the best zoo in Germany?

@Johnny. It depends on what you would liek to see, Krefeld and Dortmund have much better collections than Hagenbeck, they are famous for the elephants and of course, their history and they have the new Tropenaquarium...

I'm not really a Fan of Hagenbeck, so I would prefer Dortmund or Krefeld, its up to you...

Hagenbeck might not be a really good zoo, but on the other side, the park is not that bad, but I have to say, they could be much better with the right man on the Top....
 
Zebraduiker said:
One reason morem, why I like this little"big"Zoo, which is giving every year 5000 Euro for conservation projects, the only zoo in germany who do is doing that...
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That is too much advertisement, Zebraduiker. Landau is merely the only LITTLE zoo in Germany that is giving a great amount of money every year for conservation project, although it is a great accomplishment and a paradigm even for bigger zoos. Landau is a nice zoo with a diversified collection, maybe on of the best little zoos in Germany but not more.

Leipzig is giving 10000 Euro every year only for Primate Rescue Center at Vietnam and that is only one project the zoo supports.

Stuttgart has a great and very successful collection of apes and monkeys, unfortunately with very bad enclosures for Great Apes, spider monkeys and Langures. The gibbon enclosure looks sterilely but is good for the animals.
 
@BjoernN: ...yet in comparison to the individual income and additional commitment (ZGAP! Stiftung Artenschutz), Landau does a great job for its size.

Two smaller German zoos I'd like to recommend are Rheine & Nordhorn Zoo, also in regard to their educational program/exhibit design.

Has anyone mentioned Münster Zoo (turtle conservation!) yet?

Stuttgart does have a nice collection (also in regard to less appretiated animals such as invertebrates or fish), but some of the animal-containing buildings aren't that great. The combination of a botanical and zoological garden has pro's and con's.
 
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One of the very few things this test got right, @ANyhuis...Otherwise, I pretty much agree with what Zebraduiker already wrote (and if needed, also 100% in German ;) ).
 
I agree with zebraduiker re Stuttgart, Rheine, Nordhorn and Landau. I didn`t like Stuttgart much, too many awful enclosures and hardly anything that was really good. Great ape house, monkey house, elephant/rhino/hippo enclosures all crap. Bad for the animals and ugly concrete buildings, nothing charming like in Antwerp... the rather new polar bear enclosure didn`t impressed my neither and I can`t remember the big cat house. Interesting collection and worth seeing once, but I have no intention to go back before the new great ape house is finished (they havn`t even started construction though).

I for one like Hagenbeck - the collection is nothing special, that`s true. And the elephant husbandry is awful (keepers standing in the enclosure all the time, while the visitors are allowed to feed). Oh, and I didn`t like the new Troparium. I wouldn`t pay the high extra entrance fee again. BUT I do like the park very much, it`s a beautfil setting, lots of history and many good/no really bad enclosures (exept maybe the lion grotto).
 
I visited Rheine today, and it's an excellent little zoo. Nice bear enclosure, nice gelada exhibit, nice aviary's, nice collection for such a small zoo, and it's less a petting zoo than nordhorn is.
 
OK, I'm still trying to decide which way I should go for my 5-day October zoo trip. I'll either:
(a) Do the 2 Swiss zoos (Basel, Zurich), then southern Germany (Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt)
(b) Do the Netherlands (Rotterdam, Emmen, Arnhem) and then Rhein valley zoos (Duisburg, Cologne, Wuppertal)
(c) or I might go an entirely different direction, ie Spain.

One thing that would help me decide is to know which, if any, of these German zoos have major new exhibits opening in the next year or so -- which means I should maybe delay my visit there. Does anyone know, do any of the following zoos have such major new exhibits, opening in 2010 or 2011:
Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Duisburg, Cologne, Wuppertal
 
If I were you I would go the the Netherlands and Rheine-area. I have been to both places and they have some truly great zoos. Especially Rotterdam, Arnhem and Cologne.
 
Toddy said:
If I were you I would go the the Netherlands and Rheine-area. I have been to both places and they have some truly great zoos. Especially Rotterdam, Arnhem and Cologne.
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Thanks, but it's NOT a matter of getting to them now or never. I will get to all of these eventually (in the next 2 years), I just need to decide which to go to this year. That's why I need to know which might have a reason for me to delay my visit.
 
