I’ve been marching the whole day under the towering oak trees. The cold is creeping in, slowly transforming me into the rapper Ice Cube. The day’s objective is still oh-so-far off… and now I’m surrounded by wild animals.
Suddenly, a Bear growls.
Which brings me to the next enclosure, housing a furry family of European Bears snuggling against each other for warmth.
Welcome to Germany’s Berlin Zoo, literally and figuratively one of the coolest zoos on Earth.
GRIT AND ART
As an Animal Scene fan, I’ve visited many zoos, from the Smithsonian National Zoo in North America to the Osaka Tennoji Zoo in Japan – all the way to the recently refurbished and much-improved Manila Zoo in the Philippines.
Of all of them, Berlin Zoo has the grittiest history and the most state-of-the-art enclosures.
IT NEVER CLOSED DOWN IN WW2
Built in 1844 as Germany’s first zoo, the Berlin Zoological Garden soon became one of Europe’s most popular attractions, enticing generations of people curious to see Lions, Tigers, Elephants and everything in between.
It’s a major part of Berlin’s Tiergarten, Europe’s version of New York’s Central Park, where you can lose yourself in a wonderland of meadows, ponds and trees.
Right before the Second World War, the zoo was managed by Lutz Heck, a Nazi who we previously wrote about for his Jurassic Park-esque efforts to bring back extinct species (Nazi or not, he sure as heck brought us the Heck’s Horse and Heck’s Cattle, which are back-bred versions of ancient Horses and Cattle).
The zoo was never completely demilitarized, as some of Berlin’s toughest defenses, including the “Zoo Tower” which bristled with anti-aircraft guns that rained fire up and down the city’s invaders right up to the end of the war, were situated either inside or around the zoo.
In September of 1941, the zoo was struck by the war’s first bombs, setting stock stables on fire, but the most destructive period was in November 1943, when the British under Arthur “Bomber” Harris, chief of the Royal Air Force, unleashed a firestorm over the city.
In one day alone, 764 bombers dropped their loads over West Berlin, leaving few buildings unscathed. A third of the zoo’s thousands of animals died – the zoo never gave up, staying open until the very end.
By May 1945, victorious Russian troops had captured Berlin in a savage two-week battle that cost a million casualties.
When the dust settled, less than 100 of the zoo’s animals remained, some eaten by victorious Russian soldiers occupying the city.
BLENDING THE OLD AND THE NEW
Indonesia. Sumatran Tigers are the rarest subspecies of Tiger, with just 400 or so left in the wild after centuries of hunting and forest loss. May this one live long, breed, and have stripey cubs reintroduced back home. (Gregg Yan)
After the war, the zoo – and Germany itself – were rebuilt into better versions of their pre-war selves (ever noticed that the losers of World War 2, especially Germany and Japan, recovered better than the winners?).
Berlin Zoo expanded, destroyed its remaining military structures, and created a unique blend of the old and the new. Elements of the old zoo such as the entrance gates were retained, but the animal enclosures were developed to look and feel as natural for their inhabitants as possible.
For example, the enclosures of the zoo’s various Mountain Goats were pretty much miniature mountains, complete with lichens and alpine scrub. Tropical animals like the Indian Rhinoceros and our very own Visayan Warty Pigs can amble in and out of a heated chamber when the outside weather gets too cold (I did, too, along with dozens of huffing, freezing visitors).
Berlin Zoo now spans 35 hectares and features over 20,000 animals – from Ants to Zebras – belonging to 1,500 species. But I really fell in love with the place for its strong conservation principles.
CONSERVATION PRIORITY
The zoo contributes to European wildlife programs by breeding and reintroducing certain species in areas where they’ve been extirpated. It even keeps and breeds several Philippine species, including Visayan Spotted Deer, Visayan Warty Pigs, Tarictic Hornbills, and Philippine Ducks.
Though I’m always a bit wary of places where animals are kept captive, we should also note that some can play an important part in conservation. Wildlife icons like the Arabian Oryx, Amur Leopard, and even North America’s once numberless Bison were saved from extinction by these places.
NEXT BEST THING
Today, the Berlin Zoo is the best in Europe and a good place to see animals – perhaps not in their natural habitat – but at least in natural enclosures where they are free to live and breed again.
“The zoo does a great job of making enclosures seem natural, seamlessly integrating its displays into the larger Tiergarten or public park. It’s large, easily accessible, and has lots of animals from Africa, Asia, and the more distant parts of the globe. There’s also an area where kids can hang out with Goats, Donkeys, and small Ponies,” says Eypee Kaamiño, my childhood friend and a filmmaker based in Berlin.
4 TIPS BEFORE HEADING OVER TO THE BERLIN ZOO
Want to visit when you’re in Berlin? Here are a few practical tips.
TAKE A TRAIN
Just ride a train to the Berlin Zoologischer Garten Railway Station (Berliners just call it the zoo) and hop off, for the train stops right in front of the zoo gates.
PREPARE 25 EUROS
Bring around 25 Euros (PHP 1,500) for the entrance fee, plus change if you want to visit the aquarium or try pretzels, sausages, or beer.
DRESS FOR THE COLD
Pack a thick jacket to ward off the cold (unless you’re a fan of previously-mentioned rapper).
BE READY TO GET YOUR STEPS IN
It’s not a short walk. Be prepared to walk the whole day. And I mean the whole day.
