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78-481: The zoo was founded in 1860 by a shareholding company organized by local citizens, with biologist Heinrich Bodinus appointed as the first director (who would later become a director of the Berlin Zoological Garden ). The animal enclosures being built at the time were recognized by their ornate, detailed building designs, with the most notable being the elephant house (designed to resemble a Moorish temple),

156-445: A claw and a hoof. Whereas the aardvark is considered digitigrade , it appears at times to be plantigrade . This confusion happens because when it squats it stands on its soles. A contributing characteristic to the burrow digging capabilities of aardvarks is an endosteal tissue called compacted coarse cancellous bone (CCCB). The stress and strain resistance provided by CCCB allows aardvarks to create their burrows, ultimately leading to

234-493: A gestation period of seven months, one cub weighing around 1.7–1.9 kilograms (3.7–4.2 lb) is born during May–July. When born, the young has flaccid ears and many wrinkles. When nursing, it will nurse off each teat in succession. After two weeks, the folds of skin disappear and after three, the ears can be held upright. After 5–6 weeks, body hair starts growing. It is able to leave the burrow to accompany its mother after only two weeks and eats termites at 9 weeks, and

312-526: A mass media phenomenon that spanned the globe, quickly spawning numerous toys, media specials, DVDs, and books. Because of this, the cub was largely responsible for a significant increase in revenue, estimated at five million euros, at the Berlin Zoo in 2007. Zoo attendance figures for the year increased by an estimated 30%, making it the most profitable year in its 165-year history. Knut died on 19 March 2011 after collapsing in his exhibit. Bao Bao (1978–2012)

390-680: A Friends of the Zoo Organization (Freunde des Kölner Zoos e. V.) in 1982 and the launch of the first European Endangered Species Programme in 1985. The great ape jungle house ( Urwaldhaus ) opened in 1985 as one of the first immersion exhibits in Europe. The enclosures mainly consist of swinging ropes, climbing bars, and various tropical plants to provide enrichment for the animals. Species housed include western lowland gorilla , orangutan , bonobo , pygmy marmoset , king colobus , and lion-tailed macaque . The baboon rock, which opened in 1914, houses

468-423: A charm from the heart, skin, forehead, and nails of the aardvark, which they then proceed to pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest, the charm is said to give the owner the ability to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is said to be used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents' permission. Also, some tribes, such as

546-473: A drought. Aardvarks that survive droughts can take long periods of time to regain health and optimal thermoregulatory physiology, reducing the reproductive potential of the species. Aardvarks handle captivity well. The first zoo to have one was London Zoo in 1869, which had an animal from South Africa . In African folklore , the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants . Hausa magicians make

624-433: A favourable environment for plants and a variety of animals. Digging is also facilitated by its forearm's unusually stout ulna and radius. An aardvark's weight is typically between 60 and 80 kilograms (130–180 lb). An aardvark's length is usually between 105 and 130 centimetres (3.44–4.27 ft), and can reach lengths of 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) when its tail (which can be up to 70 centimetres (28 in))

702-499: A loss, before re-selling the stocks in an effort to Aryanize the institution. Starting in 1939, Jews were also prevented from visiting the zoo. Zoo director Lutz Heck was named chief of the Oberste Naturschütz Behörde im Reichsforstamt (highest nature preservation agency in the state department of forestry) by his friend Hermann Göring in the summer of 1938 and in this capacity he was the senior responsible person for

780-442: A means to explore their location. When a concentration of ants or termites is detected, the aardvark digs into it with its powerful front legs, keeping its long ears upright to listen for predators, and takes up an astonishing number of insects with its long, sticky tongue—as many as 50,000 in one night have been recorded. Its claws enable it to dig through the extremely hard crust of a termite or ant mound quickly. It avoids inhaling

858-441: A muscular pyloric area that acts as a gizzard to grind swallowed food up, thereby rendering chewing unnecessary. Its cecum is large. Both sexes emit a strong smelling secretion from an anal gland. Its salivary glands are highly developed and almost completely ring the neck; their output is what causes the tongue to maintain its tackiness. The female has two pairs of teats in the inguinal region. Genetically speaking,

