Tierpark Chemnitz: Anniversary celebration on 2 June from 10 am to 6 pm - ATTENTION: cancelled! -*
New rare amphibian species at the Vivarium
On Sunday 2 June, Chemnitz Zoo will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the focus will be on animals, the zoo and species conservation and, of course, the zoo itself. The zoo has invited other cultural institutions, clubs and organisations as well as the Siegmar volunteer fire brigade to present themselves on the day with information stands and hands-on activities. The zoo staff will be offering guided tours, a look behind the scenes, a zoo rally, face painting for children and insect hotel making. Catering will also be provided.
The facility was opened on 1 June 1964 as a home animal park with a small animal population, including monkeys, goats, ponies and various birds. Later, the focus was placed on keeping animals from Eastern Europe and Asia. In 1984, 750 animals of 130 species were kept. Today, the animal population comprises around 1500 individuals of 226 species, including around 80 amphibian and 30 fish species. The unique vivarium has become the zoo's unique selling point.
Species conservation is and remains the most important task of zoos. The zoos of the GDR also had the task of keeping and breeding animals threatened with extinction. They did not work in isolation either, but internationally. Tierpark Karl-Marx-Stadt, for example, was a member of the International Breeding Association for Siberian Tigers and had one of the largest populations of this subspecies in the GDR, at times even more than Leipzig. By the mid-1980s, the zoo was already a member of four international breeding associations (in addition to the tiger, also for the kulan, bison and Przewalski's horse). Today, the facility is involved in around 40 European and international studbooks and participates in reintroduction programmes, e.g. for the Przewalski's horse and bison.
New rare amphibian species at Chemnitz Zoo
There is a new rarity to discover in the vivarium at Chemnitz Zoo - a species that is rarely exhibited in zoological institutions and is also rare in the wild: the Majorca midwife toad. This frog species, which is exclusively native to the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, is only exhibited in six other institutions in Germany apart from Chemnitz, and a total of 13 across Europe.
The species was only described at the end of the 1970s, before which it was thought to be extinct. Today, its natural distribution area is limited to the north of Mallorca, more precisely to the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. The main threats to the species here are the viperine snake introduced from the mainland as a predator and the Iberian water frog as a food competitor. Since 2020, it has therefore been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - the third of four endangerment categories.
Like all midwife toads, this species also has a special form of brood care. After mating, the male carries the spawn - usually from several females - on his back for several weeks. After this time, the male goes to the breeding waters, where the relatively well-developed larvae begin to hatch a few minutes after coming into contact with the water.
www.tierpark-chemnitz.de
Opening hours in summer:
Zoo: 9 am to 7 pm, last admission 6 pm
Game enclosure: 9 am to 6 pm, last admission 5 pm
* Cancelled due to weather conditions on 30 May 2024, a rescheduled date has not yet been set.