Excellent. Indeed a true living reality textbook that shouldn't be miss by anyone interested in crocodilians or reptiles!
Krokodille Zoo Crocodile Zoo
- Thread starter Toddy
- Start date
In a manner of speaking,but a number of species have been split in the last few years...no-one has two, or possibly even three, Slender-snouted Crocodile species for instance... but its a notable effort nonetheless and i greatly enjoyed my one visit about 6 winters ago(when it was closed and the owner took pity on two English people a long way from home looking for crocodiles!).
Back in the golden days of zoo travels. I was lone visitor in Toledo Zoo reptile building one day. I was really into my photographing reptiles, the Reptile curator noticed my interest and invited me back behind the scenes to show me programs and achievements going down. He showed me results of attempts breeding water dragons. He also handed me a bag of jamaican boas to hold while open their enclosure door! Those boas he mentioned he took to university to get ex-rayed for breeding purposes. Way cool.
Visited this park the other day, and I have both positive and slightly negative impressions of it.
One of the largest pluses is the collection itself—the species. A zoo with nearly every species of Crocodilia, including the very rare ones, and rare species of turtles and other reptiles as well, is a very nice and unique collection.
I am happy I was able to visit this place for the first time now when they have both a larger outdoor park and a new tropical greenhouse - because, the old section of the park is not very impressive at all actually (according to me). It would be impressive if I saw this in a private collection, but the old sections are very small (both for the animals and visitors), and they are showing age and seem quite outdated.
The larger outdoor areas and the new tropical hall were very nice additions though, even though we did not spend lots of time outdoors because of the heavy rainfall.
Something that I did not expect was the extreme heat and humidity in both the old sections and the new tropical hall. Maybe it was extra noticeable because of the bad weather, but neither my camera nor us personally worked great in these conditions, with even our breathing being heavy at times. I would actually say this is the warmest and most humid collection I have ever visited. Thank god I had clothes in the car to change into afterward!
But don't get me wrong, it's great for the crocs and other reptiles that are housed here.
I noticed the lack of photos of the new tropical hall here on ZooChat, so I will be posting some later!
One of the largest pluses is the collection itself—the species. A zoo with nearly every species of Crocodilia, including the very rare ones, and rare species of turtles and other reptiles as well, is a very nice and unique collection.
I am happy I was able to visit this place for the first time now when they have both a larger outdoor park and a new tropical greenhouse - because, the old section of the park is not very impressive at all actually (according to me). It would be impressive if I saw this in a private collection, but the old sections are very small (both for the animals and visitors), and they are showing age and seem quite outdated.
The larger outdoor areas and the new tropical hall were very nice additions though, even though we did not spend lots of time outdoors because of the heavy rainfall.
Something that I did not expect was the extreme heat and humidity in both the old sections and the new tropical hall. Maybe it was extra noticeable because of the bad weather, but neither my camera nor us personally worked great in these conditions, with even our breathing being heavy at times. I would actually say this is the warmest and most humid collection I have ever visited. Thank god I had clothes in the car to change into afterward!
But don't get me wrong, it's great for the crocs and other reptiles that are housed here.
I noticed the lack of photos of the new tropical hall here on ZooChat, so I will be posting some later!
Last edited:
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing such a detailed review of this collection - as a crocodilian lover, it has long been one of my targets, ever since checking Zootierliste and seeing that they held Orinocos! Did you have any getting good views of them?Visited this park the other day, and I have both positive and slightly negative impressions of it.
One of the largest pluses is the collection itself—the species. A zoo with nearly every species of Crocodilia, including the very rare ones, and rare species of turtles and other reptiles as well, is a very nice and unique collection.
I am happy I was able to visit this place for the first time now when they have both a larger outdoor park and a new tropical greenhouse - because, the old section of the park is not very impressive at all actually (according to me). It would be impressive if I saw this in a private collection, but the old sections are very small (both for the animals and visitors), and they are showing age and seem quite outdated.
The larger outdoor areas and the new tropical hall were very nice additions though, even though we did not spend lots of time outdoors because of the heavy rainfall.
Something that I did not expect was the extreme heat and humidity in both the old sections and the new tropical hall. Maybe it was extra noticeable because of the bad weather, but neither my camera nor us personally worked great in these conditions, with even our breathing being heavy at times. I would actually say this is the warmest and most humid collection I have ever visited. Thank god I had clothes in the car to change into afterward!
But don't get me wrong, it's great for the crocs and other reptiles that are housed here.
I noticed the lack of photos of the new tropical hall here on ZooChat, so I will be posting some later!
Your comments about the humidity are interesting to me, as the most humid I ever remember finding a zoo exhibit from memory (except perhaps the canopy of Masoala in summer) was the greenhouse section of Crocodiles of the World, the 'English equivalent' of Eskilstrup to an extent. Can't help but wonder if there is a reason why crocodiles seem to demand hotter spaces than even other ectotherms, although I cannot imagine why this could be?
I assume heat in relation to outside temperature as subjectively experienced by the zoo visitor. Crocs in the wild more or less need constant temperature, but not over-heating. Note: tropical temperatures are in the 25-35 range max.
The older part of the Krokodille Zoo is exactly that ... and given that it was a specialised collection with limited space on their hands ... it is only inevitable that this hall does not contain largely spaced animal exhibits.
Yes! I did! They actually keep Orinocos in 4 different exhibits if I remember correctly
I have now uploaded some photos of the new tropical hall, which can be seen in the zoochat gallery here: Krokodille Zoo - ZooChat
A great addition to the park!
A great addition to the park!
A new tunnel is being built (2029) from northern Germany to Denmark. Underneath the Baltic Sea. This should make the Krokodillen Zoo must easier to visit from Northern Germany.
Also a question would it be a possebility for Pairi Daiza to obtain Orinoco crocodiles for Santuary ?
Also a question would it be a possebility for Pairi Daiza to obtain Orinoco crocodiles for Santuary ?
Given the track record of reptile husbandry quality at Pairi Daiza so far, I hope not - for the sake of the crocodiles...
Oh, wow, can that interesting tunnel also used for biking from Germany to Denmark? And backwards?
As far as i know it will be for cars and trains.
We went by ferry on our visit and that was quite convenient. So I think that's a solid al be it expensive alternative.