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936-400: A night. Aardvarks shift their circadian rhythms to more diurnal activity patterns in response to a reduced food supply. This survival tactic may signify an increased risk of imminent mortality. The aardvark is a rather quiet animal. However, it does make soft grunting sounds as it forages and loud grunts as it makes for its tunnel entrance. It makes a bleating sound if frightened. When it

1014-467: A partner of the Stiftung Artenschutz  [ de ] , a species protection foundation. The zoo houses four types of great ape : orangutans , gorillas , chimpanzees , and bonobos . The carnivore house displays all big cats and many rare small predators, such as ring-tailed mongooses and narrow-striped mongooses from Madagascar. In the basement, visitors are invited to a view into

1092-612: A report by AFP. The Berlin Zoo is the most visited zoo in Europe , with more than 3.3 million visitors per year from all over the world. It is open all year long and can easily be reached by public transportation. The Berlin Zoologischer Garten railway station (also simply known as Zoo ) is one of Berlin's most important stations. Several modes of transport such as U-Bahn , S-Bahn and buses are interlinked here. Visitors can either enter

1170-409: A result, the original team was reduced to around a third of its previous size. These staffing shortages forced the management to limit the offers of guided tours. Aardvark See text Aardvarks ( / ˈ ɑːr d v ɑːr k / ARD -vark ; Orycteropus afer ) are medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammals native to Africa. They have a long snout, similar to that of a pig, which

1248-615: A slight decrease in numbers in eastern, northern, and western Africa. Southern African numbers are not decreasing. It has received an official designation from the IUCN as least concern . However, they are a species in a precarious situation, as they are so dependent on such specific food; therefore if a problem arises with the abundance of termites, the species as a whole would be affected drastically. Recent research suggests that aardvarks may be particularly vulnerable to alterations in temperature caused by climate change. Droughts negatively impact

1326-418: A solitary creature. If attacked in the tunnel, it will escape by digging out of the tunnel thereby placing the fresh fill between it and its predator, or if it decides to fight it will roll onto its back, and attack with its claws. The aardvark has been known to sleep in a recently excavated ant nest, which also serves as protection from its predators . Aardvarks pair only during the breeding season; after

1404-434: A troop of hamadryas baboons . The enclosure is a rocky island surrounded by a deep moat . The daily feeding of the baboons is very popular with visitors. The bird house which was built at the time of the zoo's founding now houses South American monkey species including red howler and golden lion tamarin . Opened in 2000, this building houses animals native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia . The free-flight aviary in

1482-431: Is Afrikaans ( pronounced [ˈɑːrtfark] ) and comes from earlier Afrikaans erdvark . It means "earth pig " or "ground pig" ( aarde : ' earth ' , vark : ' pig, young pig ' ), because of its burrowing habits. The name Orycteropus means "burrowing foot", and the name afer refers to Africa. The name of the aardvark's order, Tubulidentata, comes from the tubule-style teeth. The aardvark

1560-423: Is nocturnal and is a solitary creature that feeds almost exclusively on ants and termites ( myrmecophagy ); the only fruit eaten by aardvarks is the aardvark cucumber . In fact, the cucumber and the aardvark have a symbiotic relationship as they eat the subterranean fruit, then defecate the seeds near their burrows, which then grow rapidly due to the loose soil and fertile nature of the area. The time spent in

1638-415: Is made up of more turbinate bones than any other mammal, with between 9 and 11, compared to dogs with 4 to 5. With a large quantity of turbinate bones, the aardvark has more space for the moist epithelium , which is the location of the olfactory bulb. The nose contains nine olfactory bulbs , more than any other mammal. Its keen sense of smell is not just from the quantity of bulbs in the nose but also in

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1716-499: Is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole extant representative of the obscure mammalian order Tubulidentata , in which it is usually considered to form one variable species of the genus Orycteropus , the sole surviving genus in the family Orycteropodidae . The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater , despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance. The similarities are

1794-474: Is taken into account. It is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall at the shoulder, and has a girth of about 100 centimetres (3.3 ft). It is the largest member of the proposed clade Afroinsectiphilia . The aardvark is pale yellowish-grey in colour and often stained reddish-brown by soil . The aardvark's coat is thin, and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin. Its hair is short on its head and tail; however its legs tend to have longer hair. The hair on

