ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen, founded on April 14, 1949, as "Ruhr-Zoo", is one of the most modern zoological gardens in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was founded on a heavily
shelled area in
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
adjacent to a port on the
Rhine–Herne Canal
The Rhine–Herne Canal (german: Rhein-Herne-Kanal) is a transportation canal in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with five canal locks. The canal was built over a period of eight years (5 April 1906 – 14 July 1914) and c ...
. It initially encompassed 15.5 hectares. During its first years, there was a large turnover of animals as an animal trader provided them.
Today the park is owned by the city of Gelsenkirchen via GEW – Gesellschaft für Energie und Wirtschaft mbH (society for energy and business), a holding of municipally owned concerns.
After 2004 the park was enlarged to the present size.
It is incredibly well known for its panoramas and cultural approach. The main attractions are big animals, mostly
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s; the zoo has no
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
house,
insectarium
An insectarium is a live insect zoo, or a museum or exhibit of live insects. Insectariums often display a variety of insects and similar arthropods, such as spiders, beetles, cockroaches, ants, bees, millipedes, centipedes, crickets, grasshop ...
or other facilities for smaller animals.
The numbers before 2005 reflect average visitor numbers for the old ''Ruhr-Zoo''.
Concept and layout
The entrance area resembles the character of a
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
n farm and is called ''Grimberger Hof ''(opened 2004). Its yard offers access to the three separate areas of the park. These are called "safaris" and titled ''Alaska'' (opened 2005), ''Afrika'' (opened 2006) and ''Asien'' (opened 2010).
All Safaris are accessible through gates in a matching style with a shop delivering related
paraphernalia
Paraphernalia most commonly refers to a group of apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used for a particular activity. For example, an avid sports fan may cover their walls with football and/or basketball paraphernalia.
Historical legal term
In l ...
.
Grimberger Hof
The entrance area is designed as a farm and features: some rare species of
domesticated animals, a restaurant, a playground, a shop for memorabilia and a
petting zoo.
Animals
*
Bentheimer Landschaf
The Bentheimer Landschaf (also known as ''Landrace of Bentheim'') is a breed of domesticated sheep found in Germany. This breed is a cross between German and Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* ...
*
Bielefelder Kennhuhn
The Bielefelder Kennhuhn or Bielefelder is a German breed of domestic chicken. It was developed in the area of Bielefeld in the 1970s by Gerd Roth, who cross-bred birds of Malines and Welsumer stock with American Barred Rocks to create the ...
* (German improved fawn)
*
Danish Protest Pig
The Husum Red Pied (German: ''Rotbuntes Husumer'') is a rare breed of domestic pig with the nickname Danish Protest pigGraham R. Duncanson: ''Veterinary Treatment of Pigs''p. 3 (German: ''Husumer Protestschwein'' and Danish: ''Husum protestsvin'' ...
*
Donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
*
Guinea pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...
*
Hinterwälder
*
Shetland pony
Alaska
It mainly features
nearctic ecozone
The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...
wildlife with the likes of
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
s,
mooses and
Californian sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...
s. It has a tunnel under a water-filled basin and
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
s in a landscaped
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
.
The area is decorated with American road signs, a
school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
, a cave resembling a gold mine and other touristy features. Additionally, there is another open-air restaurant and a
simulator ride
Simulator rides are a type of amusement park or fairground ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen.
There are many types but they fall into the heading of entertainment unlike the on ...
with an animated floor gives the illusion of riding an
igloo
An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow.
Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only b ...
on an
ice floe.
Animals
*
North American beaver
*
North American porcupine
*
Eastern wolf
*
Polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
*
Brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
*
Eurasian brown bear
The Eurasian brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'') is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, and colloquially by many othe ...
*
California sea lion
The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of C ...
*
Raccoon
*
Striped skunk
The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...
