I visited Cologne a few weeks ago and it was an enjoyable visit as always. Enclosure standards are solid, though mostly not exceptional, but the collection continues to evolve and new species appear every visit. It shows that if the will is there, it is possible to house a large and varied collection of birds and ectotherms if you just put some effort in. The African aviary at the former hippo enclosure is a prime example. What at first sight appear to be regular pond herons, sacred ibises and yellow-billed storks, are actually Malagasy sacred ibis, Malagasy pond heron and milky storks. So much more relevant from a conservation standpoint and a joy for the knowledgable zoo visitor.
A particular highlight for me was seeing a Goodman's mouse lemur for the first time ever, one was even active during day light. A good reason to visit was to see the newly re-opened South America house. Which has been extensively renovated the past couple of years.
It looks fresh again from the outside, the attractive cage holds a pair of Geoffrey's cats, which also have viewable indoor accomodation. The indoor area is transformed into a tropical walkthrough, with the visitors pathway at the original floor level, but the room has been extended downwards
While the colours look relatively bland on the pictures, I found it a very good repurposement of an old bird/monkey house. Not something unique for the continent, but very solid from a design point of view. The collection is of course first rate, especially the bird department. Free-ranging are:
- White faced saki
- Silvery marmoset
- Red-handed marmoset
- Golden lion tamarin
- Two-toed sloths
- Solitary tinamu
- Sunbittern
- Crested quail-dove
- Blue-headed quail-dove
- Socorro pigeon
- Red cardinal
- Yellow cardinal
- Yellow-rumped cacique
- Brazilian tanager
- Painted bunting
With side-enclosures for toco toucan, piranha and southern three-banded armadillo. The painted bunting and blue-headed quail-doves were kept separate at my visit, with the quail-doves on a nest. Apparently the yellow cardinals have already bred here, but I wonder how they manage the bird breeding with all those small monkeys in too.
In the aquarium it was nice to see the ever-increasing focus on breeding rare freshwater fish. The former Lake Tanganyika tank, one of the 3 main tanks has been repurposed for Malagasy fish and this is a prime example of how any aquarium can quickly become more relevant for conservation. By switching from the standard generic cichlid tank, to one of Malagasy fish
The real highlight, and something that zoos should copy as soon as possible imo, is the Australian lungfish tank. This used to house arapaima and other S-American species, but it is a perfect size for the lungfish (of which they keep 4). In most aquaria Australian lungfish don't do much, because they hardly have space for swimming. The lungfish here always seem on steroids, actively using the whole tank. They are such spectacular freshwater fish if displayed well, that it is incomprehensible why zoos still insist they are sedentary and are suited to tiny tanks (looking at you Basel and Frankfurt!).
(shows maybe 50-67% of the tank)
The young can in theory be seen now, but they are remarkably good at hiding.
There are still king vultures, some whistling ducks and more interesting: what looked like a pair of American black ducks (Anas rubripes) there, but all are unsigned. Apart from the American black ducks, mottled ducks were also added to the collection in 2021, but I did not see those on show (though I could have missed them).
A particular highlight for me was seeing a Goodman's mouse lemur for the first time ever, one was even active during day light. A good reason to visit was to see the newly re-opened South America house. Which has been extensively renovated the past couple of years.
It looks fresh again from the outside, the attractive cage holds a pair of Geoffrey's cats, which also have viewable indoor accomodation. The indoor area is transformed into a tropical walkthrough, with the visitors pathway at the original floor level, but the room has been extended downwards
While the colours look relatively bland on the pictures, I found it a very good repurposement of an old bird/monkey house. Not something unique for the continent, but very solid from a design point of view. The collection is of course first rate, especially the bird department. Free-ranging are:
- White faced saki
- Silvery marmoset
- Red-handed marmoset
- Golden lion tamarin
- Two-toed sloths
- Solitary tinamu
- Sunbittern
- Crested quail-dove
- Blue-headed quail-dove
- Socorro pigeon
- Red cardinal
- Yellow cardinal
- Yellow-rumped cacique
- Brazilian tanager
- Painted bunting
With side-enclosures for toco toucan, piranha and southern three-banded armadillo. The painted bunting and blue-headed quail-doves were kept separate at my visit, with the quail-doves on a nest. Apparently the yellow cardinals have already bred here, but I wonder how they manage the bird breeding with all those small monkeys in too.
In the aquarium it was nice to see the ever-increasing focus on breeding rare freshwater fish. The former Lake Tanganyika tank, one of the 3 main tanks has been repurposed for Malagasy fish and this is a prime example of how any aquarium can quickly become more relevant for conservation. By switching from the standard generic cichlid tank, to one of Malagasy fish
The real highlight, and something that zoos should copy as soon as possible imo, is the Australian lungfish tank. This used to house arapaima and other S-American species, but it is a perfect size for the lungfish (of which they keep 4). In most aquaria Australian lungfish don't do much, because they hardly have space for swimming. The lungfish here always seem on steroids, actively using the whole tank. They are such spectacular freshwater fish if displayed well, that it is incomprehensible why zoos still insist they are sedentary and are suited to tiny tanks (looking at you Basel and Frankfurt!).
(shows maybe 50-67% of the tank)
The young can in theory be seen now, but they are remarkably good at hiding.
There are still king vultures, some whistling ducks and more interesting: what looked like a pair of American black ducks (Anas rubripes) there, but all are unsigned. Apart from the American black ducks, mottled ducks were also added to the collection in 2021, but I did not see those on show (though I could have missed them).
