After Dresden and Hoyerswerda it was now time for the 3rd zoo of the day. I am not exactly like @snowleopard , so 3 zoos one one day is actually my record of number of different zoos visited on one day. I have done this once before with three small zoos in the Netherlands, but not with three somewhat larger zoos. It was only possible because Dresden opened at 08:30 and I had been there before, so that was a quick visit. Both Hoyerswerda and Görlitz could be comfortably seen in 1.5 hours each.
But now on to Görlitz, which is a small town close to both the Czech and the Polish border. To make life easy for me the zoo was located a 5 minute walk from the train station, which was a nice change from a 20 minute walk with a backpack. I was visiting all zoos with a backback on, as I was carrying all my stuff, including a A0 poster which I presented at a conference in Prague. It must have been quite a sight for my fellow visitors….
The zoo in Görlitz is located on a small hilly and wooded site and has specialized in species from Central and Eastern Asia, but there are several other species present from around the world. Upon entering one comes to what is possibly the largest Red panda enclosure in the world, a huge lawn full of bushes and a few trees to climb in. It was somewhat surprising to see the Panda within seconds. The panda share their enclosure with Chinese muntjac and adjacent is a smaller aviary with Blue eared pheasants and Red-billed blue magpies. After passing a valley with White storks there is the oldest part of the zoo, keeping some remnants like Grivet monkeys (looked like 2 pure specimens), Macaws and Degu in smallish cages. More appropriate was the cage for Pygmy marmoset and Golden-headed lion tamarin. The Zebra mongoose will soon move to a new enclosure, which is necessary as there are now over 25 of them on a limited space. The highlight in this section is a walkthrough with tons of Pere David rock squirrels, some Golden pheasant, Derbyan parakeets and a Lesser-necklanced laughing thrush. A nice mix of species, with loads of activity. After exiting one comes to an aviary for Snowy owl and maybe surprisingly for such a small zoo: two spacious cages for Manul, with one of the animals showing very well.
The next section of the zoo consists of 3 enclosures only: a medium-sized cage for Griffion vultures, a large walk-in enclosure for Alpine ibex and Alpine marmot and an out-of-place spacious lawn with Eastern grey kangaroo. There was very clearly a piglet from the zoo being fed to the vultures, with a clear sign as to why whole animals, bred and culled at the zoo, were being fed. Visitors did not appear to be shocked and had more fun with hand-feeding the Ibexes (which was allowed).
Görlitz is also the unlikely place for the largest replica Tibetan village in Europe, but it fits nicely in the general theme of the zoo. Most space is taken up by a large enclosure for Bactrian camel, Yak and Kashmir goat (sounds like Zürich…), but around this main paddock there are enclosures for Spotted laughing thrushes, bamboo partridge, Swinhoe’s pheasant, Chinese crocodile lizard, Steppe lemming, Oriental fire-bellied toad + Himalayan Newt, Crested porcupine and a large breeding herd of Goitred gazelle. The Gazelle originally came from Hagenbeck. Interestingly the Porcupines can be fed grass and a heightened platform is present in their large enclosure for individuals to come close to humans. That said only 1 of the 10 porcupines was waiting for hand outs and most were foraging in other parts of their enclosure or sleeping. Adjacent to the Tibetan village is a large farm zone, which would be boring for most zoo nerds and worth to skip, if there wouldn’t be Etruscan shrews hidden in the main barn. A large attractive enclosure for Rhesus macaque rounds this area and by then you have made a full circle along the perimeter of the zoo. The central part of the zoo is somewhat more empty, containing a weird walkthrough with Vietnamese sika deer as well as a huge enclosure for Chinese muntjac, Raccoon and European otter. After a flood the Otter had escaped the zoo and it had left the zoo completely as they were unable to capture it. When a new otter came from Warsaw, soon the Swans and other waterbirds in the nearby pond started behaving as if there was a predator present. Traps were placed and within days the zoos original otter was found in a trap. He had lost some weight, but was completely healthy after spending months roaming free.
All in all, Görlitz really is a small zoo, but most of what it does is excellent and though there is heavy Tibetan theming it was done very tastefully, I don’t think anything could be regarded as cultural appropriation. The whole zoo seems to have been thought through well and love and careful attention has gone into every new development. The Grivet monkeys and Macaws seem like remnants from a previous age. It is rare to find a small zoo, with such strong enclosures and well-done theming. I personally find such small gems much more rewarding than larger zoos that don’t have anything particularly memorable. It is interesting to think of what species could be added here to make the Eastern Asian theme even stronger. The site has its limitations, so Takin or Snow leopard would be too big already. Maybe Goral would fit in nicely in the more wooded parts. All in all this small zoo is a must visit if you are in the area and would be a good day together with Dresden or Liberec just across the border. Additionally there is a Senckenberg Natural History museum, but this one is off course smaller than the Senckenberg in Frankfurt.
