Part III: En-Route To Jungleworld
We next came to a relatively large enclosure for European Barn Owl (Tyto alba); there were several trees and bushes dotted around an open grassy floor, with a large felled tree – presumably intended as a climbing and perching point – resting against a cluster of imitation rocks towards the centre of the aviary forming a cave-like shelter. One wall of the aviary, where the indoor housing for the inhabitants was located, was rather overgrown with ivy and other vegetation. Although the aviary seemed very pleasant, and certainly provided enough space for the taxon within, the enclosure gave the distinct impression that it had been designed with a more terrestrial inhabitant in mind; this would certainly explain the relatively open nature of the aviary, and the presence of a ground-floor den in a central point. A little further along from here, we reached a rather long and spacious enclosure which was signposted for Northern Lynx (Lynx lynx lynx); this largely possessed a scrubby substrate with little grass, interspersed with boulders, fallen trees and logs, and overall seemed a little poorly-kept – certainly in worse condition than the Missouri Cougar enclosure had been. We were unable to gauge whether the enclosure was, nonetheless, still well-suited to the inhabitants, as we were unable to see any Lynx despite lingering at the enclosure for some time. The back of the enclosure, where the indoor housing was located, also gave the distinct impression of having been left to stagnate for some time.
We then reached a large and rather appealing enclosure for Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia); open grassy expanses were counterpointed with areas where there were dense clusters of rocks and boulders providing plenty of climbing opportunities for the inhabitants, with a handful of trees scattered around the more open areas. I felt that this enclosure was significantly better than many of those which we had encountered in this portion of Tierpark Hellabrunn, which I was getting the distinct impression was one of the areas which had gone longest without renovation. In many ways it reminded me of the similar area containing big cat dens at Zoo Leipzig, which we had seen a year previously on our last trip to Germany; however, the aforesaid area had lacked anything matching the quality of this Snow Leopard enclosure. The inhabitants were not terribly active in the growing heat of the morning, but it was obvious that they had plenty of space in which to move around, and plenty of places around the enclosure where they could escape the view of the public. Just opposite, we came across the viewing for the internal enclosures for the Northern Lynx and Amur Tiger; these comprised relatively small, stark rooms clad in wooden boards, with shelves along the back walls and small amounts of wood-chip and tree branches on the floor of the enclosures. Although perfectly serviceable as indoor shelters for the inhabitants, they struck me as rather unappealing in appearance and possibly a little too small – especially in the case of the enclosure for Amur Tiger.
It occurred to me that they were no different from the carnivore dens at the Alfred-Brehm Haus at Tierpark Berlin, if not slightly inferior; yet the latter enclosures are – as I have discussed at length in the past – often criticised and lambasted, whilst I had never heard anything negative about the enclosures at Tierpark Hellabrunn prior to my visit. This disparity struck me as all the more “off” when one considers that before ascending to the directorship of the two Berlin collection, Andreas Kniereim had been the director of Tierpark Hellabrunn for five years; I find it strange that he has stated his desire to comprehensively change the Alfred-Brehm enclosures, yet apparently felt these dens and surrounding enclosures at Tierpark Hellabrunn were worthy of being left alone.
A bit further along, we came across several large enclosures for European Wolverine (Gulo gulo gulo), each of which followed the same general design; numerous rock dens, piles of fallen wood and boulders were strewn around on several levels, with the substrate varying between grass, scrub and bare earth, and areas of thick vegetation and tree cover. One of the enclosures contained a large and quite deep pond, the only major variance from the aforementioned plan. Each enclosure was obviously very well-suited to its inhabitants; the wolverines were extremely active and moving from enclosure to enclosure with great alacrity, and seemed to be making full use of the space granted to them. As such, this – along with the snow leopard enclosure – struck me as one of the only exhibits in this area of the Tierpark which was not, in some way, out-of-date or lacking. Near the Snow Leopard and Wolverine enclosures, there was an extremely attractive – albeit somewhat stylised – statue of a tiger; judging by the style of the statue it probably had been designed by the same individual who produced the Ibex statues at the entrance to the zoo. As has already been noted, I quite like to see this kind of ornamentation and decoration in zoological collections; as such I took several photographs of this statue.
