Leipzig Zoological Garden, or Leipzig Zoo (), is a zoo in the Leipzig borough of Mitte, locality Zentrum-Nordwest, Germany. It was first opened on June 9, 1878. It was taken over by the city of Leipzig in 1920 after World War I and now covers about and contains approximately 850 species. By 2020, the zoo featured six different theme worlds, aiming at providing habitats appropriate for the species on display.
Leipzig zoo is internationally noted for its large building projects such as Pongoland (housing gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans) and Gondwanaland (the world's second largest indoor rainforest hall at ).Marcopolo.de (31 October 2011). Deutschland: Eröffnung der Tropenerlebniswelt „Gondwanaland“ im Zoo Leipzig. It has bred more than 2,000 lions, 250 rare Siberian tigers, and other carnivores like bears.Leipzig Zoological Garden. (2005). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved December 8, 2005, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9047693 Leipzig Zoological Garden has been called the "Zoo of the future". It is ranked as the best zoo in Germany and also the second-best in Europe (after Vienna).
Theme worlds The Zoo Leipzig hosts six different theme worlds; the Founder's Garden, Gondwanaland, Asia, Pongoland, Africa and South America. Zoo director Prof. Dr. Jörg Junhold aimed to combine species conservation, with spacious compounds, which are as appropriate for the species kept within as possible. Additionally the zoo offers educational tours to visitor groups and various special events.
Founder's Garden
The Founder's Garden is located close to the entrance, partially in historical buildings. Besides the explorer's arch, which is also used for educational purposes this part of the zoo includes compounds displaying koalas since 2016 in the former ape house as well as a budgerigar aviary and primate islands.
Bearded emperor tamarin Budgerigar Coppery titi monkey Golden lion tamarin Koala White-faced saki
Aquarium
Bird wrasse Black arowana Blackspotted puffer Bluestreak cleaner wrasse Blue-girdled angelfish Bonnethead shark Chindongo saulosi Clown anemonefish Clown triggerfish Disk tetra Duckbill catfish Fire eel Kotsovato Longhorn boxfish Malawi hawk cichlid Mexican tetra Moon jellyfish Palette surgeonfish Rainbow shiner Smooth back river stingray Spotted garden eel Teardrop angelfish Tiger tail seahorse Weedy scorpionfish White-blotched river stingray Xingu peacock bass Yellow tang Yellowtail tang
Gondwanaland
In 2010, the massive greenhouse Gondwanaland opened comprising an area larger than two football pitches (). It has its own tropical climate and hosts 170 exotic animal species and around 500 different plant species from Africa, Asia and South America. There is a treetop trail, with squirrel monkeys jumping around very closely. Visitors can also take a small open boat (for a small extra fee) to gain a different perspective.
Another rare animal living in Gondwanaland is the eastern quoll, a medium-sized carnivorous dasyurid marsupial native to Australia.
Mammals
Black and rufous sengi Black-rumped agouti Crowned lemur Diana monkey Eastern quoll Fishing cat Giant otter Guianan squirrel monkey Island flying fox Kirk's dik-dik Kowari Linne's two-toed sloth Malayan tapir Ocelot Oriental small-clawed otter Owl-faced monkey Pygmy hippopotamus Pygmy marmoset
Birds
African green pigeon African pygmy goose Allen's gallinule Bernier's teal Black crake Blue-throated piping guan Brahminy starling Brazilian teal Crested partridge Cuban grassquit Fulvous whistling duck Germain's peacock-pheasant Hartlaub's turaco Madagascar ibis Masked lapwing Nicobar pigeon Pied imperial pigeon Radjah shelduck Red fody Red-whiskered bulbul Sunbittern Turquoise tanager Victoria crowned pigeon White-crowned robin-chat
Reptiles
Arrau turtle Asian brown tortoise Brown anole Dwarf yellow-headed gecko Eastern long-necked turtle Green iguana Komodo dragon Madagascar giant day gecko Malaysian giant turtle Pig-nosed turtle Radiated tortoise Spotted pond turtle Sunda gharial Tokay gecko Turquoise dwarf gecko
Amphibians File-eared tree frog Golden mantella Greenhouse frog Hong Kong whipping frog Mission golden-eyed tree frog Tomato frog White's tree frog Yellow stream frog Yellow-banded poison dart frog
Fish Arapaima Atlantic mudskipper Australian lungfish Giant gourami Giant pacu Largescale four-eyes Red-bellied piranha Redtail catfish South American lungfish Spotted gar West African lungfish
Invertebrates Coastal horseshoe crab Leaf-cutting ant
Asia One of the main attractions of this theme world are the Indian elephants. They have their own swimming pool, complete with a visitor gallery underneath. The critically endangered Chinese pangolin – almost extinct in the wild – also inhabits this part of the zoo.
