Animal outlooks
Dessau Zoo can look back on a very successful 2021. A total of 136,091 zoo and cultural guests visited Dessau Zoo. Of these, 126,075 were pure zoo visitors and 10,016 were exclusively guests of the cultural events in the park, such as from the Anhalt Theatre, the summer cinema or the Kurt Weil Festival. “It was the most successful year in 30 years. We are very satisfied with the result and at the same time very grateful to those responsible in politics and administration in the city and the state for the support provided and the decision to continue to keep the zoo facilities open in Saxony-Anhalt,” comments zoo director Dipl.-Biol. Jan Bauer on the annual result.
The result shows how significant the Dessau Zoo is as a so-called soft location factor for the city of Dessau-Roßlau and the region of Anhalt, southern Brandenburg and northern Saxony. Due to its popularity and the quality of the facility, the zoo staff were again able to enjoy a great wave of solidarity and very great support from the population in 2021. In addition to many donations, a very large number of animal and tree sponsorships were also concluded.
At the end of 2021, 475 animals of 105 species were counted in the animal population. Interesting new additions in 2021 were the two Ussurian frilled bears “Dmitry” and “Anastasia”, laughing gulls and chipmunks. There were also plenty of offspring last year among the Harz goats, Karakul sheep and rabbits. The zoo team was particularly proud of two first-time offspring.
Both the red Harz mountain cattle and the breeding of four Siberian eagle owls were successful. With the death of the male jaguar “Paco”, the zoo unfortunately lost one of its most charismatic residents.
A lot of construction work was done at Dessau Zoo in 2021. The bear enclosure was rebuilt for the Ussurian collared bears, the “Kleine Ferkelei”, a petting enclosure for the small woolly pigs, was inaugurated, an extensive wayfinding system was installed and several new seating areas have been available to visitors since last year.
The “Tierparkfreunde Dessau” campaign “Gemeinsam bärenstark” (Strong Bears Together) was very successful, which provided the financial basis for the transport of the two Ussurian collared bears.
Outside the mausoleum, construction work by the Youth Construction Hut continued.
The zoo team is looking forward to 2022, a year that will also see many interesting events at the Dessau Zoo. The zoo staff want to continue building on the Anhalt teaching farm and, of course, the old railway premises are being looked at with excitement. Last year, the city council passed a resolution in principle to develop the neighbouring property for the Dessau Zoo over the next few years.
Source/Photo: Press Office City of Dessau-Roßlau