German zoo visit questions

[Mo Hassan]

Hi Zoochatters.


I’m looking for some advice, information, and recommendations for some German zoos I’m planning to visit later this month.


First, my itinerary is looking to be the following:

Saturday 19th – arrive in Berlin (late)
Sunday 20th – Otterzentrum
Monday 21st – Tierpark Berlin
Tuesday 22nd – Zoo Berlin / Aquarium
Wednesday 23rd – Leipzig Zoo
Thursday 24th – Magdeburg Zoo (+ Bierer Berg if time)
Friday 25th – Private tour of Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae, then maybe Bierer Berg or Berlin Aquarium, depending on time/what I didn’t see previous days, then fly home early evening.


I will be using Berlin as my base. I have visited the city before and went to both Tierpark and Zoo (2016). I haven’t yet booked any travel apart from flights to and from Berlin, but have booked the private tour of Wildkatzenzentrum.


Otterzentrum

Has anybody been to this place? I know it’s a bit far from Berlin but the fact it has 3 mustelids not yet seen (European mink, American mink, stone marten), as well as badgers and stoats which I’ve seen wild but got terrible photos of, is a big draw for me. It will also be a fairly relaxed pace for my first day; even though the distance is far, it’s not terribly large.


Tierpark Berlin

I’m wondering if the following taxa are on show, and if so, whereabouts:

- Barred eagle owl (Bubo sumatranus) [Alfred-Brehm House?]
- Borneo earless monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis)
- Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca)
- Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii)
- Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) [I’m guessing still offshow until Himalayas opens]
- Red-fronted macaw (Ara rubrogenys)
- Yellow-billed amazon (Amazona collaria)
- Philippine scops-owl (Otus megalotis)
- Spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) [I’m guessing the pelican pools near the Schloss)
- Black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)
- Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus)
- Eastern white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus) [I know it’s on display but not sure where]


The following are lower priority for me but still don’t know where they would be, if they are indeed on show:

- Central African ratel (Mellivora capensis cottoni) [still outside Alfred-Brehm House?]
- Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) [off-show?]
- African bush viper (Atheris squamigera) [off-show?]
- Burnished-buff tanager (Stilpnia cayana) [off-show?]
- Bawean deer (Axis kuhlii)
- Hog deer (Axis porcinus porcinus)
- Black parrot (Coracopsis nigra libs)
- Burrowing parrot (Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus)
- Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus roratus)
- Northern festive amazon (Amazona bodini)
- Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus subarcticus)
- Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis megalotis)
- Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla tetradactyla)
- The following laughingthrushes:

• Pterorhinus berthemyi
• P. lanceolatus
• Garrulax canorus
• G. moneliger
• Liocichla ripponi
• L. steerii

Zoo Berlin

Are the following taxa on show, and whereabouts?:

- Red duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) [Antelope house?]
- White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
- Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) [I know where the display is but are they likely to be active at this time of year?]

Also:

- The zoo keeps “Barbary” and Kruger lions; are they kept separately or is it possible to discern the two easily?
- Same question for the chimpanzees but with generic/eastern/western?


Leipzig Zoo

Are the following on show and whereabouts?:

- Allen’s gallinule (Porphyrio alleni)
- Blue-headed quail-dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala)
- Nile lechwe (Kobus megaceros)
- Red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus erythrorhynchus)
- Rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachatus)
- Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans)
- Sri Lankan giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura)
- Vietnamese small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus condorensis)
- Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)
- Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei)
- Pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus)

Also:

- The zoo has Kalahari and Kruger lions; are they kept separately or is it possible to discern the two easily?
- What’s the best time to visit the pangolins? Is it best to make a beeline straight for them on getting to the zoo in the morning, or visit later in the day?


Magdeburg

Does anyone know the current situation with regards to open houses? I see from the Magdeburg Zoo thread that last year there were still some houses closed. It would be a great shame to not be able to see the Grandidier’s vontsiras.

Is it possible to discern between the generic and western chimpanzees at Magdeburg?

Would it be a good idea to do both Magdeburg and Bierer Burg in the same day? If so, which to do first?


Thank you!


