After having weathered ashes and the red hot glare of smoldering heaps of debris on her way to the zoo, she noticed a bewildered looking “shepherd’s dog” near her completely burnt out guard house creeping past. In fact, studies show that there are now more fox dens in the city than in the forest. The dead deer, buffalo and antelopes provided hundreds of meals for man and beast alike. They've never attacked anyone - and neither have any of the other wild animals in Berlin. On February 7 and 10, 1944 transports from Berlin arrived carrying 237 mammals and 149 species of birds, which would have easily filled a fair sized zoo. Its history and restoration also pass review. Several witnesses saw cylindrical paper lanterns with little fires inside flying in the night sky shortly after midnight Wednesday near the Krefeld Zoo, Gerd Hoppmann, the city’s head of criminal police, told reporters. A larger part had survived though: 721 mammals and 1,212 birds of various species. And there are so many green areas in Berlin. After the defeat in the battle for Stalingrad in the previous winter, in which the Wehrmacht suffered crippling losses, the arrival of new life was an encouraging event for keepers and visitors of the zoo alike. Give your family a treat and take them to Berlin’s famous zoo. They love breeding high above us, where there's fresh air - and space, such as wall openings and window bays. After having survived the heavy bombardments of November 1943, the eight months old animal barely escaped with its life during the air raid of January 30, 1944. Nowadays, a life size bronze sculpture of the popular animal, one of the few that would survive the war, stands at the entrance of the hippo building. A fire at a zoo in western Germany killed a large number of animals in the early hours of the new year, authorities said. Police and firefighters received the first emergency calls at 12:38 a.m. There was only one survivor in the heavily damaged elephant shelter, the bull Siam which had lost its entire harem. Racoons live in caves and they actually find more caves in the city than in the countryside - whether this comes in the form of roofs, chimneys or hollow trees. His exit was blocked by debris and pieces of wood and Peter and the other boys saw how the young hippo vainly tried to escape through a side exit. This species can be identified by their glitter-covered bodies, preference for drinking Club Mate and their attraction to loud electronic beats. Hoppmann said some of the partially burned lanterns had handwritten notes on them. So there is no reason to be afraid of them. And when one animal dies, like the sparrow for instance, then another animal is going to die too - like the kestrel, which eats sparrows. Not to mention birds. (06.05.2016). Racoons living in Berlin like eating leftover food they find in the city. That night, towards 20:15, Berlin was hit again by a heavy bombardment causing further damage to the zoo as well. Less than 100 of the approximately 3,500 animals have survived. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. Forest workers of the Reichsforstamt, soldiers from the Flak tower, a police unit, a platoon of the Technische Nothilfe (emergency rescue team), engineers of the Wehrmacht and prisoners-of-war, they all were deployed to clear up the zoo. Police said paper sky lanterns launched nearby to celebrate the arrival of 2020 were probably to blame. Owing to a shortage of men, boys like Peter were soon employed to operate the anti-aircraft guns. No, not at all. Usually a wild fox would run for its life when confronted with a human, because they have been hunted so intensively. So what can we do to make sure everyone has enough? “This is an unfathomable tragedy.”. The passage however was too small for the already fairly large animal and its head got stuck. A very helpful zoo that took in a large number of animals from Berlin after the November 1943 raids, was the Mulhouse zoo in the Alsace. It closed after the fire and plans to remain closed Thursday. Privacy Policy | They were 34 centimeters (over 13 inches) long, made out of white paper with an opening at the bottom where a small fire would be suspended. But the cutest of them all is the cheeky Berlin sparrow that'll happily eat out of your hand. Just as she was on the point of doing so, two zoo keepers turned up to take the escaped wolf back to its shelter. The other animals had either died of old age or by the violence of war, most other zoos in the Reich had been subjected to as well. What makes Berlin so attractive for these animals? Various shelters had undergone hap hazard repairs to offer the animals at least some protection and simultaneously shore up their ramshackle shelters. Bomber Command had launched the “Battle of