To the right of us, we could see a large enclosure for Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti); a deep pool to the front of the exhibit surrounded a platform of bare rock and earth, with the rear of the enclosure comprising imitation-rock crags and cliff-faces in which several dens and nesting hollows could be seen. Approximately one-third of the way along the crags from the left, they were partially bisected by a waterfall which fed the main pool of the enclosure. A rather large group of penguins was visible; they seemed to be making good use of the exhibit, which overall was quite pleasant to the eye and seemed very much suitable for the taxon in question.
We then decided to make our way towards the “Jungle World” tropical house, visiting the Giant Tortoise House en-route. The path towards the latter area led directly away from the penguin enclosure which we had just viewed, to a point where a pair of rather spacious enclosures could be seen to either side of us. The enclosure to the right of us was signposted for Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) and Southern Grey-crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum regulorum), although the latter taxon was not visible at the time of our visit, and comprised a large area of scrub and woodland, dotted with semi-flooded muddy areas merging into wide shallow pools, fed by another of the freshwater creeks flowing through the zoo. The enclosure seemed to be well-suited for the Red River Hogs, a taxon which I have seen on many occasions in the past and know to fare well in enclosures which provide plenty of semi-wetland; equally, the enclosure appeared to be holding up to the activities of the inhabitants rather well.
As the pools between the enclosure and the public viewing areas were shallow, I thought it worthwhile trying to see if I could spot any interesting fauna within the water; although I was unsuccessful, I was very pleased to note the distinctive sound of Crested Tit (Parus cristatus) from the trees overhead. A few minutes attention revealed not only a handful of individuals – a very satisfying sighting, when one considers the fact that within the United Kingdom the taxon is restricted to the Cairngorms of Scotland – but also a European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca); the latter taxon winters in Africa and only returns to Europe in early-to-mid April, so the timing of my visit was very fortunate in this regard. The opposite enclosure contained Abyssinian Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) and Southern Grey-crowned Crane; the latter taxon was visible in this enclosure, so it is possible that the cranes have been moved from one enclosure to the other. This enclosure, although also containing one of the creeks diverted from the Isar, was significantly drier than its neighbour; furthermore, it was approximately twice the size, more or less equal to the Przewalski’s Horse paddock in scale. However, in design it was much closer to the European Elk enclosure we had seen earlier which – as noted elsewhere – was also roughly this size; large expanses of grass were broken here and there by mature trees and vegetation, with logs laid around the enclosure here and there. The enclosure was certainly a very good one for the taxa it contained; even though all three are relatively large taxa they were dwarfed by the scale of the enclosure as a whole, and in point of fact it took us a few minutes careful observation and walking around the perimeter of the enclosure before we were able to spot the group of around seven or eight Nyala feeding at the far end.
We then made our way into the Giant Tortoise house; within, we found that the house was more or less divided into two sections, and contained lush planting throughout both. The first, and largest section comprised a massive enclosure for at least half a dozen Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) whilst the second comprised a public walkway overlooking the former enclosure, with a series of insectariums and vivariums found along the wall for the entire span of the house from the entrance to the exit.
As noted, both sections were lushly planted with a variety of tropical vegetation, and the house as a whole was extremely hot and humid. Free-flying Eastern Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa vasa) had access to the entirety of the house; as this is a species of parrot which I am rather fond of, I was quite pleased to see them – although they were much too active for any effective photographs to be taken! The insectariums and vivariums which were located along the wall of the public portion of the house included the following taxa:
Bicolor Stick Insect (Periphetes forcipatus)
Six-spot Ground Beetle (Anthia sexguttata)
Giant African Land Snail (Achatina spp)
Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana)
Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata)
Walking Leaf (Phyllium celebicum)
Kleinmann's Tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni)
Annam Walking Stick (Medauroidea extradentata)
Papua Snake-Lizard (Lialis jicari)
Band-legged Golden Orb-web Spider (Nephila senegalensis)
Leaf-cutter Ant (Atta sexdens)
Seychelles Giant Millipede (Seychelleptus seychellarum)
Prehensile-Tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata)
Many of these species were found in multiple tanks, with no taxon displayed without another sharing the tank with the exception of the Leaf-cutter Ant, and not all examples of the taxa were labelled. As such, the list – although in order of first appearance – does not entirely reflect the full breakdown of what taxa were located in which tanks. Frustratingly, the Papua Snake-Lizard was either a no-show or – possibly more likely – blended in sufficiently well with the vines, twigs and thick vegetation of its vivarium that I failed to spot it. As the only public collection displaying this taxon within Europe, this was rather disappointing. The quality of the tanks within this selection, and the taxa on display within them, was of a very high standard; naturally the substrate and contents of each insectariums varied by which taxa were displayed within, but each managed to achieve the balance between presenting a good display for the public and providing the right blend of vegetation, cover and habitat construction for the inhabitants. As already noted, it is in fact possible that the balance was deliberately shifted towards the inhabitants, and that where a decision had to be made between ensuring the taxa were visible, and ensuring their welfare, the latter consideration was the one which took priority. Much as I would very much have liked to have seen the Snake-Lizard, this is the way it should be.
