Part IV. Alfred Brehm Haus
The Alfred Brehmhaus has perhaps always been the Tierpark's showpiece: it is monstrously large, has always displayed a very rich and varied collection and is of historical-architectural importance. It’s one of those iconic zoo buidings, like Vienna’s Kaisers Pavilion, Antwerp’s Egyptian temple, the Big Rock in Vincennes or the World of Birds in the Bronx zoo. The building, with its distinctive indoor rock terraces and 14 outdoor cages for big felids, was from the beginning one of the largest animal houses in the world. Needless to say, what was then considered a paragon for keeping carnivores became completely obsolete over the years, even to the extent that the building received modifications in 1996, when particular the outdoor cages were enlarged. That hardly brought improvement, but the building enjoys protection as a monument, and so it was not until the 2010-2020s that consideration could be given to another (in fact 2, 2015 and 2020), more extensive renovation.
Main entrance
It opened in 1963 as a carnivore house but also displayed other species. The 5300sqm Y-shaped complex has a tropical rainforest in the middle. The 2 wings each end with a large sandstone moated terrace for lion and tiger. It is a bombastic yet quite elegant building, and typical of the “cold war” zeitgeist in which the East aimed to match, and if possible, surpass the West.
In the widest part, with the 1,100-square-meter tropical rainforest that visitors can view from two floors, there are large display cases between the cat cages where in the beginning mainly tropical birds were shown. Concrete, glass and tiles dominated the view, and it has remained so. The building underwent some minor modifications in the intervening years and by 2020 was thoroughly renovated, made more climate proof and the number of species reduced.
Entrance area
With the renovation, it also got a new function, from carnivore house to a Southeast Asian rainforest building although carnivores have remained a strong point. The (very small) bird cases were transformed into beautiful landscape terrariums, and the building gained some spectacular inhabitants, but fortunately nothing was changed about the ground structure and appearance. The outdoor enclosures were merged and enlarged, and visitors no longer walk from cage to cage in a straight line, as in the past, but rather along a winding path among dense planting and where large viewing windows were installed here and there.
If there is one winner, it’s the Tierpark’s bamboo supplier .
So what is there to see nowadays?
Both large indoor rocky terraces have been enlarged by filling in the moats while large windows now form the barrier. These enclosures are now holding Malayan sunbear and Sumatran tiger.
Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus)
The bears got a large outdoor enclosure, but the tigers remain confined to the 2 existing small rocky terraces on either side of their inner courtyard. It is unfortunate that the patio in the fork of the Y was not included to create larger tiger enclosures. Perhaps it is not allowed because of the monumental status of the building, or there were not enough financial resources. In any case, outdoors tiger accommodation is very substandard.
Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus)
Snowleopards moved to the Himalaya area and the North African Cheetah kept their enclosure.
At the back, the
vulture aviary (1965) remains a phenomenal showpiece and, as far as I'm concerned, it wouldn't have been at all necessary for you to be able to peek in now. Exciting though it is and the aviary is now very nicely planted and decorated and you can spend hours looking at the many inhabitants. The Yellow-headed Vultures seem to have disappeared, but with White-backed, White-headed, Rueppels and Himalayan Vultures, among others, there are plenty of goodies left. The raptors have been joined by Grey Crowned Cranes, I wonder to what extent that is permanent or if we will encounter them later around the savannah.
Vulture aviary
The former ‘leopard’ cages all are enlarged and are now holding Javan Leopard, Asiatic Golden Cat (I only saw a glimpse inside), Bear Cuscus, Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo, Indochinese clouded leopard, Dusky pademelon and Binturong. The felids have a lot of off show boxes and you need some luck to catch a glimpse of them.
Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas)
All these can be watched again inside the building, where certainly the Clouded leopard and Bear cuscus are shown in very attractive enclosures. The others are more off sight by using bamboo, shrines and wood panels, but not impossible to catch a glimpse.
Bear Cuscus (Ailurops ursinus)
In the middle of the main entrance is a very attractive King cobra exhibit and on the cuscus side there’s a mixed enclosure for Northern Threeshrew and Burmese Star Tortoise.
