Tierpark Hagenbeck facts for kids
 |
|
Zoo entrance by the tropical aquarium
|
|
| Date opened | 7 May 1907 |
|---|---|
| Location | Lokstedter Grenzstraße 2 22527 Hamburg, Germany |
| Land area | 25 ha (62 acres) |
| Coordinates | 53°35′47″N 9°56′16″E / 53.59639°N 9.93778°E |
| No. of animals | 14.300 |
| No. of species | 530 |
The Tierpark Hagenbeck is a famous zoo located in Stellingen, a part of Hamburg, Germany. The zoo's history began in 1863 with animals collected by Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887). He was a fishmonger who became very interested in collecting animals.
His son, Carl Hagenbeck Jr., officially opened the park in 1907. This zoo is special because it was the first to use open areas for animals. Instead of cages with bars, they used hidden moats to separate animals from visitors. This design made the animal habitats look more like their natural homes.
Contents
The History of Hagenbeck Zoo
Early Animal Collections
In 1863, Carl Hagenbeck Sr. started collecting unique animals. These animals arrived through Hamburg's busy port. By the 1870s, trading exotic animals became more profitable than his fish shop. Hagenbeck became one of Europe's most important animal traders.
In 1874, Carl Hagenbeck Jr. traveled the world to find new animals. During this time, it was also a common, though now seen as wrong, practice to exhibit people from different cultures. Hagenbeck displayed Samoan and Sámi people. The Sámi were shown with their tents, weapons, and sleds, alongside reindeer.
In 1874, Hagenbeck opened a zoo facility in Hamburg. He continued to show people from different parts of the world. For example, in 1876, he began exhibiting Nubians across Europe. He also brought Inuit people from Hebron in Labrador to be shown in the Hamburg Tierpark.
Over time, these types of shows became less popular. As photographs became common, Hagenbeck's exhibits seemed less real. After one show, Hagenbeck had many elephants left that he could not sell. So, he started a circus. To make his animal displays more interesting, he began making them look more natural. These ideas later changed how animal zoos were designed.
Creating Panorama Exhibits
In the 1890s, Hagenbeck created his first "panorama" exhibit. He even patented this new idea in 1896. His "Northern Panorama" display showed seals and walruses in a pool. Hidden from visitors, a moat was behind the pool. Beyond that moat were reindeer, and past another hidden moat were polar bears. By hiding the moats, it looked like all the animals were living together in one large landscape.
In 1907, Hagenbeck built a new zoo outside of Hamburg. He called it Tierpark Hagenbeck, and it is still in the same location today. Hagenbeck wanted to design the entire zoo using his panorama system. He also wanted to show that animals from warm places did not need to live in expensive, humid buildings. Instead, he aimed to make their homes look very realistic.
Hagenbeck used information from his circus to estimate how high and far different animals could jump. With this data, he built moats filled with water or empty pits that animals could not cross. Using moats allowed visitors to see many animals at once, as if they were in the wild. This was a big change, as zoos before had not grouped animals by species. Hagenbeck's design changed how zoos were laid out.
Hagenbeck's new design was very popular. In 1911, he designed the Rome Zoo using the same style. In 1913, he created the first monkey-rock exhibit. This was an artificial rock with a 16-foot (4.9 m) moat around it. About 200 hamadryas baboons lived on this rock. Hagenbeck called his design an animal paradise. He believed animals would live together peacefully there, without the struggle for survival.
Challenges: World War I and II
Hagenbeck passed away in 1913. His zoo remained popular until difficult times came to Europe. During World War I, many zoo keepers joined the German army. The military also took horses from civilians. So, many of Hagenbeck's animals were rented out to pull wagons. It was common to see elephants and trained bears pulling heavy loads of coal and wood.
After the war, Germany faced a deep economic crisis. The zoo closed for two years. Then, during the Bombing of Hamburg in World War II, the original zoo was destroyed. After the war, the zoo was rebuilt. Today, this private zoo is still managed by the Hagenbeck family.
The Great Monkey Escape
In July 1956, something exciting happened. Forty-five rhesus monkeys escaped from the zoo! They ran wild in Hamburg. Housewives called for help, surprised to find monkeys in their bedrooms and bathtubs. Some monkeys sat in trees, chattering and showing off toothpaste, soap, and other bathroom items they had taken. Zoo managers reported that police, firefighters, zoo keepers, and even schoolchildren helped catch more than two dozen of the long-tailed Indian monkeys.
Antje the Walrus
In 1976, the zoo welcomed a female Pacific walrus. Hagenbeck named her Antje, after his sister. Antje became very famous. She was the logo for the north German television network NDR from 1983 to 1996.
Antje passed away in 2003. She is now preserved and on display at the zoological museum of Hamburg. Soon after, a children's cartoon called "Antje, Tiger und Bär" aired on German television. It featured a blue walrus character based on Antje, designed by children's author Janosch. In 2013, Tierpark Hagenbeck welcomed a new male and three female walruses from Moscow.
