Help needed with Germany choices (mainly [big] cats, lemurs)

Moorhunhe

Moorhunhe

Well-Known Member
Hi all!

In May/June we will be travelling from England to Belgium (my family is in Belgium) and my parents live quite near the German border (about 40 minutes from Aachen).

We are also only 10 minutes from the border with The Netherlands, and I've already found a few there I haven't been to yet.

I have been looking for a while now if there are any zoo's/nature parks we can visit.
As I can't drive, so it's all up to my boyfriend to drive, so the absolute max for him to drive somewhere is between 1h30 - 2h. (or, I'm sure I can persuade my parents/sister to come with us and drive, hehe).

So I guess looking at places no further then Bonn, Köln, Duisburg, Essen (these are a few cities I really know off that are reasonable distance).

I've been looking on google maps, doing some searching, and I've found some places that are doable, but maybe they don't jump out as much as there isn't really much we haven't been able to see in England, Belgium & Netherlands.
I'm then mainly talking about (big) cats and lemurs.
Is there any place that might have some cats a bit more rare?

I've made a list and looking at the animals they have listed on their websites, and maybe not anything quite rare, but just looking nice and good in general to us, and this is what I came up with so far: Möngengladbach, Eifel Zoo, Köln.
I had Wildpark Gangelt, Aachener Tierpark and Tierpark Alsdorf but all turned out to not be much of interest to us.

Thanks!
 
If you're looking for entirely new big cat (sub)species to see then there's pretty limited choice. The best for rare Felidae is probably Wuppertal, with Asian golden cats and Indian leopards, but of the zoos in that region Koln is pretty soundly the best in terms of collection and just generally speaking (has Coquerel's sifakas as well). So I guess if you're really keen on seeing as many new Felidae as possible, Wuppertal (although a visit to Parc des Felins would pretty much tick off every on-show felid species in Europe) but otherwise Koln would be my advice. Also for zoo species lists don't look at websites, look at Zootierliste - it's far more detailed and mostly accurate. Neither Monchengladbach nor Eifel have anything of note really, but while we're at it it's probably worth mentioning the other good collections in that region: Dortmund, Duisburg, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Koln of course, Wuppertal, Munster. Hope this helps :).
 
amur leopard said:
If you're looking for entirely new big cat (sub)species to see then there's pretty limited choice. The best for rare Felidae is probably Wuppertal, with Asian golden cats and Indian leopards, but of the zoos in that region Koln is pretty soundly the best in terms of collection and just generally speaking (has Coquerel's sifakas as well). So I guess if you're really keen on seeing as many new Felidae as possible, Wuppertal (although a visit to Parc des Felins would pretty much tick off every on-show felid species in Europe) but otherwise Koln would be my advice. Also for zoo species lists don't look at websites, look at Zootierliste - it's far more detailed and mostly accurate. Neither Monchengladbach nor Eifel have anything of note really, but while we're at it it's probably worth mentioning the other good collections in that region: Dortmund, Duisburg, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Koln of course, Wuppertal, Munster. Hope this helps :).
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Thanks!
Wuppertal is about 1,5 hours, so not bad at all.
Is it "Der grüne zoo"? Zootierliste only mentions it as "zoologischer garten".
Just want to be sure and not end up somewhere else, lol.
I've actually not seen an Asian Golden Cat.

I have been looking at Zootierliste, but it's hard sometimes not seeing pictures, haha, I'm not super familiar with some names *blush* to know what they are, without having to constantly google them.

I know about Parc des Felins, but that's a 4 hour drive :( and could only do that, if had somewhere to stay aswel, and that's just not something we can do this time round.
Hoping to go to Disneyland again in October, or maybe next year, and then it's very close to each other.
I saw there's a place in Germany, near Berlin I think it was with mainly only cats, but that's the other side of the country, so not an option at this point either.

I wrote down Eifel and Möngengladbach, as they are fairly close, and did look very nice in general.
 