[Mods: if this is in the wrong forum, feel free to move it or split it into relevant parts for each zoo]

 

[lintworm]

Otterzentrum

Has anybody been to this place? I know it’s a bit far from Berlin but the fact it has 3 mustelids not yet seen (European mink, American mink, stone marten), as well as badgers and stoats which I’ve seen wild but got terrible photos of, is a big draw for me. It will also be a fairly relaxed pace for my first day; even though the distance is far, it’s not terribly large.

I wonder why you won't visit the Wildpark in Leipzig, which is much easier to reach and also has the wished for species. It it probably too much to combine on one day with Zoo Leipzig. But a combination with Tierpark Chemnitz or Zoo Halle would easily be possible.

From Berlin, day trips to either Cottbus or Rostock can also be highly worthwhile

Would it be a good idea to do both Magdeburg and Bierer Burg in the same day? If so, which to do first?

Depends on whether you have a rental car or public transport. With public transport it would be a long day, especially as Bierer Berg is quite a walk to the nearest train station. Bierer Berg could comfortably be seen in 1 hour (max 2), and Magdeburg in 4 (max 6).

 

[Mo Hassan]

I wonder why you won't visit the Wildpark in Leipzig, which is much easier to reach and also has the wished for species. It it probably too much to combine on one day with Zoo Leipzig. But a combination with Tierpark Chemnitz or Zoo Halle would easily be possible.

From Berlin, day trips to either Cottbus or Rostock can also be highly worthwhile



Depends on whether you have a rental car or public transport. With public transport it would be a long day, especially as Bierer Berg is quite a walk to the nearest train station. Bierer Berg could comfortably be seen in 1 hour (max 2), and Magdeburg in 4 (max 6).

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. I certainly didn't consider Leipzig Wildpark, but now I see it has my target species, I'm going to replace Otterzentrum for it.

I don't have access to a car. I was hoping to get a bus to the nearest bus stop to Bierer Berg and walk from there, or get a taxi, but my German language skills are nicht gut so I'd struggle there.

 

[twilighter]

First of all, why you are based in Berlin? If you not have free accommodation, I think the best way is to travel from Berlin to Magdeburg, sleep there and visit the Magdeburg zoo and Bier Berg on the next day. The train Schonebeck - Magdeburg is 15 min. and there is a bus on a weekdays from Schonebeck to Bier Berg. You can take taxi, as well cos the walking distance is 45 min. If you travel with taxi make sure order one for return.

Then travel to Halle, sleep there and visit Halle zoo + Leipzig park ( I second @lintworm's opinion for the Leipzig Wildpark, if you are aiming those tree Mustelids.)

Sleep at Leipzig, visit the zoo and return to Berlin.

Check the regional and the "whole Germany" ticket options for better ticket prices. They include the public transport, as well.

Regional day tickets: Discover Germany's regions by train | DB

 

[TeaLovingDave]

It it probably too much to combine on one day with Zoo Leipzig

Quite the contrary - I did precisely that in 2018!

Would it be a good idea to do both Magdeburg and Bierer Burg in the same day? If so, which to do first?

It's easily doable yes - even by public transport - but definitely do Magdeburg first. Again, I did precisely this in 2018.

What’s the best time to visit the pangolins? Is it best to make a beeline straight for them on getting to the zoo in the morning, or visit later in the day?

Make a beeline for them straight away, as this will allow you to make a note of their advertised feeding time; then do whatever takes your fancy until it's time to return to them.

 

[twilighter]

Hi Zoochatters.


I’m looking for some advice, information, and recommendations for some German zoos I’m planning to visit later this month.



[Mods: if this is in the wrong forum, feel free to move it or split it into relevant parts for each zoo]

I will try to help with some of the mammals.


Tierpark Berlin

- Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) - Monkey house
- Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii) - off show
- Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) [I’m guessing still offshow until Himalayas opens] - yes, still off show
- Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) - off show
- Eastern white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus) [I know it’s on display but not sure where] - last I heard, between the Giraffe house and the Barbary Macaque.