Pictures of most enclosures have now been uploaded to a previously almost empty gallery:
Naturschutz-Tierpark Görlitz - ZooChat
But now on to Görlitz, which is a small town close to both the Czech and the Polish border. To make life easy for me the zoo was located a 5 minute walk from the train station, which was a nice change from a 20 minute walk with a backpack. I was visiting all zoos with a backback on, as I was carrying all my stuff, including a A0 poster which I presented at a conference in Prague. It must have been quite a sight for my fellow visitors….
The zoo in Görlitz is located on a small hilly and wooded site and has specialized in species from Central and Eastern Asia, but there are several other species present from around the world. Upon entering one comes to what is possibly the largest Red panda enclosure in the world, a huge lawn full of bushes and a few trees to climb in. It was somewhat surprising to see the Panda within seconds. The panda share their enclosure with Chinese muntjac and adjacent is a smaller aviary with Blue eared pheasants and Red-billed blue magpies. After passing a valley with White storks there is the oldest part of the zoo, keeping some remnants like Grivet monkeys (looked like 2 pure specimens), Macaws and Degu in smallish cages. More appropriate was the cage for Pygmy marmoset and Golden-headed lion tamarin. The Zebra mongoose will soon move to a new enclosure, which is necessary as there are now over 25 of them on a limited space. The highlight in this section is a walkthrough with tons of Pere David rock squirrels, some Golden pheasant, Derbyan parakeets and a Lesser-necklanced laughing thrush. A nice mix of species, with loads of activity. After exiting one comes to an aviary for Snowy owl and maybe surprisingly for such a small zoo: two spacious cages for Manul, with one of the animals showing very well.
The next section of the zoo consists of 3 enclosures only: a medium-sized cage for Griffion vultures, a large walk-in enclosure for Alpine ibex and Alpine marmot and an out-of-place spacious lawn with Eastern grey kangaroo. There was very clearly a piglet from the zoo being fed to the vultures, with a clear sign as to why whole animals, bred and culled at the zoo, were being fed. Visitors did not appear to be shocked and had more fun with hand-feeding the Ibexes (which was allowed).
Görlitz is also the unlikely place for the largest replica Tibetan village in Europe, but it fits nicely in the general theme of the zoo. Most space is taken up by a large enclosure for Bactrian camel, Yak and Kashmir goat (sounds like Zürich…), but around this main paddock there are enclosures for Spotted laughing thrushes, bamboo partridge, Swinhoe’s pheasant, Chinese crocodile lizard, Steppe lemming, Oriental fire-bellied toad + Himalayan Newt, Crested porcupine and a large breeding herd of Goitred gazelle. The Gazelle originally came from Hagenbeck. Interestingly the Porcupines can be fed grass and a heightened platform is present in their large enclosure for individuals to come close to humans. That said only 1 of the 10 porcupines was waiting for hand outs and most were foraging in other parts of their enclosure or sleeping. Adjacent to the Tibetan village is a large farm zone, which would be boring for most zoo nerds and worth to skip, if there wouldn’t be Etruscan shrews hidden in the main barn. A large attractive enclosure for Rhesus macaque rounds this area and by then you have made a full circle along the perimeter of the zoo. The central part of the zoo is somewhat more empty, containing a weird walkthrough with Vietnamese sika deer as well as a huge enclosure for Chinese muntjac, Raccoon and European otter. After a flood the Otter had escaped the zoo and it had left the zoo completely as they were unable to capture it. When a new otter came from Warsaw, soon the Swans and other waterbirds in the nearby pond started behaving as if there was a predator present. Traps were placed and within days the zoos original otter was found in a trap. He had lost some weight, but was completely healthy after spending months roaming free.
All in all, Görlitz really is a small zoo, but most of what it does is excellent and though there is heavy Tibetan theming it was done very tastefully, I don’t think anything could be regarded as cultural appropriation. The whole zoo seems to have been thought through well and love and careful attention has gone into every new development. The Grivet monkeys and Macaws seem like remnants from a previous age. It is rare to find a small zoo, with such strong enclosures and well-done theming. I personally find such small gems much more rewarding than larger zoos that don’t have anything particularly memorable. It is interesting to think of what species could be added here to make the Eastern Asian theme even stronger. The site has its limitations, so Takin or Snow leopard would be too big already. Maybe Goral would fit in nicely in the more wooded parts. All in all this small zoo is a must visit if you are in the area and would be a good day together with Dresden or Liberec just across the border. Additionally there is a Senckenberg Natural History museum, but this one is off course smaller than the Senckenberg in Frankfurt.
Pictures of most enclosures have now been uploaded to a previously almost empty gallery:
Naturschutz-Tierpark Görlitz - ZooChat
