JurassicMax
Well-Known Member
On the 1st of January a Guianan weeper capuchin (Cebus olivaceus) was born.
Source:
Instagram of Zoo Berlin (09/01/2023)
Source:
Instagram of Zoo Berlin (09/01/2023)
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Berlin Zoo Berlin Zoo News 2023
- Thread starter JurassicMax
- Start date
The zoo posted a video of the construction of the rhino house:
"Are you interested in the progress of our rhino house? Then we have a clip for you with recordings from the last few months. The construction workers are quite busy. Step by step, work is progressing on what is currently the largest construction site at Zoo Berlin – and we are already looking forward to this year's opening! "
Source and video:
Zoo Berlin on Instagram
"Are you interested in the progress of our rhino house? Then we have a clip for you with recordings from the last few months. The construction workers are quite busy. Step by step, work is progressing on what is currently the largest construction site at Zoo Berlin – and we are already looking forward to this year's opening! "
Source and video:
Zoo Berlin on Instagram
Berlin Zoo AG gave some first impressions of their new plans for Zoo and Tierpark. I guess just have a look:
h19-0455.A-v.pdf (parlament-berlin.de)
h19-0455.A-v.pdf (parlament-berlin.de)
Nothing too suprising in there for anyone who has been keeping up to date with both collections. Nice to see plans for upgraded facilities across both sites however!
In a way you are right. What stuck out for the zoo for me, though:
- The fact that a new/updated plan indeed exists since 2021 (it has never been communicated publicly) but this time a joined one for both Berlin Zoo/Aquarium and Tierpark.
- The updated layout of the new cat exhibits.
- The fact they now have major plans for gorillas and will build a new separate house for them (unfortunately it does not state where in the zoo) but they do not mention any of the other apes any longer. There have been earlier plans to form the elephant complex into one for gorillas and orangs. But now the gorillas are singled out and the sheet for the monkey building doesn't show or mention any apes at all. Taken the large new outside enclosure(s) I guess there may well be at least one ape species in there.
- The fact they seem to rejoin brown bears and wolves in a far larger enclosure but don't seem to plan with polar bears any longer. They actually wanted to give an update on whether or not there will be any polar bears again but it never happened.
- The fact they do not mention anything about their elephants any longer. This seems to have fallen out of their current priorities.
While nothing of this comes as a huge surprise, I do believe there is some real potential for major public discussion/criticism. Many people (donors in particular) won't be happy to learn there won't be any new polar bears and they may (at least temporarily) not see all of the apes or any elephants. I can already picture the headlines in the local tabloid press (Bild/B.Z./Kurier). This may also well be the reason none of this has been published by now.
The lack of news on the elephants is suprising I agree. I thought the logical approach would have been to transfer the elephants over to the expansion, develop the current elephant exhibit for gorillas and then give the other apes more space. Getting rid of the other apes and just keeping gorillas would be a massive disappointment. I do however believe it’s not really feasible to give modern exhibit standards to polar bears in the bear area of the zoo if the zoo wants to keep other carnivore taxa in that area at the same time. A disappointment perhaps for donors but in the long run the development of a world class polar bear facility in the Tierpark is better imo than two average polar bear exhibits on the two sites.
I guess they don't have the funds for such an endeavour at the moment. It would mean constructing an entirely new elephant complex and modernizing two large existing houses in rather short time. So I could imagine they give up the elephants for some time to push through with the apes/monkes (and may be use the public reaction to secure even more donations/funds). And I would be rather surprised, if they do not at least keep one ape species in the modernized monkey building (I would think Bonobos or Chimpanzees which are quite similar to each other so they don't really need both, wheras orangs could still turn up for the Tierpark in the future).
I totally agree. But ruling out any option will not be welcomed by many zoo supporters (a large fraction of them loves polar bears and visited Knut very regularly).
It'd also be a massive pity on historical grounds if Zoo Berlin permanently went out of the species; before ceasing to keep the species a year or two ago, the zoo had displayed polar bear near-continuously since the 1890s to the best of my knowledge, with only a single interregnum between 1944 and 1951 (the result of the near-destruction of the zoo during WWII).