*
North American river otter
*
Reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
*
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
*
Canada goose
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
*
Snowy owl
Africa
This safari features most of the popular big animals from
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s and
zebras can be seen within the same panorama. A lake with
flamingos, a rocky landscape for monkeys and an area with
hippos (which are separated from the visitors using invisible underwater fences) can be traversed via a
tow boat ride
A tow boat ride is a water ride constructed on a body of water. The course is defined by a main drive underwater cable, creating the
impression of free floating boats. The station could be a revolving platform.
Partial list of tow boat rides
...
called the
African Queen
''African Queen'' is a studio album by South African singer Makhadzi, released on September 3, 2021 by Open Mic. It features Mkomasan, Prince Benza, Mr Brown, DJ Dance Okashi, Vee Mampeezy, Jon Delinger, Kabza De Small, Lady Du, Cassper Nyovest, ...
.
Besides wild animals, the entrance area displays some domesticated forms like
Ankole-Watusi
The Ankole-Watusi is a modern American breed of domestic cattle. It derives from the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. It is characterized by very large horns.
History
The Ankole-Watusi derives from cattle ...
.
This area features another open-air restaurant and a big playground.
Animals
* African domesticated animals:
Ankole-Watusi
The Ankole-Watusi is a modern American breed of domestic cattle. It derives from the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. It is characterized by very large horns.
History
The Ankole-Watusi derives from cattle ...
,
Somali sheep,
West African Dwarf goat
The West African Dwarf is a large and variable breed or group of breeds of domestic goat from coastal West and Central Africa, a range extending approximately from Senegal to Congo. It is characterised by achondroplasia or dwarfism, a trait tha ...
* Bush and
tree savannah:
Cape porcupine
The Cape porcupine (''Hystrix africaeaustralis''), Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa.
Description
file:Reserve Sigean - Porc-épic du Cap 05.jpg, left, 1 ...
,
Transvaal Lion,
Spotted hyena
The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...
,
Rothschild's giraffe
Rothschild's giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi'') is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. It is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,399 mature individuals estimated in the wild in 2018.
Taxonomy and ...
,
Nyala
The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Tragelaphus'', previously placed in genus ''Nyala''. It was first described in ...
,
Bontebok
The bontebok (''Damaliscus pygargus'') is an antelope found in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. ''D. pygargus'' has two subspecies; the nominate subspecies (''D. p. pygargus''), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the W ...
,
Impala
The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...
,
Vulturine guineafowl
The vulturine guineafowl (''Acryllium vulturinum'') is the largest extant species of guineafowl. Systematically, it is only distantly related to other guineafowl genera. Its closest living relative, the white breasted guineafowl, ''Agelastes ...
,
Double-spurred spurfowl
The double-spurred spurfowl (''Pternistis bicalcaratus'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Like most spurfowls, it is restricted to Africa. It is a resident breeder in tropical west Afr ...
,
Spotted thick-knee
The spotted thick-knee (''Burhinus capensis''), also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Stone-curlew, Burhinidae. It is native to tropical regions of central and southern Africa.
Description
The spotted thic ...
,
Laughing dove,
Senegal parrot
The Senegal parrot (''Poicephalus senegalus'') is a parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its ...
,
Black-cheeked lovebird,
Von der Decken's hornbill,
Abyssinian ground hornbill
The Abyssinian ground hornbill or northern ground hornbill (''Bucorvus abyssinicus'') is an African bird, found north of the equator, and is one of two species of ground hornbill. It is the second largest species of African hornbill, only surpass ...
* Grass savannah:
Plains zebra,
White rhinoceros,
Greater kudu,
Common eland,
Sable antelope,
Springbok,
Common ostrich
The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...
,
Griffon vulture,
Marabou stork
The marabou stork (''Leptoptilos crumenifer'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae native to sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites. It is someti ...
* Wet savannah:
Olive Baboon,
Meerkat
MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...
,
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
,
Sitatunga
The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...
,
White-faced whistling duck,
Greater flamingo,
Lesser flamingo,
Great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
,
Saddle-billed stork,
Pink-backed pelican
The pink-backed pelican (''Pelecanus rufescens'') is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also apparently extirpated in Madagascar.
Taxonomy
The pink-backe ...