- Central African ratel (Mellivora capensis cottoni) [still outside Alfred-Brehm House?] - Yes

- Bawean deer (Axis kuhlii) - on the path between the White- lipped deer and Gayal, next to the Eld's Deer. Opposite the Dwarf Zebu.
- Hog deer (Axis porcinus porcinus) - together with the Nilgai, as
before
- Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis megalotis) - one of the "Hyena" rocky exhibits next to the Spotted hyena
- Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla tetradactyla) - Monkey house


Zoo Berlin

Are the following taxa on show, and whereabouts?:

- Red duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) [Antelope house?] - together with the Okapi

- White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) - if you take the small path trough the Deer area, is the 4th exhibit on the left. After the Reindeers, Water Deer and the Sika.




Leipzig Zoo

Are the following on show and whereabouts?:


- Nile lechwe (Kobus megaceros) - Savanah
- Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) - small exhibit around the Amur Tiger Taiga together with Swinhoe's striped squirrel
- Sri Lankan giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) - I saw them at the Bird House walkthrough area, but check Elephant House, as well
- Vietnamese small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus condorensis) - try Bird House walkthrough area and Gondwanalad
- Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) - Gondwanalad tunnel
- Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei) - Gondwanalad tunnel
- Pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) - together with the Pangolins at the Elephant house. Pangolins had a feeding time 13:30, befoure, but not anymore. I saw them around this time on two of my visits.

Magdeburg

Grandidier’s vontsiras are at the Madagascar zone, but not sure if they are visable. I will try to give you more info next week.

 

[lintworm]

I second @twilighter 's suggestion to find accomodation in Magdeburg and Leipzig, if you haven't booked anything yet/can cancel with little cost. It will save you a lot of time and money and make a combination like Magdeburg + Schönebeck possible. I would not do both Leipzig collections in one day if you have much traveling to do and also not if it is your first visit. It is a too good zoo to have to rush through. I have done Leipzig + Chemnitz in one day comfortably, but that was only possible because I had been to Leipzig over 10 times in the past...

 

[JoJo22]

I haven't been to those zoos often myself, so I fear I can't add much. However, if you plan on combining Magdeburg and Schönebeck on a single day, try not to make the mistake I did. It was my first visit there, and by the time I went to Schönebeck, the only animal house there was already closed. At least back in 2018, it closed almost two hours before the rest of the park, if I remember correctly, and the info was nowhere to be found on the website...though I don't know if that's still the case.

 

[Mo Hassan]

First of all, why you are based in Berlin? If you not have free accommodation, I think the best way is to travel from Berlin to Magdeburg, sleep there and visit the Magdeburg zoo and Bier Berg on the next day. The train Schonebeck - Magdeburg is 15 min. and there is a bus on a weekdays from Schonebeck to Bier Berg. You can take taxi, as well cos the walking distance is 45 min. If you travel with taxi make sure order one for return.

Then travel to Halle, sleep there and visit Halle zoo + Leipzig park ( I second @lintworm's opinion for the Leipzig Wildpark, if you are aiming those tree Mustelids.)

Sleep at Leipzig, visit the zoo and return to Berlin.

Check the regional and the "whole Germany" ticket options for better ticket prices. They include the public transport, as well.

Regional day tickets: Discover Germany's regions by train | DB

I second @twilighter 's suggestion to find accomodation in Magdeburg and Leipzig, if you haven't booked anything yet/can cancel with little cost. It will save you a lot of time and money and make a combination like Magdeburg + Schönebeck possible. I would not do both Leipzig collections in one day if you have much traveling to do and also not if it is your first visit. It is a too good zoo to have to rush through. I have done Leipzig + Chemnitz in one day comfortably, but that was only possible because I had been to Leipzig over 10 times in the past...

Thanks both for the suggestion. I moved around my itinerary so it now looks like:

Saturday 19th: Arrive in Berlin
Sunday 20th: Train to Magdeburg -> Magdeburg Zoo -> Taxi to Bierer Berg -> stay in Magdeburg overnight
Monday 21st: Train to Leipzig -> Leipzig Zoo -> stay in Leipzig overnight
Tuesday 22nd: Wildpark Leipzig -> Halle Zoo -> train to Berlin
Wednesday 23rd: Zoo Berlin
Thursday 24th: Tierpark Berlin
Friday 25th: Wildkatzenzentrum -> Aquarium or Museum fur Naturkunde -> home

Quite the contrary - I did precisely that in 2018!
Make a beeline for them straight away, as this will allow you to make a note of their advertised feeding time; then do whatever takes your fancy until it's time to return to them.