1872-516: Is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers 35 hectares (86.5 acres) and is located in Berlin 's Tiergarten . With about 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, the zoo presents one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world. The zoo and its aquarium had more than 3.5 million visitors in 2017. It is the most-visited zoo in Europe and one of

1950-404: Is threatened it will make for one of its burrows. If one is not close it will dig a new one rapidly. This new one will be short and require the aardvark to back out when the coast is clear. The aardvark is known to be a good swimmer and has been witnessed successfully swimming in strong currents. It can dig a yard of tunnel in about five minutes, but otherwise moves fairly slowly. When leaving

2028-546: Is used to sniff out food. Aardvarks are the only living species of the order Tubulidentata , although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. They are afrotheres , a clade that also includes elephants , manatees , and hyraxes . They are found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Nocturnal feeders, aardvarks subsist on ants and termites by using their sharp claws and powerful legs to dig

2106-480: Is usually depicted with the head of an unidentified animal , whose similarity to an aardvark has been noted in scholarship. The titular character and his families from Arthur , an animated television series for children based on a book series and produced by WGBH , shown in more than 180 countries, is an aardvark. In the first book of the series, Arthur's Nose (1976), he has a long, aardvark-like nose, but in later books, his face becomes more rounded. Otis

2184-449: Is vaguely pig-like in appearance. Its body is stout with a prominently arched back and is sparsely covered with coarse hairs. The limbs are of moderate length, with the rear legs being longer than the forelegs. The front feet have lost the pollex (or 'thumb'), resulting in four toes, while the rear feet have all five toes. Each toe bears a large, robust nail which is somewhat flattened and shovel-like, and appears to be intermediate between

2262-665: Is weaned between three months and 16 weeks. At six months of age, it is able to dig its own burrows, but it will often remain with the mother until the next mating season , and is sexually mature from approximately two years of age. Aardvarks were thought to have declining numbers, however, this is possibly because they are not readily seen. There are no definitive counts because of their nocturnal and secretive habits; however, their numbers seem to be stable overall. They are not considered common anywhere in Africa, but due to their large range, they maintain sufficient numbers. There may be

2340-510: The Margbetu , Ayanda , and Logo , will use aardvark teeth to make bracelets, which are regarded as good luck charms. The meat, which has a resemblance to pork, is eaten in certain cultures. In the mythology of the Dagbon people of Ghana, the aardvark is believed to possess superpowers. The Dagombas believe this animal can transfigure into and interact with humans. The ancient Egyptian god Set

2418-399: The bird house (designed to resemble a Russian cathedral), the sea lion pool, and the cattle and ox houses (designed to resemble Swiss log cabins ). Carl Hagenbeck's enclosure design also influenced the layout of the zoo, as interpreted by naturalistic looking baboon and polar bear rockwork exhibits built around 1914. Initially, the zoo's financial track was a successful start, but

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2496-517: The female gorilla was born on 13 April 1957. She came to the zoo at an estimated age of two. In 1974 she gave birth to the first gorilla to be raised in Berlin, Dufte. Since the death of Colo in January 2017, she is the oldest living gorilla in captivity of the world (now together with American gorilla Trudy). In 2008, Claudia Hämmerling, a Green Party MP, accused the zoo director, Bernhard Blaszkiewitz (also

2574-506: The Aardvark was a puppet character used on Children's BBC programming. An aardvark features as the antagonist in the cartoon The Ant and the Aardvark as well as in the Canadian animated series The Raccoons . The supersonic fighter-bomber F-111/FB-111 was nicknamed the Aardvark because of its long nose resembling the animal. It also had similarities with its nocturnal missions flown at

2652-489: The African wildlife scene. As they are vacated, then they are inhabited by smaller animals like the African wild dog , ant-eating chat , Nycteris thebaica and warthogs . Other animals that use them are hares, mongooses, hyenas, owls, pythons, and lizards. Without these refuges many animals would die during wildfire season. Only mothers and young share burrows; however, the aardvark is known to live in small family groups or as

2730-532: The World Wars in Germany resulted in phases of stagnation. World War I and the Great Depression resulted in economic losses and development slowdown, and many animals suffered from a lack of food supply. Shortly after World War II the zoo had to close for two years entirely, after being heavily destroyed. After reopening in 1947, the zoo saw a wave of modernization and renovation of its old exhibits. In 1960,

