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Editor:
Presscouncil City of Chemnitz
Pressrelease: 545

"The chickens are laughing!" - Invitation to the children's party at Chemnitz Zoo

One of Chemnitz's favourite excursion destinations - the zoo on Nevoigtstraße - turned 50 in June and celebrated this in style with a party. The "Kingdom for Frogs and Co" is also hosting other events in its anniversary year: On Friday, 3 October, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the children's festival traditionally held on Unity Day is on the calendar. This time, the zoo has prepared activities to join in and watch under the motto "The chickens are laughing! " - zoo vet Dr Peggy Riedel explains: "The focus of our children's festival is on autumnal and rural offers and activities. Girls and boys have to complete five of these stations and then there are prizes to be won. Various tasks have to be completed, for example under the motto 'Find the sheep' or 'Milk the cow'. You can also marvel at a giant potato and get to know its breeder, ride ponies and make things with natural materials."

Interactive play stations are dedicated to the history of Chemnitz Zoo, introduce typical professions at the zoo and invite visitors to guess rare animal species. And as always at the children's festival, carousels, a bouncy castle and a climbing wall await the youngest guests. Veterinarian Peggy Riedel and zoo manager Anja Dube promise a wide variety of entertainment for the children's festival on the public holiday. Around 1000 animals of 200 different species currently live here on Nevoigtstraße, including tiny ones such as the tree climbing frogs in the vivarium and very large ones such as Bactrian camels and dromedaries in their outdoor enclosures.

Observe animal offspring

At the children's festival, visitors can also admire three young snowy owls, for example, which hatched in June and will soon be moving to another zoo. When it hatches, a snowy owl chick weighs just under 50 grams, but within eight weeks the grey ball of feathers transforms into a stately white owl with characteristic grey horizontal bands on its back and belly. While the females remain black and white in colour throughout their lives, the older the owls are, the whiter the plumage of the males becomes. Visitors to the zoo can no longer easily distinguish between the younger and older birds in the aviary. Anyone entering the zoo from Nevoigtstraße will meet the youngest offspring at the entrance: A cute domestic foal was born in July and is currently one of the visitors' favourites. Children can't pet the foal - but they can pet the dwarf goat offspring. While parents and grandparents relax with a snack from the walk through the grounds or the rubber boot toss, children and grandchildren can try out the gifts from the zoo association, which donated two rocking animals - a tiger and a duck - for the 50th anniversary, as well as a horizontal bar for little gymnasts.

Best photos awarded prizes - exhibition boards - zoo director gives lecture at the TIETZ - Friends' Association is looking for 50 more zoo sponsors in the anniversary year

A stage programme will surprise visitors in the afternoon of the children's festival. In addition, the winners of the 50th anniversary photo competition will be announced on stage between 3 and 4 pm: The zoo and the Friends' Association asked visitors to submit their best animal photos. Around 60 photos were submitted, making it difficult for the jury to choose.

Visitors can take a look at the development of the animal oasis since it was founded on exhibition boards , which were first shown in the Vita Centre in the summer and have now found their place in the zoo. There is also news: in autumn, smaller cats of prey will move back into their newly designed enclosure. Although the so-called "cat ring" has not yet been completely renovated for the children's festival, individual animals have already moved into their renovated enclosures. Zoo manager Anja Dube will report on current projects and the history of the Chemnitz zoo on Wednesday, 26 November from 6 p.m. in the TIETZ event hall.

Perhaps the audience or visitors to the children's festival will decide to support projects at Chemnitz Zoo or adopt an animal - anyone considering doing so can contact the organisation's support association. To mark the Chemnitz zoo's anniversary, the association would like to arrange 50 sponsorships in the "Frog Kingdom": For a frog, for example, this costs 25 euros per year .

Opening hours of the zoo:

In September: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm

In October: 9 am to 5 pm, last admission 4 pm

On the public holiday, 3 October: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm.

Opening hours game gate:

In September: September: 8 am to 6 pm, admission until closing time.

In October: 8 am to 4 pm, admission until closing time.