As we left the Giant Tortoise House, we came across the temporary outside housing for the Elephant group which is held at Tierpark Hellabrunn; these comprise a mixed group of non-subspecific Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) and pure Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus). The original Elephant House was one of the first buildings to be constructed at the zoo, having been built in a Byzantine style in 1914, and as a result has long been out-of-date and no longer fit for purpose. Hence, some time before my visit a comprehensive renovation programme had been initiated; as the building is Grade II listed the exterior shell – and hence the original appearance - has been retained, but the internal structure of the building has been entirely gutted in order to permit a complete rebuild incorporating modern technology and zookeeping facilities in accordance with the latest zoological standards. In the meantime, a temporary house – not accessible to the public - has been constructed on the site of the former bull elephant enclosure, which at the time of my visit was being used to house a juvenile male, his mother and three other cow elephants; for the duration of the construction work, the breeding bull elephant was being housed at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg. The outside paddock for the elephants, therefore, is the only means at present of seeing this taxon at the collection. Fortunately, the weather was warm and pleasant and as a result the entire group was active and visible. The paddock was, broadly speaking, akin to many other such enclosures, comprising as it did a spacious sandy area dotted with imitation rock work, tree trunks and boulders. Although nowhere near as good as the completed Elephant House and its complex of external paddocks will be, this enclosure struck me as a good use of the available resources and space in the meantime. The next enclosure we reached – technically speaking an outdoor portion of the Jungleworld house – comprised a display for non-subspecific Lion (Panthera leo). This exhibit was surrounded, for obvious reasons, by a very wide and deep moat; this gave the distinct impression that the enclosure itself was an island floating in the middle of a lake. The lion enclosure contained significant numbers of boulders and logs, on which we were able to observe the inhabitants basking in the morning sun, but despite looking quite visually appealing gave the distinct impression of being rather too small for the taxon in question. This struck me as a shame, as I believe this enclosure – along with the Jungleworld house itself – is one of the newest portions of Tierpark Hellabrunn, having been built in 2005. This also potentially gives a rough date to the construction of the statue work which I have been remarking on throughout these reviews, as a third statue – of a lion – in the same style was present overlooking this area.
The final exhibit we reached before entering Jungleworld itself was a pair of enclosures for Nepalese Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens). Each of the two enclosures was – although very pleasant – more or less the standard design for exhibits of this taxon; a grassy enclosure with a tall central tree, surrounded by various branches, logs and wooden platforms increasing the level of climbing opportunity available to the inhabitants, and with interior dens for the Red Panda provided close to ground level. However, the exhibit as a whole did something which we had never before seen in a zoological collection; although each enclosure was surrounded by a shallow moat, they were separated from one another by a pond which – at an estimate – was at least ten metres long. This pond was spanned by a bridge allowing the public to cross from one side to another; however beneath the bridge, a long series of logs and branches connected to one another allowed the inhabitants of one enclosure to cross into the other, and visa versa. As such, this exhibit as a whole provided the opportunity for members of the public to potentially watch the Red Pandas within the exhibit moving underneath them as they moved from one portion of the enclosure to the other – not to mention possibly choosing to swim the gap between enclosures, or indeed falling into the water accidentally. As the inhabitants of the exhibit appeared to entirely be present in one enclosure at this point in time, we made a mental note to check the exhibit later in the day to discover if they do indeed cross from enclosure to enclosure during public opening hours. Having enjoyed seeing a familiar taxon displayed in an unfamiliar and intriguing fashion, we made our way into the Jungleworld house.