2808-637: The Zoologischer Garten Berlin was the second zoo in Germany after the short-lived "Thiergarten" in Hamburg-Horn. The aquarium opened in 1913. The first animals were donated by Frederick William IV , King of Prussia , from the menagerie at Pfaueninsel island and pheasantry of the Tiergarten . The nearby U-Bahn station was opened in 1882. In 1938, the Berlin Zoo got rid of Jewish board members and forced Jewish shareholders to sell their stocks at

2886-401: The Zoologischer Garten complex. In addition to fish and other aquatic life, it is home to most of the zoo's reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Polar bear Knut was born in captivity at the zoo on 5 December 2006. He and his twin brother or sister were directly rejected by their mother on the day of birth. He was subsequently raised by zookeeper Thomas Dörflein and became the center of

2964-511: The aardvark appeared in Africa around the end of the Paleocene . The ptolemaiidans , a mysterious clade of mammals with uncertain affinities, may actually be stem-aardvarks, either as a sister clade to Tubulidentata or as a grade leading to true tubulidentates. The first unambiguous tubulidentate was probably Myorycteropus africanus from Kenyan Miocene deposits. The earliest example from

3042-455: The aardvark contains many unique and different features. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Tubulidentata is their teeth . Instead of having a pulp cavity , each tooth has a cluster of thin, hexagonal, upright, parallel tubes of vasodentin (a modified form of dentine ), with individual pulp canals, held together by cementum . The number of columns is dependent on the size of

3120-417: The aardvark is a living fossil , as its chromosomes are highly conserved, reflecting much of the early eutherian arrangement before the divergence of the major modern taxa . Aardvarks are found in sub-Saharan Africa , where suitable habitat ( savannas , grasslands , woodlands and bushland ) and food (i.e., ants and termites ) is available. They spend the daylight hours in dark burrows to avoid

3198-406: The aardvark is another unique area, as it contains ten nasal conchae , more than any other placental mammal. The sides of the nostrils are thick with hair. The tip of the snout is highly mobile and is moved by modified mimetic muscles . The fleshy dividing tissue between its nostrils probably has sensory functions, but it is uncertain whether they are olfactory or vibratory in nature. Its nose

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3276-443: The aardvark will keep its nose to the ground and its ears pointed forward, which indicates that both smell and hearing are involved in the search for food. They zig-zag as they forage and will usually not repeat a route for 5–8 days as they appear to allow time for the termite nests to recover before feeding on it again. During a foraging period, they will stop to dig a V-shaped trench with their forefeet and then sniff it profusely as

3354-625: The aquarium held 8300 reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates of 750 species. In 2001, the combined collection numbered 14188 animals of 1517 species, similar to present. The number of larger animals displayed has gradually thinned as enclosures become increasingly designed to recreate natural habitat . The zoo maintains studbooks for black and Indian rhinoceroses and gaurs . The populations of rare deer and pigs are part of several captive breeding projects. Berlin Zoo supports conservationists in other countries (for instance, in Madagascar ) and as

3432-488: The aquarium is located outside the main zoo grounds and is home to the majority of the zoo's amphibian , reptile , fish , and invertebrate collection. The most notable features include an insectarium , a coral reef tank , a Lake Tanganyika cichlid tank, a Philippine crocodile exhibit, and a Rhine panorama tank with various native fishes. In 1969, the zoo sought to acquire two young mountain gorillas , Coco and Pucker, from Rwanda. The capture of these gorillas caused

3510-474: The availability of termites and ants, which comprise the bulk of an aardvark's diet.  Nocturnal species faced with resource scarcity may increase their diurnal activity to spare the energy costs of staying warm at night, but this comes at the cost of withstanding high temperatures during the day. A study on aardvarks in the Kalahari Desert saw that five out of six aardvarks being studied perished following

3588-501: The bull Siam, and 2-year-old hippo bull Knautschke was saved from the gunfire in his animal house. Most damage was done during the Battle of Berlin : from 22 April 1945 onwards, the zoo was under constant artillery fire of the Red Army. Heavy fighting took place on the zoo area till 30 April, and safety measures forced the zoo keepers to kill some predators and other dangerous animals. Next to

