Berlin Tierpark What´s the deal with the director of Berlin Tierpark?

Dan

Dan

Well-Known Member
Lots of severe criticism on this site against the director of Berlin tierpark - Herr Blaskowitz (don´t care to check out the exact spelling...).

But would you-in-the-know tell us a bit more? How long has he been in charge? What is his background? Does he really regard "enrichment" (as we know it) to be "unneccessary", as has been claimed here and there aon ZooChat? Is he a 1900-century kind of "animal collector"?
 
I'm just glad to see that there are far more people than just me criticizing certain enclosures at the Berlin Tierpark. There are quite a few ZooChat members who have actually been to the park and are rather forthright in their criticism, and it seems as if the outdated "postage stamp" mentality is in evidence in that German collection. I'm intrigued by this new thread...
 
As far as I have heard Dr. B (he sounds like a James Bond villain:p) thinks that all enrichment is rubbish and that animal exhibits and enclosures should primarily benifit he vistors, i.e. the animals are easy to see.

What angers me about the Tierpark Berlin is simply the wasted opportunity. It is a HUGE zoo lying only 20 minutes with the U-bahn/metro/subway ouside the centre of Berlin. And I am not really upset about the Tierpark's older exhibits such as the Alfred Brehm House. It is a zoo with a history and as such has some "dirty underwear" still hanging. My only hope is that something will be done about it, but as everyone here knows, it can take some time in the zoo world.

What upsets me is how the newer exhibits are constructed. The Monkey House for small African primates is built in 2001 and is complete rubbish! It looks like a sterile laboratory with huge space for the visitors and limited indoor space for the monkeys. The mountain theme from 2003 (I think) has very large exhibits for the animals but is not really a "mountanious" environment with too few rocks. More examples from the Tierpark are the exhibits for manatees, japanese macaques, pig-tailed macaques and caracals. And the architecture of the new aviaries seems to be the same as it was 50 years ago.

Having said that, there are some very nice exhibits in the Tierpark also. Most of the hoofstock have huge splendid and grassy paddocks to roam on. The Crocodile House, gibbon island, penguin exhibit, giraffe enclosure and vulture aviary are all world-class in regards to animal husbandry.

I would also like to use an argument previously used by Sun Wukong. The exhibits for big cats in the Tierpark may not be pretty but a lot of other zoos have similar or worse behind the scenes.

Finally let me make it clear that I am not trying to justify animals being kept in poor conditions. But worse places exist than the Tierpark so let us not all go nuts with hetzing this place. It has its good sides (and some brilliant sides) so give it some time and hope for improvement.

Hopefully, Mr. Bond will soon have defeated Dr. B and ruined his plan for world zoo domination ;)
 
Well, that's a bit harsh.

Director Blaszkiewitz is very knowledgeable about animals. Tierpark always kept and bred enormous number of rare and difficult species. Now Berlin zoo keeps going and develops nice artifical landscapes like the new night house.

Tierpark Berlin, whatever you look, is a great zoo. Yes, it is very much against the trends - little mockup exotic habitats, little artificial enrichment, many non-rare species. But it trumps it with sheer space (>100ha), by beautiful old park setting, by large breeding groups, by enormous number of breeding endangered species.

Certainly there are outdated places. Cat cages in Alfred-Brehm, terrible sun bear house, elephant indoor are too small. But for the zoo coping with financial loss its not bad. Remember that the zoo has legacy of financial crisis of communist DDR.

Yes, exhibits have limited enrichment. But most animals have very much space and big social groups. They breed very succesfully and I saw no or very little stereotypy. Those monkey groups in empty-ish aviaries behave perfectly normal. I never saw a stereotyping monkey in Tierpark.

Yes, exhibits are bland and functional. So many grassy paddocks with uniform green fence (several kilometers of it), concrete moats and some granite blocks. Aviaries and primate cages are simple polygons of metal beams and metal net. Relatively little attempt was made to create mock exotic landscapes - besides two free-flight aviairies. But the huge park with many old trees is still very beautiful. Estetically, I prefer Berlin Tierpark to Antwerp, Artis and many other overcrowded zoos with small multimillion exhibits.