Still, based on current standards and best practice, I don't think they could appropriately house polar bears at Berlin Zoo without loosing other species (for space).
Fortunately they have a completely pointless bear species hogging a whole swathe of land in the centre of the zoo
Imagine the deer that there still could be in the collection..
Thanks as always @markmeier for the info!
I have a few thoughts and questions from these potential developments.
Could the new gorilla complex perhaps be built behind the area that is being developed for the okapi, it would make some sense to keep these species close by for theming. Or do we think the current elephant habitat will be developed now just for the gorillas?
does it actually say that there will be no apes in the updated monkey house or are we just guessing ad it doesn’t include and pictures of apes? I can’t see the layout on the presentation but does it mention future species and on a separate note I haven’t been to the zoo in a number of years does anyone have a current list of species being exhibited there?
With the new bear/wolf development does this mean the zoo will also loose sloth bear from their collection? I agree that a state of the art polar bear exhibit at the tierpark means that a smaller sun standard one at the zoo wouldn’t really be needed.
It had been mentioned that the jaguar/leopard/tiger would have access to the new enclosures from the current carnivore house will this still be the plan. It looks like it will be for the jaguar but not as obvious for the other two.
I do wonder with the opening of the new African elephant at the tierpark of the zoo did temporarily move on their Asian elephants I think their would be a lot public pressure and perhaps funding available for them to return at the zoo.
I have a few thoughts and questions from these potential developments.
Could the new gorilla complex perhaps be built behind the area that is being developed for the okapi, it would make some sense to keep these species close by for theming. Or do we think the current elephant habitat will be developed now just for the gorillas?
does it actually say that there will be no apes in the updated monkey house or are we just guessing ad it doesn’t include and pictures of apes? I can’t see the layout on the presentation but does it mention future species and on a separate note I haven’t been to the zoo in a number of years does anyone have a current list of species being exhibited there?
With the new bear/wolf development does this mean the zoo will also loose sloth bear from their collection? I agree that a state of the art polar bear exhibit at the tierpark means that a smaller sun standard one at the zoo wouldn’t really be needed.
It had been mentioned that the jaguar/leopard/tiger would have access to the new enclosures from the current carnivore house will this still be the plan. It looks like it will be for the jaguar but not as obvious for the other two.
I do wonder with the opening of the new African elephant at the tierpark of the zoo did temporarily move on their Asian elephants I think their would be a lot public pressure and perhaps funding available for them to return at the zoo.
Of course. But similar things could be said about elephants, rhinos, hippos, apes, any form of large cats and so on. But they can't keep all of these species in state of the art exhibits (and still remain the zoo with the highest overall number of species). They will have to set priorities and they'll probably have to find a clever coordination with the Tierpark.
As to the brown bear: Yep, it seems a bit pointless but they can have an attractive shared exhibit and it still is the most iconic species for a zoo based in and called after the German capital.
To be honest, my main issue with the loss of those deer enclosures and houses to make way for the giant panda complex is that they included the oldest surviving original structures in the zoo (and the only ones which survived WWII more or less untouched), rather than mourning the species they contained!
As @AthleticBinturong guessed, I was talking about the giant pandas rather than the brown bears!
Is the area around the former Asian black Bear Enclosure still empty? It's been half a decade since my visit now (how times flies!) but could the zoo potentially expand a polar bear exhibit there if they chose to keep exhibiting them??
I do like the approach that the two zoos in Berlin seem to be taking though with each having different species than the other and I do agree that Tierpark has more potential and future for polar bears.
I do like the approach that the two zoos in Berlin seem to be taking though with each having different species than the other and I do agree that Tierpark has more potential and future for polar bears.
It would be really annoying if red pandas were exempt from such a plan.
You’re right. It’s great to see them trying to plan two collections to compliment each other. I would also be sad to see the Polar Bears go but I’ve long thought when these ones die out it would be the end. They suit the Tierpark more and would give them something unique over the zoo.
Considering the partial closure due to avian flu that’s very impressive.
Excellent news. And can I thank you for your informative updates - this website has been long overdue a regular Berlin poster for some time!