Here is a list of German ZTL collections with various lemurs and big cats. Animals in bold are only kept in 1 German collection. I haven't listed the 63 collections with ring-tailed lemurs, the 29 collections with generic lions, the 27 collections with Siberian tigers. and the 21 collections with generic tigers
Augsburg Black lemur, Persian leopard, Sumatran tiger
Berlin Tierpark: Black-and-white (including belted) and red ruffed lemurs, collared lemur, mongoose lemur, red-bellied lemur, Coquerel's sifaka, Indochinese clouded leopard, Javan leopard, snow leopard, Sumatran tiger
Berlin Zoo: Goodman's and grey mouse lemurs, Barbary lion, jaguar, Persian leopard, Southeast African lion
Dortmund: Amur leopard, Indochinese clouded leopard, jaguar
Duisburg: Black-and-white ruffed lemur, black lemur, Indochinese clouded leopard
Erfurt Zoopark: Crowned lemur, Southwest African lion
Eschede Filmtierpark: Leopard, Southeast African lion
Frankfurt: Aye-aye, grey mouse lemur, western far-tailed dwarf lemur, Asiatic lion, Sumatran tiger
Halle: Malayan tiger, Southwest African lion, Sumatran tiger
Hannover: Black-and-white (belted) ruffed lemur, Barbary lion, North Chinese leopard
Heidelberg Crowned lemur, black-and-white (belted) ruffed lemur, crowned sifaka, Barbary lion, Sumatran tiger
Hodenhagen Serengeti-Park: Black-and-white and red ruffed lemurs, white-fronted lemur, Amur leopard, Kalahari lion, Southeast African lion
Jaderberg (Jaderpark): Red-fronted lemur
Koln: Blue-eyed black lemur, greater bamboo lemur, red ruffed lemur, Goodman's mouse lemur, Coquerel's sifaka, Asiatic lion, Persian leopard
Krefeld: Jaguar, snow leopard, Sumatran tiger
Leipzig Crowned lemur, Amur leopard, Kalahari lionm snow leopard, Southeast African lion
Magdeburg : Black-and-white ruffed lemur, black lemur, crowned lemur, red fronted lemur, snow leopard, Southeast African lion
München Zirkus Krone-Zoo: Leopard, South-east African lion
Münster Allwetterzoo: Black-and-white ruffed lemur, Persian leopard, Southeast African lion
Neunkirchen:Snow leopard, Southeast African lion
Neuwied: Red ruffed lemur, Barbary lion
Nürnberg Crowned lemur, Asiatic lion, snow leopard
Rheine NaturZoo: Black-and-white and red ruffed lemurs, crowned lemur, red-bellied lemur, Sumatran tiger
Rockenhausen Tierpark Donnersberg: White-fronted lemur
Rostock: Red ruffed lemur, jaguar, snow leopard
Saarbrücken: Black-and-white ruffed lemur, black lemur, red-bellied lemur, white-fronted lemur, grey mouse lemur, jaguar
Wolgast Tierpark Tannenkamp Common brown lemur, white-fronted lemur
Wuppertal: Red ruffed lemur, Indian leopard, Indochinese clouded leopard, snow leopard
 
Thanks for all this. I'll need to have a look on Google maps where all these places are.
Berlin would be nice to go to, but that's about a 6,5 hour drive, so sadly a big 'no'.

Neuwied might be possible, when I tell my boyfriend they have Barbary Lions.
 
Moorhunhe said:
I saw there's a place in Germany, near Berlin I think it was with mainly only cats, but that's the other side of the country, so not an option at this point either.
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It's in Sydower Fliess, should be Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae. Decent collection, particularly in the hyena department but doesn't hold a candle to PdF I'm afraid - in fact there is nowhere on Earth with as good a cat collection as PdF.

Moorhunhe said:
Neuwied might be possible, when I tell my boyfriend they have Barbary Lions.
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The lions aren't actually Barbary, they're basically just zoomix with maybe a tiny bit of Barbary blood at some point. Don't believe anywhere has actual Barbary lions anymore.
 
amur leopard said:
The lions aren't actually Barbary, they're basically just zoomix with maybe a tiny bit of Barbary blood at some point. Don't believe anywhere has actual Barbary lions anymore.
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That's what I was thinking though, but as I wasn't sure ... I'm definately not as on top of things like many of you are here, so I was waiting for someone to comment something more correct, haha.
 
