New residents in the game enclosure and zoo
The Oberrabenstein game reserve has a new resident. The "Bird of the Year" has moved in. A male turtle dove came to Chemnitz from Dresden Zoo. A female is to follow. As the smallest of the four wild pigeons found in Germany, the turtle dove stands out with its brown scaled back and a black and white banded patch on the side of its neck. It is the only long-distance migratory bird among the native pigeon species. It spends the winter in tropical Africa.
The German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the Bavarian Bird Protection Association (LBV) have been honouring the "Bird of the Year" since 1971. The aim of the campaign is to draw attention to the endangerment of the respective species and their habitats. Over the past 40 years, the population of the turtle dove has declined by 90 per cent. On the one hand, they lack suitable habitats, which are primarily threatened by industrial agriculture. On the other hand, turtle doves are hunted on their way to Africa. This hunting is perfectly legal in some countries. In the EU, however, the aim is to enforce a ban on hunting. Breeding successes in zoological institutions can save endangered species from extinction. Chemnitz Zoo, to which the game reserve belongs, would like to participate in a conservation breeding programme for the turtle dove in the future.
There is also news from the zoo: The Bennett's kangaroos have had offspring. Both females have each had a kitten in their pouch for a few weeks now. It is not possible to say exactly how old they are. The birth goes unnoticed and the tiny young animal remains hidden in the pouch for many months. Only when movements of the young animal, which has grown considerably in the meantime, are noticeable in the pouch do we know that there are offspring.
As with all marsupials, young Bennett's kangaroos are born relatively underdeveloped after a short gestation period of around 30 days. They are naked, deaf and blind and can only hold on to their mother's fur with the help of their arms. Nevertheless, they find their way into the pouch quite quickly and independently, where they suck on a teat and are thus supplied with their mother's milk. Usually only a single cub is born, twins are rare.
The young only leave the pouch for the first time after a few months. After a further two months, it has finally become too big to fit in. However, the young are suckled until they are around one year old. For this purpose, they insert their head into their mother's pouch from the outside. This is not yet the case at the zoo. However, you can now regularly see the young animals peeking out of their mothers' pouches.
www.tierpark-chemnitz.dehttp://www.tierpark-chemnitz.de
Opening hours in February:
Zoo: 9 am to 4 pm, last admission 3 pm
Game enclosure: 8 am to 4 pm