Today, just because it is around the corner from our hotel, we decided to spend the day the Berlin Zoological Garden (Zoologischer Garten Berlin). Home to 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, this is one of the finest zoos in the world.
The zoo was almost wiped out during the Second World War. The keepers had the heartbreaking task of euthanising most of the larger, more dangerous animals to prevent their escape into the city should their enclosures be breached in the bombing.
We went in through the nearer gates, the Elephant Gates — the other entrance is via the Lion Gates.
We got there early, before the rush began. The grounds are a joy in themselves, more like a botanical garden or park that you can wander just for the pleasure of walking the gardens. The animals are displayed in subtly designed enclosures that fit unobtrusively into the whole scheme of things.
There are teams of cleaning staff whose task it is to make the experience of the visitors as pleasant as possible. You would be amazed at the collections of lost or discarded objects they collect!
Here are a few photos taken around the grounds...
... and here are some of the inhabitants.
There's a separate aquarium, dating back to 1913. Although it was totally destroyed by an allied bomb on 23 November 1943, it has been totally rebuilt.
We finally left the zoo just before it closed at 6:30pm. Just before we left, Suzie found a panda to cuddle! We walked back to the Turkish eatery just round the corner from our hotel, before ultimately making our way back to our digs for the night.
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