No, all exhibits seen from the boat are also viewable on foot. And what a nice variety is exhibited: black rhino, giraffe, hippo, flamingos, zebra, kudu, impala, gazelle, pelicans, cranes, storks, addax, Somali wild ass, lion (distant). A great experience from both perspectives; far better designed than--it appears--the new boat ride in Singapore.
I have posted many comments on photos today due to the fact that I'm enormously intrigued by this German establishment. A zoo nerd friend of mine has a detailed review in the latest issue of Zoo Grapevine and he praised the zoo but also didn't really seem to enjoy it very much for a whole host of reasons. I've got a close friend in the United States who has also seen hundreds of zoos and he told me that Hannover is close to being one of Europe's 10 best zoos. The themed sections seem to have a love-hate relationship with various zoo aficionados who are both people I respect and so now I'm not sure what to make of the place. Is it possibly one of the top 10-15 zoos on the continent or is it full of "infantile theming"? From photos on ZooChat it seems to me that there are some very dodgy exhibits (orangutans, gorillas, possibly elephants) but that overall it is a very impressive and modern zoo. I'm not a fan of boat rides but if all of the animals can be seen on foot then that is great news. Disney take note!
Is it possibly one of the top 10-15 zoos on the continent or is it full of "infantile theming"? From photos on ZooChat it seems to me that there are some very dodgy exhibits (orangutans, gorillas, possibly elephants) but that overall it is a very impressive and modern zoo. I'm not a fan of boat rides but if all of the animals can be seen on foot then that is great news. Disney take note!
I understand the reviewer's perspective, and agree with large parts of the review, but I actually quite liked much of the newer theming. I liked the way that you can hardly find a 20-metre stretch of the walking route in the newer parts of the zoo which didn't have little shortcuts or mini-walkways designed for children. I liked the eye-level view the boat ride gives of the animals you've been looking down on from the walkway. My personal experience of American zoos is very limited, but I feel that Hannover is the one that shows that these massive, multi-million dollar, arguably over-the-top exhibits can repeatedly be done in Europe too. I imagine that this will always be controversial.
A zoo nerd friend of mine has a detailed review in the latest issue of Zoo Grapevine and he praised the zoo but also didn't really seem to enjoy it very much for a whole host of reasons.... Is it possibly one of the top 10-15 zoos on the continent or is it full of "infantile theming"?
I would say that I wholly agree with the article to which you refer!
I think the point being made in that article was that, animal-wise, Hannover is a combination of the very good, the mediocre, and the slightly dodgy - as is probably the case with most zoos, to be fair.
The discussion was of the way in which the zoo has been themed, and, specifically, the way in which that theming has taken on an explicitly ethnographic favour, in contrast to, say, Valencia and Paris where the suggestion of different continents is largely achieved through horticulture and fauna alone.
In the Grapevine article, two main objections were raised against this ethnographic theming.
The first of these is that, in places, it is, at best, patronising and, at worst, something rather worse than that: an Africa of mud huts, crumbling walls, and crude drawings of smiling black people; an "India" of ruined jungle palaces and so on.
The second objection was that, in places, the animals become secondary to the ersatz theming that surrounds them: the 'jungle cruise' is more important than the impala; the 'loading crane' dominates the polar bears and so on. For me, the animals should always be primary.
The article does acknowledge that its writer's views are personal - and that other opinions are most certainly not only available, but equally valid.
Despite accepting a multiplicity of opinions, I think I'd struggle to understand anyone's placing this zoo at the forefront of European establishments, however.
Nice responses! Glancing through maps and photos it seems that the two German zoos Hannover and ZOOM share some similarities. Both have seen massive financial investment during the past decade; both have similar geographical zones (Africa, Asia and then Yukon Bay/Alaska); both utilize modern designs such as mock-rock backdrops and moated sightlines; and both are for the most part well-regarded and extremely popular with the general public. Anthony Sheridan places them highly in his book What Zoos Can Do so the facilities must be great!
I've heard mention that both Hannover and ZOOM are somewhat "Americanized" in terms of the multi-million dollar complexes but it seems to me that the big guns in the world of European zoos perhaps spend just as much revamping and modernizing animal habitats. In terms of theming it can leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many zoo nerds. On a personal level I've never really given high praise to the many "ruined temple" themed exhibits that I've come across in innumerable American zoos and I'd take grass and vines over crumbling cement blocks any day of the week. The worst example in the U.S. of an over-the-top, $61 million themed monstrosity is "Texas Wild!" at Fort Worth Zoo. There are some really neat aspects to that Wild West Town (mini nocturnal house, underwater viewing areas) but many of the animal exhibits are secondary to the façade of the cowboy city. The biggest crime of all is when animals are kept in shoddy captive conditions while the splendor all around them is geared specifically towards human visitors.
Nice responses! Glancing through maps and photos it seems that the two German zoos Hannover and ZOOM share some similarities. Both have seen massive financial investment during the past decade; both have similar geographical zones (Africa, Asia and then Yukon Bay/Alaska); both utilize modern designs such as mock-rock backdrops and moated sightlines; and both are for the most part well-regarded and extremely popular with the general public. Anthony Sheridan places them highly in his book What Zoos Can Do so the facilities must be great!
Personally I prefer ZOOM,as the animals appear to have far more chance to escape from view un-like Hannover where if they are out THEY ARE ON VIEW!Yes the "world's leading zoo expert" does like them both so in that case they must both be world leading collections
The biggest crime of all is when animals are kept in shoddy captive conditions while the splendor all around them is geared specifically towards human visitors.