3666-582: The burrow at night, they pause at the entrance for about ten minutes, sniffing and listening. After this period of watchfulness, it will bound out and within seconds it will be 10 metres (33 ft) away. It will then pause, prick its ears, twisting its head to listen, then jump and move off to start foraging. Aside from digging out ants and termites, the aardvark also excavates burrows in which to live, which generally fall into one of three categories: burrows made while foraging, refuge and resting location, and permanent homes. Temporary sites are scattered around

3744-809: The coastal areas of Namibia , Ivory Coast , and Ghana . They are not found in Madagascar. Aardvarks live for up to 23 years in captivity . Its keen hearing warns it of predators: lions , leopards , cheetahs, African wild dogs , hyenas , and pythons . Some humans also hunt aardvarks for meat. Aardvarks can dig fast or run in zigzag fashion to elude enemies, but if all else fails, they will strike with their claws, tail and shoulders, sometimes flipping onto their backs lying motionless except to lash out with all four feet. They are capable of causing substantial damage to unprotected areas of an attacker. They will also dig to escape as they can. Sometimes, when pressed, aardvarks can dig extremely quickly. The aardvark

3822-401: The deaths of 20 adult gorillas, who tried to defend them. Dian Fossey tried unsuccessfully to prevent the export. They later died in 1978. On October 10, 1985, male chimp Petermann and female chimp Susi escaped from their cage. They knocked down a zookeeper and attacked director Dr. Gunther Nogge , lifethreateningly injuring him by biting his head and his face. Subsequently, both were shot by

3900-579: The development of the brain, as its olfactory lobe is very developed. The snout resembles an elongated pig snout. The mouth is small and tubular, typical of species that feed on ants and termites . The aardvark has a long, thin, snakelike, protruding tongue (as much as 30 centimetres (12 in) long) and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell . The ears, which are very effective, are disproportionately long, about 20–25 centimetres (7.9–9.8 in) long. The eyes are small for its head, and consist only of rods . The aardvark's stomach has

3978-469: The director of Tierpark Berlin ), of selling hundreds of animals for slaughter, in some cases to breeders in China for potency-boosting drugs. The same year, Blaszkiewitz admitted to breaking the necks of several feral domestic housecat kittens found at the zoo. In 2009, a woman was mauled by polar bears after jumping into their exhibit. She was rushed to the hospital and survived. In 2023, employees from

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4056-432: The dust by sealing the nostrils. When successful, the aardvark's long (up to 30 centimetres (12 in)) tongue licks up the insects; the termites' biting, or the ants' stinging attacks are rendered futile by the tough skin. After an aardvark visit at a termite mound, other animals will visit to pick up all the leftovers. Termite mounds alone do not provide enough food for the aardvark, so they look for termites that are on

4134-416: The entire nature management. During World War II, the zoo area was hit by Allied bombs for the first time on 8 September 1941. Most damage was done during the bombardments on 22 and 23 November 1943. In less than 15 minutes, 30% of the zoo population was killed on the first day, and on the second day the aquarium building was completely destroyed by a direct hit. Of the eight elephants, only one survived,

4212-414: The exhibit includes palm cockatoo , blue-faced honeyeater , Bali mynah , fairy bluebird , wrinkled hornbill , Black-naped fruit dove , Palawan peacock-pheasant , green peafowl , sailfin lizard , Southern crowned pigeon , and reticulated python . Other animals include small-clawed otters , northern Luzon giant cloud rats , and lar gibbons . The new Asian elephant park opened in 2004 to replace

4290-417: The existing area expanded from 11 to 18.8 hectares and the first education center in a European zoo three years later. From 1981 to 2012, several new exhibits considered revolutionary were constructed including a great ape tropical house (1985), Southeast Asian rainforest house (2000), open-air Asian elephant enclosure, and West African-themed hippo and crocodile house (2010), as well the development of

4368-737: The existing elephant herd. On August 25, 2012, the Siberian tiger Altai attacked his zookeeper and fatally injured her. The animal had entered through an open security lock into a covered part of his enclosure, which the zookeeper was cleaning. The cat was shot by director Theo Pagel with a rifle to allow rescue workers access to the carer. On March 15, 2022, a fire broke out in the Southeast Asian rainforest house, killing at least 130 animals. Berlin Zoo The Berlin Zoological Garden (German: Zoologischer Garten Berlin )