Moorhunhe said:
I had Wildpark Gangelt, Aachener Tierpark and Tierpark Alsdorf but all turned out to not be much of interest to us.
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Aachen is worth visiting as a city, however - particularly if you have any interest in history!

amur leopard said:
nor Eifel have anything of note really
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Depends on how one defines "noteworthy" really - I'd argue that African Civet, Bobcat, Dingo and Philippine Palm Civet are all fairly interesting, and (albeit off-show as of last September per ZTL, a state of affairs which could have changed) the Rufous Bettong is a major oddity.

I echo the advice given already that Köln and Wuppertal are the best two options - the former is the better zoo overall (and has a truly excellent reptile and amphibian collection) but the latter does have those wonderful Asian Golden Cats, and is located within a very attractive woodland setting.....
 
Not a cat or lemur of course, but Wuppertal also has Baird's tapir which is only found in one other European zoo! If you do care about any other super rarities you aren't too far from Krefeld which has Europe's last mountain anoa.
 
amur leopard said:
It's in Sydower Fliess, should be Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae. Decent collection, particularly in the hyena department but doesn't hold a candle to PdF I'm afraid - in fact there is nowhere on Earth with as good a cat collection as PdF.
Click to expand...

Are you familiar with PdF?
We were having a chat about it tonight, and we may have found a way to actually go there during our trip! But looking at the amount of animals, and looking on a map that's in the media section, it looks massive, and would 1 day be enough then... ?

TeaLovingDave said:
Aachen is worth visiting as a city, however - particularly if you have any interest in history!
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I've been many times to Aachen, as it's so close to where my parents live, it is indeed a really nice place to visit.

TeaLovingDave said:
Depends on how one defines "noteworthy" really - I'd argue that African Civet, Bobcat, Dingo and Philippine Palm Civet are all fairly interesting, and (albeit off-show as of last September per ZTL, a state of affairs which could have changed) the Rufous Bettong is a major oddity.

I echo the advice given already that Köln and Wuppertal are the best two options - the former is the better zoo overall (and has a truly excellent reptile and amphibian collection) but the latter does have those wonderful Asian Golden Cats, and is located within a very attractive woodland setting.....
Click to expand...

I've put Köln, Wuppertal and Eifel on the list for Germany zoo's so far, and possibly Möngengladbach. We used to go here a lot when I was little, for some reason my parents love it there. I might be able to persuade them to come and drop us off while they go around town, haha.

Mayki said:
Not a cat or lemur of course, but Wuppertal also has Baird's tapir which is only found in one other European zoo! If you do care about any other super rarities you aren't too far from Krefeld which has Europe's last mountain anoa.
Click to expand...

I'll have a look into Krefeld, thank you!
 
Moorhunhe said:
Are you familiar with PdF?
We were having a chat about it tonight, and we may have found a way to actually go there during our trip! But looking at the amount of animals, and looking on a map that's in the media section, it looks massive, and would 1 day be enough then... ?



I've been many times to Aachen, as it's so close to where my parents live, it is indeed a really nice place to visit.



I've put Köln, Wuppertal and Eifel on the list for Germany zoo's so far, and possibly Möngengladbach. We used to go here a lot when I was little, for some reason my parents love it there. I might be able to persuade them to come and drop us off while they go around town, haha.



I'll have a look into Krefeld, thank you!
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Eifel Zoo and Mönchengladbach are skippable zoos, especially Eiffel Zoo has long been in a very bad state, but things should be slighlty improving now... Mönchengladbach is also not worth going out of your way for, I am not sure what attracted you there, but nearby Krefeld is a much better alternative.
 
lintworm said:
Eifel Zoo and Mönchengladbach are skippable zoos, especially Eiffel Zoo has long been in a very bad state, but things should be slighlty improving now... Mönchengladbach is also not worth going out of your way for, I am not sure what attracted you there, but nearby Krefeld is a much better alternative.
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Möngengladbach is fairly close for us, that was a main thing, and just seemed nice in general.
That's why I'm asking for tips :p:)
 
Moorhunhe said:
We were having a chat about it tonight, and we may have found a way to actually go there during our trip! But looking at the amount of animals, and looking on a map that's in the media section, it looks massive, and would 1 day be enough then... ?
Click to expand...