We next came to a relatively large enclosure for European Barn Owl (Tyto alba); there were several trees and bushes dotted around an open grassy floor, with a large felled tree – presumably intended as a climbing and perching point – resting against a cluster of imitation rocks towards the centre of the aviary forming a cave-like shelter. One wall of the aviary, where the indoor housing for the inhabitants was located, was rather overgrown with ivy and other vegetation. Although the aviary seemed very pleasant, and certainly provided enough space for the taxon within, the enclosure gave the distinct impression that it had been designed with a more terrestrial inhabitant in mind; this would certainly explain the relatively open nature of the aviary, and the presence of a ground-floor den in a central point. A little further along from here, we reached a rather long and spacious enclosure which was signposted for Northern Lynx (Lynx lynx lynx); this largely possessed a scrubby substrate with little grass, interspersed with boulders, fallen trees and logs, and overall seemed a little poorly-kept – certainly in worse condition than the Missouri Cougar enclosure had been. We were unable to gauge whether the enclosure was, nonetheless, still well-suited to the inhabitants, as we were unable to see any Lynx despite lingering at the enclosure for some time. The back of the enclosure, where the indoor housing was located, also gave the distinct impression of having been left to stagnate for some time.
We then reached a large and rather appealing enclosure for Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia); open grassy expanses were counterpointed with areas where there were dense clusters of rocks and boulders providing plenty of climbing opportunities for the inhabitants, with a handful of trees scattered around the more open areas. I felt that this enclosure was significantly better than many of those which we had encountered in this portion of Tierpark Hellabrunn, which I was getting the distinct impression was one of the areas which had gone longest without renovation. In many ways it reminded me of the similar area containing big cat dens at Zoo Leipzig, which we had seen a year previously on our last trip to Germany; however, the aforesaid area had lacked anything matching the quality of this Snow Leopard enclosure. The inhabitants were not terribly active in the growing heat of the morning, but it was obvious that they had plenty of space in which to move around, and plenty of places around the enclosure where they could escape the view of the public. Just opposite, we came across the viewing for the internal enclosures for the Northern Lynx and Amur Tiger; these comprised relatively small, stark rooms clad in wooden boards, with shelves along the back walls and small amounts of wood-chip and tree branches on the floor of the enclosures. Although perfectly serviceable as indoor shelters for the inhabitants, they struck me as rather unappealing in appearance and possibly a little too small – especially in the case of the enclosure for Amur Tiger.
It occurred to me that they were no different from the carnivore dens at the Alfred-Brehm Haus at Tierpark Berlin, if not slightly inferior; yet the latter enclosures are – as I have discussed at length in the past – often criticised and lambasted, whilst I had never heard anything negative about the enclosures at Tierpark Hellabrunn prior to my visit. This disparity struck me as all the more “off” when one considers that before ascending to the directorship of the two Berlin collection, Andreas Kniereim had been the director of Tierpark Hellabrunn for five years; I find it strange that he has stated his desire to comprehensively change the Alfred-Brehm enclosures, yet apparently felt these dens and surrounding enclosures at Tierpark Hellabrunn were worthy of being left alone.
A bit further along, we came across several large enclosures for European Wolverine (Gulo gulo gulo), each of which followed the same general design; numerous rock dens, piles of fallen wood and boulders were strewn around on several levels, with the substrate varying between grass, scrub and bare earth, and areas of thick vegetation and tree cover. One of the enclosures contained a large and quite deep pond, the only major variance from the aforementioned plan. Each enclosure was obviously very well-suited to its inhabitants; the wolverines were extremely active and moving from enclosure to enclosure with great alacrity, and seemed to be making full use of the space granted to them. As such, this – along with the snow leopard enclosure – struck me as one of the only exhibits in this area of the Tierpark which was not, in some way, out-of-date or lacking. Near the Snow Leopard and Wolverine enclosures, there was an extremely attractive – albeit somewhat stylised – statue of a tiger; judging by the style of the statue it probably had been designed by the same individual who produced the Ibex statues at the entrance to the zoo. As has already been noted, I quite like to see this kind of ornamentation and decoration in zoological collections; as such I took several photographs of this statue.
To the right of us, we could see a large enclosure for Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti); a deep pool to the front of the exhibit surrounded a platform of bare rock and earth, with the rear of the enclosure comprising imitation-rock crags and cliff-faces in which several dens and nesting hollows could be seen. Approximately one-third of the way along the crags from the left, they were partially bisected by a waterfall which fed the main pool of the enclosure. A rather large group of penguins was visible; they seemed to be making good use of the exhibit, which overall was quite pleasant to the eye and seemed very much suitable for the taxon in question.
