160 years of Hannover Adventure Zoo - Family festival

160 YEARS IN THE HEART OF HANOVER

The zoo was opened on 4 May 1865 - it has been at the heart of Hanover and all Hanoverians for 160 years. The zoo is celebrating the anniversary with a colourful programme for the whole family. It starts on the zoo's "birthday", i.e. 4 May, with a traditional cake cut by the zoo director. The pieces will be distributed to zoo guests while stocks last.

The "160 Years of the Zoo" exhibition in the exhibition building at the zoo takes visitors on a journey through the history of the zoo, from its beginnings with the bears Butz and Petz to the redesign of the adventure zoo. On a large scale, the zoo provides insights into the past and present - from animal husbandry and facility planning to animal advances in medicine and research. One thing has remained the same in 160 years: The zoo inspires people for animals.

From 4 May, the interactive anniversary zoo rally in the Zoo app online. The exciting journey of discovery through the zoo involves solving tricky puzzles and quiz questions about the animal inhabitants and the history of the zoo.

At the weekend 17/18 May the big family festival starts! The programme includes exciting animal feedings, interactive hands-on stations, entertaining animal presentations and a colourful children's programme with games, craft activities, face painting and live music.

During the exclusive special anniversary tour, the zoo scouts will take you on a journey through 160 years of zoo history, bringing to life the development of the zoo from the romantic rock complex in 1865 to today's immersive theme world.

NEW: Animal presentations in the Zoologicum

Throughout the winter, the animal keepers in the "Zoologicum" world of knowledge have been training with their animals. From now on, coatis, Klätscher pigeons, fox mongooses, raven vultures, Thuringian forest goats, Cuban tree rats, armadillos, macaws, hornbills, a blue buzzard and a rough-woolled Pomeranian sheep can be seen in the daily animal presentations. How do migratory birds orientate themselves, why is a coati actually called a "nose" bear, why are scavengers so important, how do you recognise birds in flight, since when have there been armadillos in this world? All topics are presented in a charming and informative multimedia format. "We want to get our guests excited about animals so that they look at them with completely different eyes after the presentation," explains animal trainer Angela Kruth.

New: two young, burrowing six-banded armadillos, called "Elli & Manni", and the vigilant fox mongoose "Titus". A rough-woolled Pomeranian country sheep and a Thuringian forest goat demonstrate the difference between sheep and goats and are representative of the many endangered domestic livestock breeds. Two hornbills amaze visitors on the way to the ARTrium, the presentation area in the Zoologicum, with their strolling, feathery steps and impressive beaks. The shape of the birds' beaks and what they are used for is of course also revealed in the presentation.

NEW: Nesting box gallery

Tits, robins, wrens, swifts - they are all finding fewer and fewer breeding sites and food sources. With the new edutainment station "Nesting Box Gallery" at Meyers Hof, the adventure zoo shows what needs the individual bird species have and how they can be helped in a species-appropriate way. What do cavity-nesting birds such as tits and nuthatches need, and how do semi-cavity-nesting birds such as robins and wagtails nest? "We want to show our visitors clearly how we can all help the birds," explains Zoo species conservation officer Dr Marlis Dumke. "Every nesting box that is set up and used correctly is another step towards species conservation!"

NEW: The Zoo Blog

The new zoo blog provides exciting reports about everyday life at the zoo, both in front of and behind the scenes! How are animals kept busy, what has happened in the zoo's 160-year history, what does the zoo do to protect species? The work of the zoo veterinarians is accompanied, you can follow the technology and crafts teams and find out the latest news about research at the zoo.