There were some problems with breeding and disposing too many animals. This sunk especially in zoo world of Germany, where every animal is beloved. But I heard of nothing worse than in average zoo.

Collection is not just postage-stamp, because most species are kept in groups and almost everything breeds. How many other zoos on the world regularily breed both African and Asian Elephants? I doubt if any zoo except maybe San Diego breeds so many rare hoofed animals. Etc etc.

Yes, its easy to pick bad points but its still very good director and very good zoo.
 
@Jurek7: Like I said I also love Berlin Tierpark and knows that it has many fine exhibits and enclosures indeed.

But how can you say that a man who states that all enrichment is rubbish is very knowledge about animals? In my opinion anyone who would approve of the new Monkey House in Tierpark Berlin is simply not suited to be a zoo-director.
 
Toddy said:
But how can you say that a man who states that all enrichment is rubbish is very knowledge about animals?
Click to expand...

Because things get taken out of context.

The majority of the animals at the Tierpark - and at Zoo Berlin as well - have very enriched lives. It is too easy to leap on a comment and make hay with it.

For the Tierpark...Yes, the Malayan bear house is not ideal. Yes, the carnivore hosue could have fewer animals and more space. No, the monkey house isn't at the cutting edge. But this is still one of the great zoos. As detailed above, there is so much that is wonderful here. Some have sneered at the idea of a collection which showcases bio-diversity, but I relish the opportunity to see, for example, all three hyena species in one place.

The zoo does not seem to be being harmed by its current stewardship, either. When I was there ebofre eater, we needed to queue for 40 minutes to get in. Clealrly the people of Berlin appreciate what is in their midst.

Possibly not quite 'on' to personalise this thread as an invitation to take pot-shots at an individual. I would say, for myself, that i think he is one of the great zoo directors. Others will disagree.
 
Dan said:
Does he really regard "enrichment" (as we know it) to be "unneccessary", as has been claimed here and there aon ZooChat? Is he a 1900-century kind of "animal collector"?
Click to expand...


Dan did he really say this? Before a roumouor becomes common knowledge!

When did he say this ?
What was the context of the statement ?
Do you care to find. The question that preceded the staement.

If only because it "may" be case of this man being dragged through the mud for no reason! Other than roumour.

Lets bag an enclosure on this forum just by a picture. Lets leave the human critisim to the facts.
 
Some members should try to take some posts with a pinch of salt...The German zoochat "Animal" once commented that the zoo director of both zoos doesn't seem to overly approve the employ of behavioural enrichment items. This doesn't, however, mean that the staff of both Berlin zoos does not equip the enclosures with playable items-as apparent in the case of primates, Polar Bears etc in both institutions.

Before you start bashing someone, why not try to get a decent picture of her/him? That includes spelling his name correctly; if you don't care about that easily researched, basic info, then why start a topic in the first place?

Dr. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, born in 1954 in Berlin, is a German biologist and currently the director of both Berlin zoos (since 2007). He has worked in different positions (zookeeper, curator, director) in different zoos (Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, both Berlin zoos).

I haven't met him in person (yet), but from the impressions I received from people who have encountered him personally, he appears to be a rather controversial figure. He can be pig-headed, rough, self-centered and -opinionated and is not very diplomatic when it comes to dealing with the local press, PETA and the local Green politians.
Petting Zoo Horror Story: Berlin Zoo Feeds Goat to Wolves - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
However, he has done a more or less decent job so far in both zoos, given the OK to improving exhibits (like the Jaguarundi enclosure) that found praise even among more critical minds here and keeping both zoos running in the black; quite a feat in a city that is pretty much broke (although Knut might have helped here, and the Tierpark still has financial problems). He has a (collector's) heart for rare and less popular species (may it be Galidiinae, deer or Kelp Goose)-something he seems to share with a lot of, if not most zoochat members (just think of the various "Which animals I would like to see in zoos" threads or of those members who wet their pants when Sumatra Rhinos or Northern White Rhinos are merely mentioned...). His "old (zoo) school" mentality does (rightfully) not please everyone, but alas, his reluctance to follow all trendy quirks might have saved Berlin zoos the fate to turn too early into the homogeneous, drab fake rock amusement parks some zoos have become.
All in all: BB's probably not the easiest fellow to deal with, his viewpoint about zoos and the management of Berlin's zoos in particular might clash with that of others, and there are various aspects one could improve in both Berlin zoos (like in all zoos worldwide), but it is doubtable that he will retire in the next future; he seems to backed up by the majority of Berlin's city counsil and at least by a 'bit' of the population of Berlin. (Vicious) Rumour has it that the political backup might, among others, derive from BB allegedly sharing the sexual orientation of the current mayor, and his devotion to catholicism...Oh, Berlin, Berlin...:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies to my thread. It seems as if there are varying opinions on Dr B. From Toddy´s strong critisism to soot mangabey´s praising of him as one of the great zoo directors. I am all ears and would appreciate more forumsters giving their opinions.