* Tropical rainforest:
Egyptian fruit bat,
Senegal bushbaby (since 2007 without
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
),
Moustached guenon
The moustached guenon or moustached monkey (''Cercopithecus cephus'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equat ...
,
Western chimpanzee
The western chimpanzee, or West African chimpanzee, (''Pan troglodytes verus'') is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea ...
,
Serval,
Hamerkop,
Grey parrot,
Ball python
*
Lemur island:
Ring-tailed lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...
,
Red ruffed lemur
The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the ...
,
Black-and-white ruffed lemur
Asia
Asia features mainly a big hall with tropical climate, home of:
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...
s,
grey langur
Gray langurs, also called Hanuman langurs and Hanuman monkeys, are Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the genus ''Semnopithecus''. Traditionally only one species ''Semnopithecus entellus'' was recognized, but since a ...
s,
flying foxes,
orchids,
palm trees
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
and more. It also includes a big indoor playground and a restaurant with Asian cuisine.
Further attractions are a monkey palace,
Bactrian camels and (displayed since summer 2013)
Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...
s.
Animals
*
Kalong
*
Northern plains grey langur
The northern plains gray langur (''Semnopithecus entellus''), also known as the sacred langur, Bengal sacred langur and Hanuman langur, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae.
Taxonomy
The northern plains gray langur belongs to th ...
*
Southern pig-tailed macaque
The southern pig-tailed macaque (''Macaca nemestrina''), also known as the Sundaland pig-tailed macaque and Sunda pig-tailed macaque, is a medium-sized macaque that lives in southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is known locally as bero ...
*
Sumatran orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically Endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recent ...
*
Red panda
*
Asian small-clawed otter
The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...
*
Binturong
*
Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...
*
Bactrian camel
*
Crested partridge
The crested partridge (''Rollulus rouloul'') also known as the crested wood partridge, roul-roul, red-crowned wood partridge, green wood quail or green wood partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, ga ...
*
Demoiselle crane
The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...
*
Victoria crowned pigeon
*
Pied imperial pigeon
The pied imperial pigeon (''Ducula bicolor'') is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove, plantations and scrub in Southeast Asia, ranging from Myanmar and Thailand, throughout Indonesia and east to t ...
*
Red-whiskered bulbul
*
Red-billed leiothrix
The red-billed leiothrix (''Leiothrix lutea'') is a member of the family Leiothrichidae, native to southern China and the Himalayas. Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and the ...
*
Java sparrow
*
Brahminy starling
The brahminy myna or brahminy starling (''Sturnia pagodarum)'' is a member of the starling family of birds. It is usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains of the Indian subcontinent.
Description
This myna is pale bu ...
*
Asian leaf turtle
The Asian leaf turtle (''Cyclemys dentata'') is a species of turtle found in Southeast Asia. They are quite common in the pet trade; their carapaces resemble that of a ''Cuora amboinensis
The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle ...
*
Chinese pond turtle
''Mauremys reevesii'', commonly known as the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese three-keeled pond turtle, or Reeves' turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, a family which was formerly called Bataguridae. The species is native t ...
*
Amboina box turtle
*
Chinese water dragon
The Chinese water dragon (''Physignathus cocincinus'') is a species of agamid lizard native to China and mainland Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Asian water dragon, Thai water dragon, and green water dragon. The genus name is Greek for " ...
Records
* On 31 March 2020, the
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
''Ernie'' celebrated his 50th birthday. At that age, he is the oldest hippopotamus bull in Germany. Ernie was born in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
but has lived in Gelsenkirchen since 1971. The two female hippos ''Asita and Susi'' live in the rainforest hall and an area at Africa lake.
* The hippopotamus ''Rosi'', which weighed more than two tons, was the oldest hippopotamus in Germany. She celebrated her 50th in 2008 and lived in ZOOM since 1981. Since then, she gave birth to twelve hippos. On 24 April 2012, Rosi died at the age of 53 years.
References
External links
*
* (in German)
{{authority control
Zoos in Germany
Gelsenkirchen
Tourist attractions in North Rhine-Westphalia