4446-422: The first portion of night (roughly the four hours between 8:00   p.m. and 12:00   a.m.); however, they do not seem to prefer bright or dark nights over the other. During adverse weather or if disturbed they will retreat to their burrow systems. They cover between 2 and 5 kilometres (1.2 and 3.1 mi) per night; however, some studies have shown that they may traverse as far as 30 kilometres (19 mi) in

4524-552: The genus Orycteropus was Orycteropus mauritanicus , found in Algeria in deposits from the middle Miocene, with an equally old version found in Kenya. Fossils from the aardvark have been dated to 5 million years, and have been located throughout Europe and the Near East . The mysterious Pleistocene Plesiorycteropus from Madagascar was originally thought to be a tubulidentate that

4602-462: The heat of the day. The only major habitat that they are not present in is swamp forest, as the high water table precludes digging to a sufficient depth. They also avoid terrain rocky enough to cause problems with digging. They have been documented as high as 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in Ethiopia. They are present throughout sub-Saharan Africa all the way to South Africa with few exceptions including

4680-408: The home range and are used as refuges, while the main burrow is also used for breeding. Main burrows can be deep and extensive, have several entrances and can be as long as 13 metres (43 ft). These burrows can be large enough for a person to enter. The aardvark changes the layout of its home burrow regularly, and periodically moves on and makes a new one. The old burrows are an important part of

4758-516: The insects out of their hills. Aardvarks also dig to create burrows in which to live and rear their young. Aardvarks are listed as "least concern" by the IUCN , although their numbers are decreasing. The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the South American anteaters ), or the "Cape anteater" after the Cape of Good Hope . The name "aardvark"

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4836-468: The intestine of the aardvark helps the fertility of the seed, and the fruit provides needed moisture for the aardvark. They avoid eating the African driver ant and red ants. Due to their stringent diet requirements, they require a large range to survive. An aardvark emerges from its burrow in the late afternoon or shortly after sunset, and forages over a considerable home range encompassing 10 to 30 kilometres (6.2 to 18.6 mi). While foraging for food,

4914-401: The majority of its body is grouped in clusters of 3–4 hairs. The hair surrounding its nostrils is dense to help filter particulate matter out as it digs. Its tail is very thick at the base and gradually tapers. The greatly elongated head is set on a short, thick neck, and the end of the snout bears a disc, which houses the nostrils. It contains a thin but complete zygomatic arch . The head of

4992-534: The most popular worldwide. Regular animal feedings are among its most famous attractions. Globally known animals like Knut , the polar bear , and Bao Bao  [ de ] , the giant panda have contributed to the zoo's public image. The zoo collaborates with many universities, research institutes, and other zoos around the world. It maintains and promotes European breeding programmes , helps safeguard several endangered species, and participates in several species reintroduction programs. Opened on 1 August 1844,

5070-487: The move. When these insects move, they can form columns 10–40 metres (33–131 ft) long and these tend to provide easy pickings with little effort exerted by the aardvark. These columns are more common in areas of livestock or other hoofed animals. The trampled grass and dung attract termites from the Odontotermes , Microtermes , and Pseudacanthotermes genera. On a nightly basis they tend to be more active during

5148-465: The old elephant and antelope house. Since its inception, the zoo has had successes in elephant breeding, with the latest calf being born in 2023. The hippo and crocodile house Hippodom, which opened in 2010, has common hippopotamuses , sitatunga antelopes , and Nile crocodiles as the main attractions. Other species housed include aardvarks , Rodrigues' flying foxes , hamerkops , hadada ibises , cattle egrets , and grey parrots . Opened in 1971,

5226-433: The outcome of convergent evolution . The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews , tenrecidae , and golden moles . Along with sirenians , hyraxes , elephants , and their extinct relatives, these animals form the superorder Afrotheria . Studies of the brain have shown the similarities with Condylarthra . Based on his study of fossils, Bryan Patterson has concluded that early relatives of

5304-431: The police; Petermann within the area of the zoo, Susi nearby, in the basement of a neighbouring house. On March 6, 2012, a cheetah escaped its enclosure by jumping out of it. After strolling around the flamingo lake for 20 minutes, it returned to its enclosure by itself. On May 25, 2012, the female Asian elephant Chumpol, who was imported from Thailand , was killed while in a socialization conflict with other members of

