New animals at the Oberrabenstein game reserve
There have been some changes to the animal population at the Oberrabenstein wildlife enclosure in recent months. At the beginning of October, the seven-year-old female European wolf was joined by a one-and-a-half-year-old male from the Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park. The two wolves initially had enough time to get to know each other at a distance. Now the final step has been taken and the gate connecting the two enclosures has been opened. This gives the wolves the opportunity to get to know each other and it will be interesting to see whether they like each other, produce offspring and thus form a pack.
After the death of the old animals, there was also a new start for the European wildcats. A new male cat arrived from "Le Parc des Felines" in France at the beginning of November. The two-year-old animal is currently still living in the old wildcat enclosure next to the pine martens. It will soon be joined by a female. The new breeding pair will then be able to move into a new home next year.
In the year of the European wildcat, the "Tierparkfreunde Chemnitz e.V." have set themselves an ambitious goal: the construction of a spacious new wildcat enclosure in the wildlife park. The near-natural enclosure will have an enclosure area of 250 square metres. Visitors will be able to observe the animals from a shelter. Donations are still being collected for this project. Information can be found on the homepage of the zoo and the Friends of the Zoo.
Last Thursday, the bison herd also expanded. A two-year-old bull arrived from Sababurg Zoo. He will be responsible for the future offspring of the three bison cows. However, as he is not yet fully grown at the age of two, it will be difficult to tell him apart from the females at the moment. When fully grown, the bulls can weigh 800 to 900 kilograms with an average height of up to 1.90 metres. The last representatives of Europe's wild cattle species are therefore the largest and heaviest land mammals on the continent.
In addition to such interesting European animal species, the mating behaviour of fallow deer, mouflons and wild boar can be observed in the Oberrabenstein game reserve at this time of year. Male roe deer shed their antlers at the end of their mating season in November. The mating season for wolves also begins in December. The Oberrabenstein game reserve is therefore also worth a visit on colder days.
Please note that on Monday, 26 November, the Oberrabenstein Wildlife Park will be closed in the morning (until approx. 12 noon) for technical reasons.
Otherwise, the wildlife park is open daily from 8 am to 4 pm.