Until they finally received an appropriate environment in 2017, the snow leopards lived in „traditional cages“ like the panther Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about in 1902.
Amur leopard Amur tiger Bali myna Black-headed ibis Carniolan honey bee Chinese pangolin Dalmatian pelican Eld's deer Eurasian harvest mouse Glossy ibis Gray slender loris Griffon vulture Hermit ibis Himalayan monal Indian elephant Indian pond heron Indian sloth bear Lowland anoa Pink-necked green pigeon Przewalski's wild horse Pygmy slow loris Red panda Rhesus macaque Snow leopard Southern three-banded armadillo Sri Lankan giant squirrel Swinhoe's striped squirrel Tufted deer Ural owl Visayan warty pig White-naped crane Woolly-necked stork
Pongoland
The modern ape-world with spacious outdoor facilities was opened in 2001 and allows four species of primates to live in family groups. Besides that it hosts a research centre in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center is situated in Pogoland, operating in collaboration with the Leipzig Zoo. The research focuses on both behavior and cognition of the four species of great apes: chimpanzees, gorillas (in this case western lowland gorillas), orangutans, and bonobos. There is a special focus on the ontogeny (origin and development) of chimpanzee cognition. When it was planned and constructed the Yerkes National Primate Research Center functioned as the role model for its creation.
All of the primate species participate in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria which is part of the EAZA Ex-situ Programme. Numerous young apes were born in Leipzig since Pongoland opened.
Blue-bellied roller Bonobo Chimpanzee Sumatran orangutan Violet turaco Western lowland gorilla
Africa
One of the main attractions of the African area is the Kiwara Savannah, a shared habitat occupied by Grévy's zebras, Rothschild's giraffes, Thomson's gazelles, Nile lechwes and ostriches. Among the other animals are lions, hyena and the very popular meerkats.
African lion Ankole-Watusi Ansell's mole-rat Baringo giraffe Cape porcupine Common dwarf mongoose Eastern black rhinoceros Fat sand rat Grévy's zebra Grey crowned crane Lesser flamingo Nile lechwe Okapi Patas monkey Scimitar-horned oryx Short-eared elephant shrew Slender-tailed meerkat Southern cheetah Southern ostrich Spotted hyena Thomson's gazelle Cameroon sheep Vietnamese pot-bellied pig
South America This area is scheduled to be redesigned to host a South American landscape with a large aquatic habitat will be opened for seals and penguins. Guanacos, flamingos and Chacoan peccaries are amongst the inhabitants (before reconstruction).
Black-faced ibis California sea lion Capybara Chacoan peccary Chilean flamingo Giant anteater Guanaco Lesser rhea Maned wolf Patagonian mara Puna teal Red shoveler Roseate spoonbill Rosy-billed pochard Scarlet ibis White-faced whistling duck White-nosed coati Yellow-billed pintail
El Ranchito African pygmy goat Flemish Giant rabbit Guinea pig Llama Welsummer chicken
Other animals
Mammals Lion-tailed macaque Red-necked wallaby Siberian musk deer South African fur seals
Birds
Asian fairy-bluebird Black bulbul Black-naped fruit dove Blue-crowned hanging parrot Blue-crowned laughingthrush Blue-headed quail-dove Brazilian tanager Cinnamon ground dove Citron-crested cockatoo Crimson-bellied parakeet Edwards's pheasant Lord Derby's parakeet Military macaw Montserrat oriole Purple-naped lory Rainbow lorikeet Red-legged honeycreeper Sclater's crowned pigeon Spotted thick-knee Sunset lorikeet Violaceous euphonia Violet-backed starling White-headed buffalo weaver White-rumped shama Yellow-crowned bishop Yellow-crowned gonolek
Gallery
Notes
External links