I will try to help with some of the mammals.


Tierpark Berlin

- Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) - Monkey house
- Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii) - off show
- Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) [I’m guessing still offshow until Himalayas opens] - yes, still off show
- Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) - off show
- Eastern white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus) [I know it’s on display but not sure where] - last I heard, between the Giraffe house and the Barbary Macaque.


- Central African ratel (Mellivora capensis cottoni) [still outside Alfred-Brehm House?] - Yes

- Bawean deer (Axis kuhlii) - on the path between the White- lipped deer and Gayal, next to the Eld's Deer. Opposite the Dwarf Zebu.
- Hog deer (Axis porcinus porcinus) - together with the Nilgai, as
before
- Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis megalotis) - one of the "Hyena" rocky exhibits next to the Spotted hyena
- Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla tetradactyla) - Monkey house


Zoo Berlin

Are the following taxa on show, and whereabouts?:

- Red duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) [Antelope house?] - together with the Okapi

- White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) - if you take the small path trough the Deer area, is the 4th exhibit on the left. After the Reindeers, Water Deer and the Sika.




Leipzig Zoo

Are the following on show and whereabouts?:


- Nile lechwe (Kobus megaceros) - Savanah
- Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) - small exhibit around the Amur Tiger Taiga together with Swinhoe's striped squirrel
- Sri Lankan giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) - I saw them at the Bird House walkthrough area, but check Elephant House, as well
- Vietnamese small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus condorensis) - try Bird House walkthrough area and Gondwanalad
- Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) - Gondwanalad tunnel
- Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei) - Gondwanalad tunnel
- Pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) - together with the Pangolins at the Elephant house. Pangolins had a feeding time 13:30, befoure, but not anymore. I saw them around this time on two of my visits.

Magdeburg

Grandidier’s vontsiras are at the Madagascar zone, but not sure if they are visable. I will try to give you more info next week.

Thanks both, much appreciated!

I haven't been to those zoos often myself, so I fear I can't add much. However, if you plan on combining Magdeburg and Schönebeck on a single day, try not to make the mistake I did. It was my first visit there, and by the time I went to Schönebeck, the only animal house there was already closed. At least back in 2018, it closed almost two hours before the rest of the park, if I remember correctly, and the info was nowhere to be found on the website...though I don't know if that's still the case.

Indeed their site is not very informative. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[lintworm]

Some extra info since you will be using public transport. For planning of all the public transport you can use www.bahn.de, which is the best planning website for public transport in Europe in my opinion.

There are also a large amount of different tickets available for German trains. Option 1 is to buy tickets for a specific train (and you cannot take any other) available at quite reduced prices months in advance. These work well if you have to use the fast IC or ICE trains, in your case most relevant to the Halle - Berlin stretch and possibly Magdeburg-Leipzig. For most stretches I imagine you would use the regional trains and S-Bahns (nahverkehr in German). For those there are day passes available which can be quite worthwhile (especially when not traveling alone), the Quer-durchs-Land Ticket costs 42 euros for one person (they get much cheaper with the more people on the same ticket) and gives you access to all regional and local transport for 1 day. Additionally there are also cheap tickets for travel within 1 Bundesland (province), but you will cross those borders too often for them to make sense. Another ticket is the Regio 120(+) ticket which costs 17 euros for travels up to 120 km and 22.50 for travels above 120 km. These are only valid for one journey and only after 9 am on weekdays, but the whole day in the weekend.

 

[markmeier]

@Mo Hassan
I hope you have a great trip and that you will enjoy both the German country and its zoos.