We then decided to make our way towards the “Jungle World” tropical house, visiting the Giant Tortoise House en-route. The path towards the latter area led directly away from the penguin enclosure which we had just viewed, to a point where a pair of rather spacious enclosures could be seen to either side of us. The enclosure to the right of us was signposted for Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) and Southern Grey-crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum regulorum), although the latter taxon was not visible at the time of our visit, and comprised a large area of scrub and woodland, dotted with semi-flooded muddy areas merging into wide shallow pools, fed by another of the freshwater creeks flowing through the zoo. The enclosure seemed to be well-suited for the Red River Hogs, a taxon which I have seen on many occasions in the past and know to fare well in enclosures which provide plenty of semi-wetland; equally, the enclosure appeared to be holding up to the activities of the inhabitants rather well.
As the pools between the enclosure and the public viewing areas were shallow, I thought it worthwhile trying to see if I could spot any interesting fauna within the water; although I was unsuccessful, I was very pleased to note the distinctive sound of Crested Tit (Parus cristatus) from the trees overhead. A few minutes attention revealed not only a handful of individuals – a very satisfying sighting, when one considers the fact that within the United Kingdom the taxon is restricted to the Cairngorms of Scotland – but also a European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca); the latter taxon winters in Africa and only returns to Europe in early-to-mid April, so the timing of my visit was very fortunate in this regard. The opposite enclosure contained Abyssinian Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) and Southern Grey-crowned Crane; the latter taxon was visible in this enclosure, so it is possible that the cranes have been moved from one enclosure to the other. This enclosure, although also containing one of the creeks diverted from the Isar, was significantly drier than its neighbour; furthermore, it was approximately twice the size, more or less equal to the Przewalski’s Horse paddock in scale. However, in design it was much closer to the European Elk enclosure we had seen earlier which – as noted elsewhere – was also roughly this size; large expanses of grass were broken here and there by mature trees and vegetation, with logs laid around the enclosure here and there. The enclosure was certainly a very good one for the taxa it contained; even though all three are relatively large taxa they were dwarfed by the scale of the enclosure as a whole, and in point of fact it took us a few minutes careful observation and walking around the perimeter of the enclosure before we were able to spot the group of around seven or eight Nyala feeding at the far end.
We then made our way into the Giant Tortoise house; within, we found that the house was more or less divided into two sections, and contained lush planting throughout both. The first, and largest section comprised a massive enclosure for at least half a dozen Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) whilst the second comprised a public walkway overlooking the former enclosure, with a series of insectariums and vivariums found along the wall for the entire span of the house from the entrance to the exit.
As noted, both sections were lushly planted with a variety of tropical vegetation, and the house as a whole was extremely hot and humid. Free-flying Eastern Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa vasa) had access to the entirety of the house; as this is a species of parrot which I am rather fond of, I was quite pleased to see them – although they were much too active for any effective photographs to be taken! The insectariums and vivariums which were located along the wall of the public portion of the house included the following taxa:
Bicolor Stick Insect (Periphetes forcipatus)
Six-spot Ground Beetle (Anthia sexguttata)
Giant African Land Snail (Achatina spp)
Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana)
Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata)
Walking Leaf (Phyllium celebicum)
Kleinmann's Tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni)
Annam Walking Stick (Medauroidea extradentata)
Papua Snake-Lizard (Lialis jicari)
Band-legged Golden Orb-web Spider (Nephila senegalensis)
Leaf-cutter Ant (Atta sexdens)
Seychelles Giant Millipede (Seychelleptus seychellarum)
Prehensile-Tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata)
Many of these species were found in multiple tanks, with no taxon displayed without another sharing the tank with the exception of the Leaf-cutter Ant, and not all examples of the taxa were labelled. As such, the list – although in order of first appearance – does not entirely reflect the full breakdown of what taxa were located in which tanks. Frustratingly, the Papua Snake-Lizard was either a no-show or – possibly more likely – blended in sufficiently well with the vines, twigs and thick vegetation of its vivarium that I failed to spot it. As the only public collection displaying this taxon within Europe, this was rather disappointing. The quality of the tanks within this selection, and the taxa on display within them, was of a very high standard; naturally the substrate and contents of each insectariums varied by which taxa were displayed within, but each managed to achieve the balance between presenting a good display for the public and providing the right blend of vegetation, cover and habitat construction for the inhabitants. As already noted, it is in fact possible that the balance was deliberately shifted towards the inhabitants, and that where a decision had to be made between ensuring the taxa were visible, and ensuring their welfare, the latter consideration was the one which took priority. Much as I would very much have liked to have seen the Snake-Lizard, this is the way it should be.
