Tiktaalik
Member
I visited Osnabruck last week on a blisteringly hot day, but an enjoyable visit nevertheless. The zoo is building new stuff atan impressively high pace, although not every new development deserves praise (i.e. orangutans). Still, this means that there's something new and inviting to see on just about every visit, even if you visit the zoo quite often, like me.
Some updates from this visit:
- Lion Amina has been put to sleep at 14 years of age because of her rapidly detoriating health
- The new camel exhibit is... well... kind of finished. The inhabitants are already there but there's still a lot of construction going on at the site. Partly, this is because they are also building a new exhibit for red panda's next to the camel exhibit. The camel exhibit itself is generously sized but it looks pretty sterile and boring because of the plentiful use of grey gravel as surface (the same kind of gravel is also used in the zebra exhibit in the Takamanda zone). This is probably functional for the zookeepers but not exactly pleasing to the eye.
- I think the new 'Wasserwelten' area is rather good. The sea lion and seal exhibits are immense improvements over the old situation and they are both quite large. The exhibits look quite nice with fine (but perhaps not brilliant) theming and the underwater viewing is quite impressive too. I like the fact that you look out over these exhibits from the restaurant terrace as well. The penguin exhibit is a walkthrough with a generously sized land part. The pool is only alright and I would have liked it to be deeper and larger, but it is still a big improvement over the old small and shallow pool. I also did not like the fact that some of the smaller land parts in the exhibits were completely surrounded by paths. The pelican exhibit is probably okay for the animals but it feels a bit weird because it is not really an aviary but instead consists of high fences with a 'ceiling' consisting of a maze of hanging ropes that could not really be considered a net. The exhibit is also very featureless and almost completely devoid of planting. I really think this is a big missed opportunity, as with a bit of landscaping and added species (and perhaps using some of the space around it as well as it could have been much larger) this could have been a nice water bird aviary. Overall though, not a bad addition but it is typical for Osnabruck that it could have been much better with a bit more thought and attention to detail.
Some updates from this visit:
- Lion Amina has been put to sleep at 14 years of age because of her rapidly detoriating health
- The new camel exhibit is... well... kind of finished. The inhabitants are already there but there's still a lot of construction going on at the site. Partly, this is because they are also building a new exhibit for red panda's next to the camel exhibit. The camel exhibit itself is generously sized but it looks pretty sterile and boring because of the plentiful use of grey gravel as surface (the same kind of gravel is also used in the zebra exhibit in the Takamanda zone). This is probably functional for the zookeepers but not exactly pleasing to the eye.
- I think the new 'Wasserwelten' area is rather good. The sea lion and seal exhibits are immense improvements over the old situation and they are both quite large. The exhibits look quite nice with fine (but perhaps not brilliant) theming and the underwater viewing is quite impressive too. I like the fact that you look out over these exhibits from the restaurant terrace as well. The penguin exhibit is a walkthrough with a generously sized land part. The pool is only alright and I would have liked it to be deeper and larger, but it is still a big improvement over the old small and shallow pool. I also did not like the fact that some of the smaller land parts in the exhibits were completely surrounded by paths. The pelican exhibit is probably okay for the animals but it feels a bit weird because it is not really an aviary but instead consists of high fences with a 'ceiling' consisting of a maze of hanging ropes that could not really be considered a net. The exhibit is also very featureless and almost completely devoid of planting. I really think this is a big missed opportunity, as with a bit of landscaping and added species (and perhaps using some of the space around it as well as it could have been much larger) this could have been a nice water bird aviary. Overall though, not a bad addition but it is typical for Osnabruck that it could have been much better with a bit more thought and attention to detail.
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