As for Berlin, I can give some suggestions:

1) You could consider visiting Berlin Zoo and Aquarium on a single day (i.e. 9 hours from 9 AM till 6 PM) rather than on two separate days.
Pros: It's one location and you can get one combined ticket (1 x 23,50 EUR rather than 2 x 17,50 = 35 EUR). So you'll save both money and precious travel time. You don't even need to leave the zoo to enter the Aquarium. In theory, you can easily switch between the two as often as you want. If you finish the day with the Aquarium, you have to get inside no later than 5 PM but you can stay there until 6 PM, whereas buildings in the Zoo already close by 5:30 PM.
Also, you can use some time on your last day to visit the Natural Science Museum or just spend some relaxed time in Berlin.
Cons: It will be a lot to process for a single day and you will not have as much time for some of your individual highlights (but not any more so than on some other days of the trip).
My recommendation: It comes down to how much time you like to spend in individual parts of zoos. As your schedule is quite crammed, I'd probably do it. You will have a great zoo day full of variety including many highlights. You won't even walk more than when you are doing Berlin Tierpark on a single day.

Speaking of which:

2) Prepare to feel a bit frustrated with Berlin Tierpark and still make the best of it
Please don't get me wrong: Berlin Tierpark is by far my favourite zoo and particularly with warm Spring weather you certainly can certainly enjoy this. Fortunately, you already visited it in 2016! But you'll notice some (huge) building sites as well as certain animals missing. In fact, you'll be in the park just a few weeks before the large Himalaya area gets presented and several months before they scheduled to present the large savannah or the new Asian exhibit (IF they actually stay within their schedule). So, I would focus on what has already changed since your last visit (Brehm building!) as well as some interesting new species (e.g. sifakas) and otherwise just enjoy the day. I usually have my best visits there, when I just follow my spontaneous prompts. The park is huge anyways, even though some large chunks are fenced off for the time being. And hopefully you can come back in a few years to see Himalaya, Asia Exhibit, Savannah and possibly even the new Elephant Building.

 

[Mo Hassan]

Some extra info since you will be using public transport. For planning of all the public transport you can use www.bahn.de, which is the best planning website for public transport in Europe in my opinion.

There are also a large amount of different tickets available for German trains. Option 1 is to buy tickets for a specific train (and you cannot take any other) available at quite reduced prices months in advance. These work well if you have to use the fast IC or ICE trains, in your case most relevant to the Halle - Berlin stretch and possibly Magdeburg-Leipzig. For most stretches I imagine you would use the regional trains and S-Bahns (nahverkehr in German). For those there are day passes available which can be quite worthwhile (especially when not traveling alone), the Quer-durchs-Land Ticket costs 42 euros for one person (they get much cheaper with the more people on the same ticket) and gives you access to all regional and local transport for 1 day. Additionally there are also cheap tickets for travel within 1 Bundesland (province), but you will cross those borders too often for them to make sense. Another ticket is the Regio 120(+) ticket which costs 17 euros for travels up to 120 km and 22.50 for travels above 120 km. These are only valid for one journey and only after 9 am on weekdays, but the whole day in the weekend.

Thank you for the advice. I indeed left it too late to get any advance rates, I fear, but I can now at least plan my trains between stays as soon as possible. I wanted to leave some room for flexibility in case of bad weather etc. From my experience of travelling in Germany by train (been to both the Berlin area and Frankfurt area before), it's much more affordable and reliable than what we have in the UK, even in first class, so I don't mind spending a bit more on travel by not planning in advance.

@Mo Hassan
I hope you have a great trip and that you will enjoy both the German country and its zoos.

As for Berlin, I can give some suggestions:

1) You could consider visiting Berlin Zoo and Aquarium on a single day (i.e. 9 hours from 9 AM till 6 PM) rather than on two separate days.
Pros: It's one location and you can get one combined ticket (1 x 23,50 EUR rather than 2 x 17,50 = 35 EUR). So you'll save both money and precious travel time. You don't even need to leave the zoo to enter the Aquarium. In theory, you can easily switch between the two as often as you want. If you finish the day with the Aquarium, you have to get inside no later than 5 PM but you can stay there until 6 PM, whereas buildings in the Zoo already close by 5:30 PM.
Also, you can use some time on your last day to visit the Natural Science Museum or just spend some relaxed time in Berlin.
Cons: It will be a lot to process for a single day and you will not have as much time for some of your individual highlights (but not any more so than on some other days of the trip).
My recommendation: It comes down to how much time you like to spend in individual parts of zoos. As your schedule is quite crammed, I'd probably do it. You will have a great zoo day full of variety including many highlights. You won't even walk more than when you are doing Berlin Tierpark on a single day.