Berlin” a few days previously, intended to force Germany to surrender by massive bombing attacks on Berlin and other cities in Germany. According to Koch, the first white-tailed eagle returned to Berlin in 2002 after nearly a century. But where could the money come from? Picture the distress felt by pet dogs or cats when fireworks go off, and multiply it by orders of magnitude to get an idea of what the Berlin zoo’s residents must have gone through. “We have to seriously work through the mourning process,” Dressen said. Because Peter had not yet finished his training, he was banned from this job in January 1944. Plus, it's easy to find shelter. While clouds of dust were slowly descending after the November raids, Berliners went about assessing the damage and salvaging the victims; in the zoo, work was taken up quickly to care for the surviving animals and to clear the premises as far as possible. As if the thought of wild foxes and raccoons in the middle of Berlin isn't scary enough, you could also easily run into a wild boar. The Tierpark Berlin is one of two zoos located in Berlin, Germany.It was founded in 1955 and is located in Friedrichsfelde on the former grounds of Friedrichsfelde Palace, which is situated within the zoo.As of 31 December 2013, the zoo houses 7,250 animals from 846 species, in an area of 160 hectares (400 acres). In the early morning hours, the party animal can also be found sleeping on the city's trains. She took pity on the exhausted and dazed animal and wanted to share her slice of bread with it. During the battle of Berlin, the zoo turned into a battlefield as tanks and shells left their destructive traces. In order to give Peter and other inexperienced boys something to do, their Hauptwachtmeister offered them the opportunity to report as volunteers for guarding and clearing jobs in the zoo. Not so in Berlin. The masonry had become fissured from the heat and the vibration and between the three of them, they managed to work some chunks free so Knautschke would fit in the opening. We have songbirds, raptors like the white-tailed eagle - and in the past few years, we also have large seagulls breeding here. As sad as the losses may have been though, they could have been far worse if manager Heck had not evacuated a large number of animals in advance to zoos elsewhere within the Reich. What are they up to? Bombardments by the Allies and house-to-house combat between the German Wehrmacht and the Russian Red Army have turned the city into a pile of rubble. The entire city of Berlin has become a habitat for foxes. Which wild animals are people most afraid of, and why? Making things worse for the Berlin Zoo’s animals was the nearby Zoo Tower – one of the massive concrete towers brimming with antiaircraft guns, that sought to protect Berlin from Allied bombers. Without these animals, we'd completely lose touch with nature. Berlin's city foxes don't have this so-called flight initiation distance. In the mornings, we often notice our king vultures perched on a branch on exhibit, their wings stretched wide. Various shelters proved to be uninhabitable after raids, requiring a search for alternative shelters. In fact, studies show that there are now more fox dens in the city than in forests. On November 22, 764 bombers of the R.A.F. Arthur “Bomber” Harris, commander-in-chief of R.A.F. What kinds of wild animals do you advise Berliners about? Police said paper sky lanterns launched nearby to celebrate the arrival of 2020 were probably to blame. Prior to the bombardments of November 1943, a number of Heck’s colleagues had declared themselves willing to take in animals for the time being as well as after the raids. It was on November 22 and 23 the zoo was subjected to the heaviest air raid so far. The Aquarium Berlin is one of the most important public aquariums in the world. Berlin is the city with the largest amount and variety of birds in Germany. Despondently they returned to the Flak bunker. Nor do foxes or raccoons, by the way. Animals are part of people's natural experience, including sense of well-being and relaxation. Birds of Prey Description. So it came to be that on in the night of January 30, Peter and his comrades were in the zoo. The premises of the zoo, once so well-attended, has deteriorated to a gruesome cratered landscape. Places like the main restaurant, the ostrich shelter and the hippo shelter were hit. Or when a bat is making its round at night in a courtyard. DW: Miss Koch, concerned citizens call you when they've had an encounter with a wild animal in Berlin. “It’s close to a miracle that Bally, a 40-year-old female chimpanzee, and Limbo, a younger male, survived this inferno,” Dressen said, adding that many of the zoo’s animal handlers were in shock at the devastation.