As we left the Giant Tortoise House, we came across the temporary outside housing for the Elephant group which is held at Tierpark Hellabrunn; these comprise a mixed group of non-subspecific Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) and pure Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus). The original Elephant House was one of the first buildings to be constructed at the zoo, having been built in a Byzantine style in 1914, and as a result has long been out-of-date and no longer fit for purpose. Hence, some time before my visit a comprehensive renovation programme had been initiated; as the building is Grade II listed the exterior shell – and hence the original appearance - has been retained, but the internal structure of the building has been entirely gutted in order to permit a complete rebuild incorporating modern technology and zookeeping facilities in accordance with the latest zoological standards. In the meantime, a temporary house – not accessible to the public - has been constructed on the site of the former bull elephant enclosure, which at the time of my visit was being used to house a juvenile male, his mother and three other cow elephants; for the duration of the construction work, the breeding bull elephant was being housed at Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg. The outside paddock for the elephants, therefore, is the only means at present of seeing this taxon at the collection. Fortunately, the weather was warm and pleasant and as a result the entire group was active and visible. The paddock was, broadly speaking, akin to many other such enclosures, comprising as it did a spacious sandy area dotted with imitation rock work, tree trunks and boulders. Although nowhere near as good as the completed Elephant House and its complex of external paddocks will be, this enclosure struck me as a good use of the available resources and space in the meantime. The next enclosure we reached – technically speaking an outdoor portion of the Jungleworld house – comprised a display for non-subspecific Lion (Panthera leo). This exhibit was surrounded, for obvious reasons, by a very wide and deep moat; this gave the distinct impression that the enclosure itself was an island floating in the middle of a lake. The lion enclosure contained significant numbers of boulders and logs, on which we were able to observe the inhabitants basking in the morning sun, but despite looking quite visually appealing gave the distinct impression of being rather too small for the taxon in question. This struck me as a shame, as I believe this enclosure – along with the Jungleworld house itself – is one of the newest portions of Tierpark Hellabrunn, having been built in 2005. This also potentially gives a rough date to the construction of the statue work which I have been remarking on throughout these reviews, as a third statue – of a lion – in the same style was present overlooking this area.
The final exhibit we reached before entering Jungleworld itself was a pair of enclosures for Nepalese Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens). Each of the two enclosures was – although very pleasant – more or less the standard design for exhibits of this taxon; a grassy enclosure with a tall central tree, surrounded by various branches, logs and wooden platforms increasing the level of climbing opportunity available to the inhabitants, and with interior dens for the Red Panda provided close to ground level. However, the exhibit as a whole did something which we had never before seen in a zoological collection; although each enclosure was surrounded by a shallow moat, they were separated from one another by a pond which – at an estimate – was at least ten metres long. This pond was spanned by a bridge allowing the public to cross from one side to another; however beneath the bridge, a long series of logs and branches connected to one another allowed the inhabitants of one enclosure to cross into the other, and visa versa. As such, this exhibit as a whole provided the opportunity for members of the public to potentially watch the Red Pandas within the exhibit moving underneath them as they moved from one portion of the enclosure to the other – not to mention possibly choosing to swim the gap between enclosures, or indeed falling into the water accidentally. As the inhabitants of the exhibit appeared to entirely be present in one enclosure at this point in time, we made a mental note to check the exhibit later in the day to discover if they do indeed cross from enclosure to enclosure during public opening hours. Having enjoyed seeing a familiar taxon displayed in an unfamiliar and intriguing fashion, we made our way into the Jungleworld house.
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naturally I'll be interested in your continued feedback throughout this thread - I daresay you'll be a little more familiar with some of the other collections I'll be discussing. Not to get ahead of myself *too* much, but I really liked Hellabrunn and would definitely recommend you try to return sometime.
knew you had not visited the other two, however. 
