European species, much less impressive landscaping. Unfortunately, due to the rain, I also missed some of the more interesting species in the smaller aviaries, including Yellow-necked Spurfowl and a few other fairly interesting species. What is most interesting in this area were the walkthroughs, of which there are two for birds and one for slightly out-of-place Red Kangaroos. The Kirk’s Dik-dik and Grey-crowned Crane walkthrough, with a few small ducks living with them, was delightful and very well-designed. The Caribbean Flamingo, Roseate Spoonbill and Scarlet Ibis aviary, again with a few noteworthy ducks, was huge, and it is always nice to be in a walkthrough with flamingos, who aren’t displayed in such a way often enough, especially as it has the added benefit of offering the flamingos flight. However, I did find most of these aviaries rather standard, with the exception of the spurfowl and Long-tailed Fiscal aviary, due to Dresden being one of just two European holders of the latter! I was delighted to have no issue seeing the fiscals, with several perched and others flying in and out of their indoor area. Around here, I found the only area that I had missed from earlier, an undulating Vicuña and Darwin’s Rhea mix, which concluded my visit to Dresden Zoo.
Before visiting Zoo Dresden, while enjoying my hotel buffet for breakfast, I had an exciting realisation that I was about to visit a zoo that I knew next to nothing about. For the first time in many years, I had avoided any pictures of the zoo and, for that matter, any spoilers at all other than a brief look at Zootierliste to see what rarities I had to look out for, and at the news thread to see if there were any recent births, and to query about how long a visit would take. I did, however, know not to expect much. I was aware that Dresden as a city was sadly damaged severely during the war, and suspected that this impacted the zoo (I was correct here - only 20 animals survived the bombings, and it is quite remarkable that this zoo even still exists!). I knew also that German zoos are often closely linked to, or even operated by, the city, which leads to much income for subsidies, but I was not entirely sure whether this was also the case in East Germany, which Zoo Dresden was part of during its recovery after the war. Learning that the Vivarium had to be closed to save enough money for Orangutan-Haus construction lowered my hopes further. Expectations, and how the real thing compares to them, is decisive in terms of one’s enjoyment of everything in life, not just zoos, and my low expectations of Dresden absolutely helped its case. I absolutely adored it. Within the restricting area of an urban zoo, it cares for a sizeable collection of large ungulates and carnivores, even with elephants, and with the exception of the lions (whose enclosure isn’t even that bad), no animals receive bad enclosures as a result. There is a heavy emphasis on native animals, an excellent ability to use regional plants and coloured rocks in landscaping, and a surprising level of ambition for a zoo with its budget. I got several lifeticks among the smaller species, but also got great enjoyment from the old favourites who were all displayed well here. While the aforementioned expectations may have been a factor here, I truly believe that (as far as zoos that I have visited go), Dresden is better than Magdeburg, Paris, Hagenbeck, Colchester and Cotswold among other enthusiast-favourites, and isn’t far off Antwerp or Whipsnade level. I would genuinely regard it as one of the best zoos that I have ever visited and cannot recommend a visit enough.