Speaking of which:

2) Prepare to feel a bit frustrated with Berlin Tierpark and still make the best of it
Please don't get me wrong: Berlin Tierpark is by far my favourite zoo and particularly with warm Spring weather you certainly can certainly enjoy this. Fortunately, you already visited it in 2016! But you'll notice some (huge) building sites as well as certain animals missing. In fact, you'll be in the park just a few weeks before the large Himalaya area gets presented and several months before they scheduled to present the large savannah or the new Asian exhibit (IF they actually stay within their schedule). So, I would focus on what has already changed since your last visit (Brehm building!) as well as some interesting new species (e.g. sifakas) and otherwise just enjoy the day. I usually have my best visits there, when I just follow my spontaneous prompts. The park is huge anyways, even though some large chunks are fenced off for the time being. And hopefully you can come back in a few years to see Himalaya, Asia Exhibit, Savannah and possibly even the new Elephant Building.

Thank you very much for your advice.

Regarding Berlin Zoo/Aquarium, I was planning to visit both in the same day so I will get the combined ticket, but in case some reptiles/amphibians I'm looking forward to seeing aren't seen very well on my first visit, I could come back on my last day to fill time before leaving, as I'm staying near the Zoo and can have a direct train to the airport. I will take advantage of the later opening though, thank you for bringing that to my attention.

I know the planning for Tierpark wasn't optimal, but in any case I was more excited to see Alfred-Brehm than Himalayas (the latter area before it was Himalayas was amazing but a lot of walking when I last visited!). I'm going to take advantage of having the whole day, prioritising those areas I most want to go to, and enjoying the rest as it comes. It's indeed a wonderful zoo and even though I'm dreading the many kilometres of walking involved, I'm very much looking forward to being back there!

All being said, with this being my first overseas zoo trip since 2019, I'm just itching to see animals again and to taste proper currywurst again .

 

[Someokapinextdoor]

Hoping to fill some gaps:

Hi Zoochatters.


Tierpark Berlin

I’m wondering if the following taxa are on show, and if so, whereabouts:

- Barred eagle owl (Bubo sumatranus) ->Brehm-Haus, Entry of the tropical path in the center
- Borneo earless monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis) Brehm-Haus, small exhibit at the hallway opposite to the entrance, not a full-grown specimen
- Yellow-billed amazon (Amazona collaria) probably BTS
- Red-fronted macaw (Ara rubrogenys) probably BTS
- Philippine scops-owl (Otus megalotis) In birds of prey section close to the monkey house
- Spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) [I’m guessing the pelican pools near the Schloss) Probably still in their winter holding close to Schloss entrance. Not all speices have a visible winter holding I haven't been there this year to see which ones are in the on-show one
- Black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis) Probably BTS


The following are lower priority for me but still don’t know where they would be, if they are indeed on show:

- Burnished-buff tanager (Stilpnia cayana) BTS
- Black parrot (Coracopsis nigra libs) In the first aviaries on the left side coming from Schlosseingang
- Burrowing parrot (Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus) In the aviary next to the entrance of Patagona restaurant
- Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus roratus) In the avaiaries next to Café Kakadu (left side)
- Northern festive amazon (Amazona bodini) In the first aviaries on the left side coming from Schlosseingang. I may be wrong here.
- Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus subarcticus) Owl aviary between the polar bears and the domestic section
- Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla tetradactyla) Not in the monkey house anymore! On the other side of the park in the exhibit on the dead end close to the gull aviary where monkeys used to be
- The following laughingthrushes:

• Pterorhinus berthemyi
• P. lanceolatus
• Garrulax canorus
• G. moneliger
• Liocichla ripponi
• L. steerii If they're there they're all in the Fasanerie on the left side coming form Schlosseingang I saw at least five species on my last visit but I don't know which ones

Zoo Berlin

Are the following taxa on show, and whereabouts?:

- The zoo keeps “Barbary” and Kruger lions; are they kept separately or is it possible to discern the two easily? The single Barbary Lion left is BTS
- Same question for the chimpanzees but with generic/eastern/western? They're kept together. I can't distinguish them but people smarter than me maybe can.