@zooman:


zooman said:
Dan did he really say this? Before a roumouor becomes common knowledge!

When did he say this ?
What was the context of the statement ?
Do you care to find. The question that preceded the staement.

If only because it "may" be case of this man being dragged through the mud for no reason! Other than roumour.

Lets bag an enclosure on this forum just by a picture. Lets leave the human critisim to the facts.
Click to expand...

I totally get your point and in fact I have no answers whatsoever to your questions, but that is why I started this thread. Anyway, my argument goes something like this:

Dr B is the head of two zoos in one of the leading capitals in the world. In this capacity he is a public figure (I hope this expression makes sense in English).

Him being a public figure, surely it must be perfectly OK to debate or ask questions about his work, just as it would be OK to ask questions about the work of CEOs of large companies, politicians or famous actors or rock stars? I had never heard about Dr D until I found ZooChat and, eventually, got to become curious about this public person, because of all the critical comments towards him on the site.

__________

Anyway, after starting this thread I did a bit of googling on Dr B. It seems that he is indeed a rather controversial fellow: the German police now investigating a threat to him after his admission of having wrung the necks of kittens and an MP of The Green Party filing criminal charges against him for possible wrongdoings in his capacity as director of Berlin Tierpark.

___________

Intersting stuff and as I wrote above, more views on Dr B from forumsters would be most welcome.
 
It does become a grey area when a person is a public figure. As we could use this term to describe Dr. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz.

He certainly is not afraid to act on what he belives to be correct.

It will be interesting to read other experiances and opinions.
 
I've visited both the zoo and tierpark a few times. (most recently last oktober)

I love both places. maybe the zoo a little more, but that's just because they have the aquarium/terrarium

nonetheless, I can pose a lot of questions on how they handle/keep their animals.
But I can pose those same questions in a lot of other zoos as well.

yes, it's a typical "german" zoo with lots of concrete, but as pointed out earlier, you don't see many stereotypical animals.
regarding some enclosures being too small. try to compare them with any other zoo. those cats, elephants and monkeys have a lot more space in TP than in many other zoos with (often) better reputations.
 
This thread has been going for ages on a particular German speaking forum. The noise is more or less this: I find it rather odd that those criticising him and seeking so by playing the media whenever possible are by and large ARG figures, left of left center political figures in the Berlin Stadtrat and some self-conscious ***** bandwagon jumpers in Berlin at large. Consequently, they carry very little real substance to them.

Yes, Dr. Blaskiewitz holds very strong views and sometimes makes peculiar choices. However, he is a well respected zoo professional with decades of zoo training behind him. What is there to argue with the man for? I rather do have a zoo director with strong views and opinions as opposed to one that tends to be driven by media or his subordinate staff members. He is in this position to direct and not to follow suit!

On the whole grading I am 95/100 happy with his performance as a director. That is all that really counts .... does it not. :D

The rest is just plain cobbers' meals'!!!! ;)
 
I do not think of tierpark as being overall bad, but if you compare the space some animals have, whith that of most of the predators and the elephants, I really can't get that. Tierpark has the opportunity to give these animals a maximum of space, and what do they do? They build a terrible monkeyhouse, an expansion for mountain animals ( come on, what were you thinking?), and just look at all the deer enclosures in front of that castle. Deer!!!