One day is more than enough for PdF but it isn't guaranteed that you'll see every species, the enclosures are great for the animals but it can be a bit tough at times to see the cats, particularly in the larger exhibits.

Having said this, unless you are really a cat fanatic I would still recommend definitely Koln over PdF and probably also Wuppertal.
 
amur leopard said:
One day is more than enough for PdF but it isn't guaranteed that you'll see every species, the enclosures are great for the animals but it can be a bit tough at times to see the cats, particularly in the larger exhibits.

Having said this, unless you are really a cat fanatic I would still recommend definitely Koln over PdF and probably also Wuppertal.
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Oh we are very much both cat fanatics, hehe.
It's been on my radar for years, but just never knew how te really get there as not been to Disneyland in over 3 years (used to go 5 times a years before 2020, so figured we'd get there someday when at Disney).
But with having a chat, seems we can go at the begining of our trip. So it's on the list now of possibilities.
Köln and/or Wuppertal can still be done, we got 9 days left to visit places.
 
Moorhunhe said:
Möngengladbach is fairly close for us, that was a main thing, and just seemed nice in general.
That's why I'm asking for tips :p:)
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Here's another tip - you keep writing "Möngengladbach" when you mean Mönchengladbach :P
 
I've been to Cologne and even though it didn't entirely fit my taste it's definitely an interesting fairly large zoo. As far as I know, they also have one of the largest collection of lemurs (only Berlin has more). So this should be a safe choice.

As to Mönchengladbach (a fun name to practice German pronunciation), I wasn't even aware they actually have a zoo. Apparently, it gets quite decent ratings on Google. But it's really small with few animals (and not many interesting ones).
And as to Eiffel-Zoo, it has/used to have a really bad reputation across German zoo forums (which tend to be zoo friendly rather than overly critical).
I would probably skip both of them, but I cannot speak from personal experience.

Nor do I know any of the other zoos discussed here. But I have heard some rather nice comments about Krefeld. Unfortunately, it does not seem to offer many of the species you are looking for (in particular when it comes to rarely kept ones). So Wuppertal may indeed be the better choice.
 
markmeier said:
I've been to Cologne and even though it didn't entirely fit my taste it's definitely an interesting fairly large zoo. As far as I know, they also have one of the largest collection of lemurs (only Berlin has more). So this should be a safe choice.

As to Mönchengladbach (a fun name to practice German pronunciation), I wasn't even aware they actually have a zoo. Apparently, it gets quite decent ratings on Google. But it's really small with few animals (and not many interesting ones).
And as to Eiffel-Zoo, it has/used to have a really bad reputation across German zoo forums (which tend to be zoo friendly rather than overly critical).
I would probably skip both of them, but I cannot speak from personal experience.

Nor do I know any of the other zoos discussed here. But I have heard some rather nice comments about Krefeld. Unfortunately, it does not seem to offer many of the species you are looking for (in particular when it comes to rarely kept ones). So Wuppertal may indeed be the better choice.
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I speak pretty fluent German, but I can't spell it for the life of me, haha.

Krefeld seems really nice, just now had a chance to have a look at their website.

It does seem in general people are commenting the same things about certain places, so will make the planning a bit easier I do think.
 
Moorhunhe said:
Wuppertal is about 1,5 hours, so not bad at all.
Is it "Der grüne zoo"? Zootierliste only mentions it as "zoologischer garten".
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Zoologischer Garten der Stadt Wuppertal / Zoo Wuppertal / Wuppertal Zoo = Der Grüne Zoo Wuppertal. The latter is a title of own designation termed by the current zoo director to underline its dedication to "green" energy and environmental protection.
 
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