Heidelberg Zoo is a

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 purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

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 betwee ...

which was founded in 1933 and opened for the public on 20 November 1934. Since 1998, the zoo director has been Klaus Wünnemann.

History

The zoo was created as a foundation, initiated by the

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, Otto Fehringer. Fehringer was supported by Carl Bosch, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

, and Nobel laureate in chemistry. During the first years, Heidelberg Zoo was suffering from money shortage, which even worsened after 1940 and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In March 1945, the zoo was totally destroyed during bombings. In 1972, a new director was appointed, and a reformation began. Several new enclosures were added, like a new enclosure for

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s 1973, Africa enclosure 1977, carnivores 1978,

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 k ...

s 1981, bird enclosure 1985,

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

s 1988, followed by a new

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

enclosure and other buildings. A new elephant house was opened in 2010, where only young elephant bulls are kept, as part of the EEP breeding programme for

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...

s.Zoo Heidelberg at Zoo-welt.com

Pictures

File:HD Küstenpanorama.jpg, Küstenpanorama von 1991 File:HD Goldkatze.jpg, Asiatische Goldkatze File:HD Feldhamster-Aufzuchtstelle.jpg, Feldhamster-Aufzuchtstelle File:Lake Heidelberg Zoo.JPG, Teichlandschaft File:HD Weißgesicht-Seidenäffchen groß.jpg, Weißgesicht-Seidenäffchen in einem für Besucher zugänglichen Käfig File:Zoo Heidelberg.JPG, The Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax)

References

*Much of the content of this article comes fro
the equivalent German-language wikipedia article.
Retrieved on 14 January 2014. Some of the following references are cited by that German-language article:

External links

*
Zooschool Heidelberg
Zoos in Germany Buildings and structures in Heidelberg Tourist attractions in Heidelberg {{Heidelberg-geo-stub