Essehof Zoo (German: ''Tierpark Essehof'') is a privately owned and operated

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

located in Essehof, a town within the municipality of

Lehre Lehre is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The current population is 11,539 and is situated approximately southwest of Wolfsburg, and Braunschweig. The municipality received the name of Lehre on June 10, 88 ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 opened in 1968 and currently consists of . It is located about northeast of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

Zoo

Werner Beller officially opened the zoo on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

in 1968 and the zoo has continued to grow since then. In 1974 a new coffee house was built, followed by construction of new animal stalls and enclosures between 1976 and 1978. In 1988 a new monkey house was completed. The zoo was purchased by Uwe Wilhelm GmbH in 1991 and continues to run as a privately owned zoo. Following the change in ownership, renovations and additions continued to increase the number of exhibits. A water nature trail that is unique to northern Germany was opened in 2002 that included an underwater viewing area below the surface of the water as well as a long wooden bridge. An

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

exhibit was opened and the deer park was renovated in 2007. Uwe Wilhelm GmbH also owns the nearby "Noah's Ark" zoo in Braunschweig. The zoo does not receive any public funding. Tierpark Essehof - young deers

Animals

The zoo houses 260 animals representing 50 different species from rare domestic animals to animals from Africa, Australia and South America. Several of the animals include

racka The Racka (pronounced Hungarian �rɒts.kɒ or Hortobágy Racka Sheep is a breed of sheep known for its unusual spiral-shaped horns. These unique appendages are unlike any other domestic sheep horns, and may grow up to long. The smallest stan ...

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

, watussi cattle,

meerkats 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 ...

nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

and

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

. In addition to scheduled feedings, there is a petting zoo where visitors can get close with the animals. Food can also be purchased to feed the animals.

Membership

Essehof Zoo is part of several German and international zoo and animal associations. It is part of the (German Zoo Society) and Deutscher-Wildgehege-Verband (German Game Preserve). At an international level, it is part of the WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

References

{{authority control Zoos in Germany Zoos established in 1968 Tourist attractions in Lower Saxony Geography of Braunschweig Buildings and structures in Helmstedt (district)