The power of tierpark is their enormous space, and their enormous collection. Instead of the zoo they are now, they should slowly transform in a zoo with a continental theme. That way they could really use their space more wisely, be an excellent supplement to the zoo ( a classic city zoo and a large, more natural zoo) and house the animals which zoo houses badly. For example, the primates. Tierpark has the space to build state of the art enclosures for these animals.
 
I'm still wondering. who has ever measured the size of the enclosures (both indoors and outdoors) of elephants, monkeys and cats? and compared this to german legislation and other zoos?

because to my recollection (and it can't be that far of, since my last visit was a half year ago) all of those enclosures may be old, not visually attractive and such. but most of them were A LOT larger than in the average dutch and belgian zoo (and a lot of german zoos too of course)

ok, those animals are kept small when compared to deer, camels and such. but isn't that the case everywhere?
 
Most exhibits are large, that's right, and the outdoor enclosures of the elephants are not that bad, that's also right. But their indoor enclosures are way too small. And if you look at the fact that this zoo has very large enclosures for deer (!), is building an expansion with a mountain theme, while the elephants and big cats could really use new exhibits, it makes you wonder why this zoo makes these decisions. With their collection they could make a savannah larger than most zoo's have, divided in compartments, enclosures for predators and african elephants around it and you would still have enough space for the rest of the collection to be shown in their own continent, with better enclosures for the animals which are housed very badly at the moment.
 
Sun Wukong said:
He can be pig-headed, rough, self-centered
Click to expand...

Well, many zoo people are like this.

Can you comment on his professional experience? He seems to have unusual knowledge of zoo animal husbandry. And Berlin is apparently one of few places with basic research on zoo animal biology. Without this all zookeeping would collapse.

About elephant indoors: unfortunately, the design of the current house (gigantic construction from decades ago) makes it very difficult to rebuild bigger accomodation for elephants. For one, it has strange glass roof and manatee pool in the middle. If any plans ever surfaced, I would be interested. This house is itself a 'white elephant' - huge and difficult to rebuild. Maybe it collapses soon, as it seems to be not-too-durable DDR architecture.
 
@Johnny: What's wrong about keeping deer? They have the very same right to exist in a zoo as all those oh so popular great apes, big cats or elephants. The Tierpark is one of the very few zoos where you can still compare different deer species other than fallow deer- and hear the whistling of the Elk right next to the roaring of the European Red Deer during mating season. Quite a nice experience, I dare to say. And why should every zoo be turned into a "geozoo"? To look just like one another?

@Jurek7:
1974-78 Animal keeper, Zoo Berlin
1979 Improver, Frankfurt am Main Zoo
1980 Curator, Gelsenkirchen Ruhr-Zoo
1984 Curator, Zoo Berlin
1991 Director, Tierpark Berlin
2007 Director of both zoos in Berlin

Research: IZW
IZW - Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung Berlin
 
@ Sun Wukong: you're absolutely right. I have nothing with deer, but the TP collection is impressive with some very rare species.

The same can be said about the mountainous exhibit.

A lot of the buildings and enclosures at TP are old and outdated, but that has more to do with structural concept (e.g. steel bars instead of glass, concrete floors instead of natural soil, ...) than with actual lack of space.

I can sum up a lot of negative things about TP or the zoo, but in general they are no better or worse than the majority of the zoos in western europe.
 
@sun wukong, there's nothing wrong with deer, but it's strange these animals have that much space, compared to much larger animals who really could use more space.

They don't have to turn into a geozoo, but if you just look at the space and collection they have at their disposal, this zoo just has the means to make a geozoo more than any other. It would be more attractive to visitors, they would be more of complement to the zoo which is not divided in continents, and this way they could replace the parts which are not up-to-date in an acceptable fashion. And I really think that tierpark could better house the big apes from the zoo. This way zoo berlin could build a new exhibit for the giraffes at the great apes section ( while keeping the antilope houses intact) and expand the elephant paddock in the direction of the current giraffe enclosure. But this is just an idea.

I like the zoo better than tierpark, but I think they should better work on complementing eachother, I don't have the impression they are actually doing that, despite of the fact they are part of the same organisation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top