The zoological gardens of Europe, their history and chief featuresPeel, C. V. A. (Charles Victor Alexander)
History
The zoological gardens of Europe, their history and chief features
Peel, C. V. A. (Charles Victor Alexander)
Zoos
To add to the enjoyment of my visit to the Garden, I was caught in a
snowstorm there, May 7.
CHAPTER XIII
ZOOLOGISCHER GARTEN, COLOGNE: PRESENT DIRECTOR, DR. WÜNDERLICH
In 1857 Dr. Garthe conceived the idea of forming a Zoological Garden,
and gave expression to this idea in the Cologne newspaper of August
13 in that year. People of every class appreciated his idea, and took
shares in a company which was formed three years afterwards. This was
the last work of this great savant. A bust of him by Werres is now
placed at the end of the main walk in the Garden.
The first Director of the Garden, Dr. H. Bodinus aus Greifswald, was
appointed on April 24, 1859.
On September 17, 1859, plans of the Garden were submitted by Director
Strauss, and the work progressed so rapidly that the Garden was opened
to the public on July 22, 1860. Different houses and ponds were added
from time to time, until, in 1882, the Garden reached its present
extent.
The institution quickly won friends and sympathizers in all parts
of the world. In 1869 Dr. Bodinus, the Director, left in order to
undertake the direction of the Berlin Zoological Garden, and he was
succeeded by Nicholas Funk, who had been Director of the Brussels
Zoological Garden. During his sixteen years’ term of office he did
much for the pictorial beauty of the Garden.
Heck in 1886 thoroughly replenished the stock of animals before leaving
for Berlin. In 1888 he was replaced by Dr. Wünderlich, who is the
Director of the Garden to-day.
* * * * *
Of late years the approaches to the Garden and the Garden itself have
improved enormously. The old-fashioned and ugly buildings were all
removed by a big fire, and a splendid new aviary and a new ostrich
house have taken their places. The ostrich house is built in the shape
of a mosque with numerous minarets. The birds are now to be seen all
the year round, which was not possible in the old house. There is
plenty of light and ventilation through a glass roof, whilst two stoves
supply heat. Within this house, besides ostriches, are to be found
rheas, emus, pouch-bearing animals, rodents and parrots, and the rarest
bird in it is the Australian wingless kiwi. This tiresome bird goes to
sleep all day, and is never to be seen when wanted; but when the gates
are shut and the visitors have all departed, out comes the kiwi.
The old ostrich pens have disappeared, and in their place is a
children’s playground, which is quite deserted and useless, as all the
children naturally go to see their cousins in the monkey house.
The kangaroos’ quarters have changed for the worse, as the animals
formerly lived in big outside pens; now, owing to the children’s
playground, they are confined in much narrower limits, and have only
small outside pens, without enough room to move about. An armadillo is
also to be seen in this house.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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