King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
The base of the Y is dominated by the centrally positioned
tropical rainforest walk-through. It’s main inhabitants are False Gharial which can be seen in two pools and accompanied by Painted Terrapin and Asian Leaf Turtle, resp. Elongated Tortoise and Yellow-headed Temple Turtle. A short walk through the rainforest leads along an aviary with Seram Eclectus, Elongated Tortoise and Southern Brown Tortoise, while a number of free roamers can be seen from this path or from the balconies: Himalayn Black and Red-whiskered Bulbul, Crested Partridge, Sclaters Crowned and Nicobar pigeon, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Blue-crowned laughingthrush, White-rumped Shama, Mindanao Bleeding-heart, Palawan Peacock-pheasant, Bali mynah, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (the only species I didn’t see) and 2 mammals: Balabac chevrotain and Indian Flying Fox. Gharials pools are very nicely done, otherwise the area is a bit small for a real rainforest feeling.
False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii)
The former bird display cases have now been replaced on each side of the rainforest by six spacious, immersive terrarium. In them a selection of reptiles and amphibians, and I am pleased to see a number of species from the closed Snake Farm and Crocodile House back here.
I’m pleased to see the ABH shining again and that it kept it’s status as a ‘zoo-in-the-zoo’, packed with interesting species, all in well-designed but still not very spacious exhibits.
Species list on 28 september 2024
Starting from the main entrance and clockwise
1. King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
2. Northern Treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri) and Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota)
3. Bear Cuscus (Ailurops ursinus)
Row terrarium between Bear Cuscus and Malayan Sunbear
4. Pitviper (Protobothrops mangshanensis)
5. Black Tree Monitor (Varanus beccarii)
A. Asiatic Golden Cat (Catopuma temminckii)
6. Beauty Ratsnake (Elaphe taeniura), Moellendorff’s Ratsnake (Elaphe moellendorffi) and Zhou’s Box Turtle (Cuora zhoui)
7. Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor)
B. Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas)
8. Rhinoceros Snake (Gonyosoma boulengeri), Mandarin Trinketsnake (Euprepiophis mandarinus) and Central Vietnamese Flowerback or Bourret’s Box Turtle (Cuora bourreti)
9. Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) and Black-breasted Leaf Turtle Geoemyda spenleri)
Row terrarium between Sumatran tiger and Main Entrance
10. Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi buergersi)
11. Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis) and White-lipped Tree Frog (Nyctimystes infrafrenatus)
12. Brongersma or Red Blood Python (Python brongersmai) and Tokeh Gecko (Gekko gecko)
13. Emerald Tree Skink (Lamprolegis smaragdina), Soloman Island Eyelash Frog or Guether’s Triangle Frog (Cornufer guentheri)
14. Blue-spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus macraei)
15. Cane Toad (Rhinella marina) and Fiji Banded Iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus)
16. Banded Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila melanota)
17. Indochinese Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa)
Indochinese Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa)
Midsection and Tropical rainforest
18. Bavay’s Giant Gecko (Mniarogekko chahoua)
19. Aviary: Grand Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus roratus), Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) and Asian Forest Tortoise (Manouria emys emys)
20. Rainforest walk-through : Himalayan Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus), Crested Partridge (Rollulus roulroul), Mindanao Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba crinigera), Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica), White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus), Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella), Sclaters Crowned Pigeon (Goura sclateri), Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot (Loriculus galgulus), Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus courtoisi), Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi), Palawan Peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron napolensis), Balabac Chevrotain (Tragulus nigricans) and Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus medius)
21. False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), Malaysian Painted River Turtle (Batagur borneoensis) and Asian Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys dentata)
22. False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (Heosemys annandalii)
23. Vietnamese Crocodile Newt (Tylototriton vietnamensis)
24. Daisy’s Ricefish (Oryzias woworae)
25. Orange Rock Snail (Tylomelania sp.)
26. Giant Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina maxima)
Outside
1. Empty (possible for the Asiatic golden cat)
2. Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas)
3. Malayan sunbear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus) and Malayan Binturong (Arctictis binturong binturong)
4. Empty (courtyard)
5. Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) (courtyard)
6. Vulture aviary
7. Sudan Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii)
8. Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
9. Dusky Pademelon (Thylogale brunii) and Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi buergersi)
10. Indochinese Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa)
