| Nuremberg Zoo (Tiergarten Nürnberg) | |
|---|---|
 Zoo entrance | |
 Interactive map of Nuremberg Zoo (Tiergarten Nürnberg) | |
| 49°26′51″N11°8′41″E / 49.44750°N 11.14472°E /49.44750; 11.14472 | |
| Date opened | 11 May 1912 |
| Location | Nuremberg, Germany |
| Land area | 67 hectares (170 acres) |
| No. of species | 300 |
| Website | http://www.tiergarten.nuernberg.de |
Nuremberg Zoo (German:Tiergarten Nürnberg) is a zoo located in theNuremberg Reichswald ("imperial forest"), southeast ofNuremberg, Germany. With an area of 67 hectares (170 acres), approximately 300 animal species are kept by the zoo.
The tradition of zoos in Nuremberg goes back to the Middle Ages. However the only indications of a zoo maintained by the local nobility, the Burgraves, take the form of certain place names, such as the Zoo Gate (Tiergärtner Tor) and the adjoining Zoo Square (Tiergärtnertorplatz). This preserve stretched as far as the so-called Johannisfelder (present-day St. Johannis) and the Rohlederersgarten (present-day Klinikum Nord). One can only speculate about the use made of the park.
The Nuremberg Zoo was founded on 11 May 1912[1] on the site of the Bavarian State Exhibition at the Luitpoldhain. After theNazis seized power, the zoo had to give way for theReichsparteitagsgelände (Nazi party rally grounds) at theDutzendteich and was closed in February 1939. In May 1939, the new zoo was opened in the Reichswald at the Schmausenbuck. It was almost completely destroyed after World War II and rebuilt at the end of the 1950s.
With 67 hectares (170 acres), it is one of the largest European zoos. Typical are large, natural enclosures, which are embedded in a landscape of forests and stone pits. More than one million visitors are counted every year. Many new enclosures, e.g., for gorillas, snow leopards and polar bears, were built in recent years.
Flocke, a captive-born polar bear who was born at the zoo in December 2007, became a popular tourist attraction and an international celebrity after a controversial decision to remove her from her mother and raise her by hand. Flocke has since been "adopted" byUnited Nations Environment Programme chiefAchim Steiner.[2]
The zoo hasAsiatic lions andSiberian tigers, which live in former stone pits. The inner cages of both large cat species are behind a rock face and can be visited only after entering the house through a tunnel. Other carnivores aresnow leopards,polar bears, andmaned wolves. The zoo is also successful in breedingSouth African cheetahs.Further attractions areCommon bottlenose dolphins,Indian rhinoceroses,Malayan tapirs,lowland gorillas,California sea lions andmanatees.
Many hooved mammals, likereticulated giraffes,Somali wild asses,Père David's deer,European andAmerican bison,African buffalo,plains zebras andTurkmenian kulans live in large enclosures, which are embedded in the forested, hilly landscape. Beautiful ponds are home to a variety of water birds.
"The Polar Bear Group" is a life-size, bronze animal sculpture in the Aqua Park of the Zoo, created byJosef Tabachnyk in 2007.
The Group consists of a motherpolar bear with her young cubs in a playful pose, and is based on a flat plate from brightgranite, which is reminiscent of an ice floe. The Group was created by the sculptorJosef Tabachnyk and was installed in the zoo in 2007.[3] The measurements of the Polar Bear Group are 120x240x90 cm. Since November 2010, another bronze bear sculpture created by the same artist was installed in the entrance area of the zoo. It depicts abrown bear lying on its back, playing with a slug.
"The Tree of Life" is a bronze sculpture also created by the artist Tabachnyk. It has been standing on public grounds of the Zoo since November 2012.[4][5]
The sculpture, when viewed from a distance, depicts a blossomingapple tree. Up close, one can see a few elements of the life cycle embedded in the various elements of the tree. In the tree’s roots and bark, faces, hands and other body parts are implied. Within the branches grows a young male figure, who appears to raise up the leaves and fruit of the tree. Additionally a female figure lies in the trees. At the top of the tree birds are leaving and flying up to heaven. The measurements of the sculpture are 270x190x95cm.
From below the generations are depicted. The ancestors, which are shown in the tree’s roots, bark and branches, create the foundation for the current generation. The current generation cares for and provides for the leaves and fruit, which depict the future generations.
