ZOOM - Alaska ravine

A view out from the ravine in which the river flows in the exhibit for Kamchatka brown bears in the mountain-biotope of the Alaska theme in ZOOM Erlebniswelt, Germany. These bears do not exactly fit the theme but I believe that it was originally intended for Kodiak bears. The exhibit is approx. 1500 sqm or 0.37 acres large in total and nicely decorated with lots of plants and a large moat for swimming.

ZOOM Erlebniswelt is a brand new zoo built completely from scratch on the site of the old Ruhr Zoo. It is divided into three large themes: Alaska (2005), Africa (2006) and Asia (2010).

July 2009

Thanks for posting all the fantastic pics and the very good descriptions.
To me Zoom seems like a fantastic zoo and yes I do like fake rocks, of course natural rocks look even better but for example i think the walls cannot be built out of real rocks so better fake rocks than fences or beton walls.
I am looking forward to visiting Zoom next summer when Asia will be finished.

ZOOM is a great looking zoo with some truly spectacular exhibits. However, I found that ZOOM sometimes was a bit too much of an "adventure park" with some over-the-top playgrounds and decorations etc. They also lacks some good education in many places. Their signage was allright but they could have done SO much more in educationg people about Alaska and its wildlife as a whole (same goes for Africa).

I also wish they would dedicate some of their time, space and effort on some more birds, reptiles and especially amphibians as they have loads of space for it and I feel that they are neglecting this part of life on earth. They are clearly focusing on the big crowd pleasers as well as playgrounds and children orientated stuff, which is fine. I just feel that they should do more educational wise...

However, it is still a great zoo well worth a visit. With the right director they could become one of the absolute best within very few years

What an absolutely brilliant set of pictures from ZOOM, Toddy!

This zoo has intrigued me ever since I first saw some pictures from it. It has been discussed, partially criticized and even ridiculed by some forumsters here at the site. I was just going to ask you a few questions that I now see that you have already answered with your post above. The feel of "adventure park", yes... that is, among other things, an example of the critisism that I have noticed.

Another point often brought up is the abundance of artificial rockwork. What did you think about it? Does it look totally "artificial" and tacky when you see it with your own eyes? (Judging by photos, it seems to me that the Bioparc in Valencia has done a much better job at creating realism with the artifical rocks.)

All in all though - I really love most of what I see from this zoo! You know that animal welfare is my personal main interest as far as zoos are concerned. Most exhibits look great from that point of view!

There is quite a lot of artificial rockwork in ZOOM. Personally, I don't mind it. Some of it is not exactly the best rockwork I have seen but it is decent. Besides, I prefer this to some bare concrete wall, etc.

I just can't help noticing that ZOOM somehow applies to the lowest common denominator (spelled right?), that is to say the families with children. Out of all the zoos I have visited ZOOM was the most crowded on a warm summers day. The place was crazy! After seeing the zoo I understood it. There are plenty of playgrounds and activities for children but like I mentioned earlier they are not very educational.

This I think is a shame since educational and entertaining should be able to be combined. But like I said, with the right management...

However, their landscaping efforts in especially Alaska (but also Africa) are astoundingly beautiful in many places and they must receive credit for being good at building up themes.

I can think of a lot worse use of artificial and even real rock work, amsterdam Artis and the lion enclosure for one. I prefer to see rock than wire netting or rows of cages. I'm re reading Zoo Design The Reality Of Wild Illusions By Polakowski which should be required reading for all zoo exhibit designers