Part of the hippo indoor exhibit inside the Moorish House in Cologne Zoo, Germany. This exhibit is completely inadequate and the most outdated exhibit in the whole zoo. The Moorish House opened in 1863 and is, as far as I have understood, the oldest still functioning animal house in Germany. Inside are stalls for black rhinos, hippos and sitatungas as well as some exhibitions, the most prominent being the 2006 EAZA Rhino Campaign exhibition.
The Moorish House has always functioned as a pachyderm house but the Asian elephants moved to the new Elefantenpark in 2002, the hippos will move to the new Hippodom in 2010 and the last black rhino will also leave soon. After that the Moorish House will be used as a zoo-museum.
July 2009