I would recommend to visit in particular Duisburg, Frankfurt, Cologne and Münster for the "Last Chance to see" the last specimens of species such as Boto, Guiana tucuxi, Saiga and Douc langurs in European zoos.
 
Sun Wukong said:
I would recommend to visit in particular Duisburg, Frankfurt, Cologne and Münster for the "Last Chance to see" the last specimens of species such as Boto, Guiana tucuxi, Saiga and Douc langurs in European zoos.
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Thanks! Those are factors that I truly am considering. I have, however recently seen douc langurs in Philadelphia and (I think) San Diego. On this upcoming trip, I'm also going to the Moscow Zoo, so I "think" I'll see saiga antelope (for the very first time!) there -- won't I?

As for the dolphins, I badly would want to see the Amazon river dolphin (boto). I saw Chuckles in Pittsburg a couple times before he died. But I've never seen a tucuxi dolphin!
 
Miniaturezoo954 said:
"Ranking zoos is always difficult. I like a large collection and a good mix between historical buildings/gardens, and modern enclosures. I certainly do not like ‘disney’themed zoos."

I agree with you about the ranking being extremely difficult, you will never please everybody, just ask Anyhuis, his incredible book (a must for any forum member) is a perfect example.

Amazon.com: America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families (9781887140768): Allen W. Nyhuis, Jon Wassner: Books

You seem to enjoy the type of zoos that i love, a Museum/botanical garden/architectural wonder heaven, lots of history, yet, state of the art exhibits, and massive animal collections.
This has to be my prefered type of zoo, but that is not to say, that i don't see the beauty in places like Disney Animal Kingdom, the park is perfect in every way, and since we are in the German subject, Hannover i would place in the category, and the place is certantly worth a visit, wouldn't you think?
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Thx for the book recommandation; I'll order it since my american books date from the 80's.

I agree, every zoo is worth a visit. I visit about 30-40 zoos a year and some are not only very small but also very surprising (this year f.e. Ouwehands, Dierenrijk and Gaiapark, all 3 Netherlands). And yes, I will visit Hannover some day.
 
Ouwehands is indeed surpsising, but I wouldn't actually call it 'small'. Not in attendance, or in size.

Yesterday I visited cologne and aquazoo. Cologne has some very nice parts, especially around the new elephant enclosure ( this is really a great enclosure), they have some history what they are proud of, and a nice aquarium section. With the exception of zoo berlin that was the best I have seen in germany so far. I missed the saiga's however, they were not visible in their enclosure, so they were probably inside.

And aquazoo is worth a visit. They have a nice collection, a good way to show it, a shark tank, an a rainforest hall, not very big, but it houses some shore aquariums, small clawed otters and 3 species of crocodiles, inclusing australian freshwater crocs. It's no a big zoo, but you can surely spend a hour here, it's interesting enough.
 
If anyone can help me, I'm putting together a database with statistics of some of the world's top zoos. Essentially, I need the annual attendance figures for the following German zoos:

Berlin Zoo, Tierpark Berlin, Leipzig Zoo, Koln Zoo, Tierpark Hagebeck, Wuppertal Zoo,
Tierpark Nurnberg, Frankfurt Zoo, Tierpark Hellabrunn Munchen, Zoo Duisburg,
Hannover Zoo, Allwetterzoo Munster, Zoo Dortmund, Dresden Zoo, Wilhelma Zoo Stuttgart

Can anyone help me? Is there a good internet source where these can be looked up?
 
ANyhuis, I just read all through this thread....did you manage to do your trip last year, and if so which zoos did you end up visiting?
 
Chlidonias said:
ANyhuis, I just read all through this thread....did you manage to do your trip last year, and if so which zoos did you end up visiting?
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No, that trip is still planned -- for either this summer or perhaps next year. Last year I suddenly got great rates on a plane ticket to Russia! I visited the Moscow Zoo, then flew back to Spain to tour the best zoos of Spain and Portugal -- Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, and Lisbon.

Believe me, it's a major goal of mine to get over there and see great zoos such as Leipzig, Stuttgart, Duisburg, Hagenbeck, and Wuppertal. German is my second language, so I'm very excited to do this trip.
 
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