5382-524: The tooth, with the largest having about 1,500. The teeth have no enamel coating and are worn away and regrow continuously. The aardvark is born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw, which fall out and are not replaced. Adult aardvarks have only cheek teeth at the back of the jaw , and have a dental formula of: 0.0.2-3.3 0.0.2.3 These remaining teeth are peg-like and rootless and are of unique composition. The teeth consist of 14 upper and 12 lower jaw molars. The nasal area of

5460-424: The wives of zookeepers. On 30 April, the zoo flak bunker surrendered. A count on 31 May 1945 revealed only 91 of 3,715 animals had survived, including two lion cubs, two hyenas, Asian bull elephant Siam, hippo bull Knautschke, ten hamadryas baboons , a chimpanzee, and a black stork . After the battle, some animals had escaped, while some of the killed animals were subsequently eaten by Red Army soldiers. Following

5538-413: The world of nocturnal animals. The bird house presents a walk-through aviary and offers a broad variety of forms, including several regularly breeding species of hornbills and many parrots. Numerous big aviaries show waders, herons and many other species. The Berlin Zoo is one of the few zoos to exhibit tuatara (in the aquarium) and Luzon tarictic hornbills . The aquarium was built in 1913 as part of

5616-459: The zoo stood the Zoo Tower , a huge flak tower that was one of the last remaining areas of Nazi German resistance against the Red Army, with its bunkers and anti-aircraft weapons defending against Allied air forces . At the entrance of the zoo, there was a small underground shelter for zoo visitors and keepers. During the battle, wounded German soldiers were taken care of here by female personnel and

5694-542: The zoo through the exotically designed Elephant Gate beside the aquarium on Budapester Straße or through the Lion Gate on Hardenbergplatz. The original Elephant Gate, built in 1899, was destroyed in World War II. It was faithfully reconstructed to original plans in 1984. The zoo has always maintained an extensive and diverse collection. At the outbreak of World War II there were 4000 birds and mammals of 1400 species, while

5772-506: The zoo's destruction, it and the associated aquarium was reconstructed on modern principles so as to display the animals in as close to their natural environment as feasible. The success in breeding animals, including some rare species, demonstrates the efficacy of these new methods. The zoo came to be located in West Berlin , hence a second zoo – Tierpark Berlin – was built in the East . There

5850-410: The zoo's education department made serious allegations of exploitation and disrespect. They also criticised the fact that quality in the area of education was no longer a priority, although this is one of the main tasks of a scientifically working zoo. These accusations highlighted problems within the organisation and led to a wave of terminations by the zoo and resignations from dissatisfied employees. As

5928-595: Was descended from ancestors that entered the island during the Eocene . However, a number of subtle anatomical differences coupled with recent molecular evidence now lead researchers to believe that Plesiorycteropus is a relative of golden moles and tenrecs that achieved an aardvark-like appearance and ecological niche through convergent evolution. The aardvark has seventeen poorly defined subspecies listed: The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica also mentions O. a. capensis or Cape ant-bear from South Africa. The aardvark

6006-794: Was one of the first two giant pandas in Germany and became – for a time – the oldest known panda in zoos. He was together with the female panda Tjen Tjen (who died in 1984) given to West Germany by China in 1980. Between 1991 and 1993 Bao Bao was loaned to London Zoo. In 1995, back in his Berlin home, another female named Yan Yan was sent on loan from China in an attempt to mate Bao Bao. In spite of several artificial insemination experiments there were no offspring. Yan Yan died in 2007. In summer 2017, giant pandas returned to Berlin, when Jiao Quing and Meng Meng arrived on breeding loan from China. In September 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to twin male panda cubs, Pit und Paule. On 22 August 2024, Meng Meng gave again birth to twin panda cubs, this time two females. Fatou

6084-452: Was virtually no public attention paid to the zoo's Third Reich history until 2000, when Werner Cohn , whose father was a former shareholder, wrote to enquire about the fate of those shares. The zoo initially denied that Jewish shareholders were forced to sell their shares, but as a public scandal ensued, it ultimately acknowledged this. It commissioned a historian to identify these past shareholders and track down their descendants, according to

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