Offspring at the zoo
Young emus and kangaroos - animal houses open again from Saturday
The first offspring of the year have arrived at Chemnitz Zoo. Both the emus and the kangaroos have young to admire.
The inhabitants of the Australian enclosure at Chemnitz Zoo are usually the first animals of the year to have offspring. This year was no exception. A total of three young emus hatched between 31 January and 2 February.
Father Heinrich routinely looks after his offspring, which he has been incubating for almost two months. In the emus, the male alone is responsible for breeding and the young are also exclusively led by the cock. Heinrich and his offspring are currently housed separately from the emu hen Katharina. During the
rearing the young, the cock can become very aggressive in defence of his young and his territory.
This is the emu breeding pair's sixth offspring together. Heinrich hatched from an egg in a Danish zoo in 1994 and finally came to Chemnitz from Leipzig Zoo in 2006. Katharina is ten years old and came to the local zoo from Neuwied Zoo in 2013.
A kangaroo cub is also already peeking out of its pouch. It was probably born at the end of last year and is now growing up in the pouch. How old it is can only be estimated, as the birth goes unnoticed and the tiny young animal remains hidden in the pouch for many months. It is only when the movements of the now well-grown young animal are noticeable in the pouch that it becomes clear that there is an offspring.
Opening hours in February:
Zoo 9 am to 4 pm, last admission 3 pm
Opening hours in March:
Zoo: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., last admission 4 p.m.
Please note:
From tomorrow, Saturday 26 February, all four animal houses in the Tierpark will be open again, but only the large warm room in the Vivarium. The access rules (3G, contact tracing, FFP2 masks compulsory in the houses) remain in place. Due to the limited number of visitors, please book in advance.
The game enclosure is expected to remain closed until mid-March for clean-up work after the storm.