Thank you!

 

[ralph]

I saw the Black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis) in the Africa section of the bird house in september 2021. Of course, things could have changed since then.

 

[Philipine eagle]

All being said, with this being my first overseas zoo trip since 2019, I'm just itching to see animals again and to taste proper currywurst again .

A marvelous plan!

If you would travel by car - which isn't the case, I know - you could easily combine Magdeburg and Halle on the same day.

If it's your first visit to Leipzig Zoo, I would not consider any extra visit that day.

Berlin Zoo & Aquarium : that's a lot for 1 day, even with the very suitable opening hours. You could consider skipping both Birdhouses if you're not too much into birds (but I don't think anyone like that exists )

 

[Mo Hassan]

A marvelous plan!

If you would travel by car - which isn't the case, I know - you could easily combine Magdeburg and Halle on the same day.

If it's your first visit to Leipzig Zoo, I would not consider any extra visit that day.

Berlin Zoo & Aquarium : that's a lot for 1 day, even with the very suitable opening hours. You could consider skipping both Birdhouses if you're not too much into birds (but I don't think anyone like that exists )

Indeed, I am into birds, and there's a good few species at each big zoo I haven't seen yet, so won't be missing those. What I would skip are commonplace animals (meerkats, short-clawed otters and the like), and fish. Although I like to see different species of fish, I can rarely get a decent photo unless it's well lit and the specimen is slow-moving, a rare combination in a public aquarium, so I'll rush through that part of the zoos. The herp sections of the Berlin Aquarium are a huge draw, especially seeing as most of the reptiles, including the gharial, were off-show on my previous visit, and I've yet to see a gharial that I can remember.

 

[ralph]

How much are German zoos currently suffering from covid (and/or bird flu) regulations/restrictions?
I know some covid-restrictions will be lifted on march 20th.
Is it to be expected that from that date, animal houses and similar buildings will all be visitable again?

Or is it different for each zoo/city/state?
Berlin had very few restrictions when I visited in september, while Magdeburg still had a lot.
Planning on visiting Hamburg, Hannover, Osnabruck and Walsrode in early april, but I might cancel if parts of those zoos will be off limits still.

 

[Mo Hassan]

How much are German zoos currently suffering from covid (and/or bird flu) regulations/restrictions?
I know some covid-restrictions will be lifted on march 20th.
Is it to be expected that from that date, animal houses and similar buildings will all be visitable again?

Or is it different for each zoo/city/state?
Berlin had very few restrictions when I visited in september, while Magdeburg still had a lot.
Planning on visiting Hamburg, Hannover, Osnabruck and Walsrode in early april, but I might cancel if parts of those zoos will be off limits still.

My understanding is that Magdeburg is pretty much back to normal. At least when I enquired about whether the vontsiras will be visible, I got the reply that they will be. I accept there might be some closures though, depending on state/federal requirements.

 

[JoJo22]

How much are German zoos currently suffering from covid (and/or bird flu) regulations/restrictions?
I know some covid-restrictions will be lifted on march 20th.
Is it to be expected that from that date, animal houses and similar buildings will all be visitable again?

Or is it different for each zoo/city/state?
Berlin had very few restrictions when I visited in september, while Magdeburg still had a lot.
Planning on visiting Hamburg, Hannover, Osnabruck and Walsrode in early april, but I might cancel if parts of those zoos will be off limits still.

Basically, yes. At least, until now, each state has their own regulations, and the city and/or zoo are of course able to decide on even stricter measures. I'm not sure unfortunately if everything will be lifted from march 20th on... Most zoos I know had the houses open again during "easier" periods, but some houses i know have been closed off for about two years now, probably due to free-roaming monkeys and such. Normally, such things are stated on the homepages, but that's of course not necessarily true in advance.
Of the zoos you mentioned, I only visited Walsrode since covid started, and everything was open there last september at least.

 

[Fat-tailed dwarf lemur]

I know that the Sri Lankan giant squirrel is now in the elephant house. There is only one animal left!