Hannover Zoo celebrates its 150th anniversary

With seven theme worlds, more than 2000 animals in 211 species, daily animal shows and more than 1.3 million visitors every year, Hannover Adventure Zoo is one of the best in Europe. You can glide down the Zambezi river in the African savannah, follow the evolution trail up Gorilla Mountain, or see the baby elephants in the Jungle Palace. Yukon Bay, a Canadian wilderness complete with a ruined goldmine, combines the romance of gold-rush times with the thrill of the wild. Here, packs of amber-eyed wolves howl at intrepid explorers, whilst polar bears can be seen close up in the hull of the grounded ship 'Yukon Queen'. Pass beyond the 'mini-Himalayas' and you will find yourself in the Australian outback, complete with kangaroos, wombats and a landscape inspired by Ayers Rock. The animals at Hannover Adventure Zoo live in fence-free enclosures that resemble their natural habitats.

© Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover

For Hannover Adventure Zoo, 2015 will be a very special year: the zoo will celebrate its 150th anniversary and will mark the occasion with a fantastic selection of events for the whole family. From May to October Hannover Adventure Zoo will go really wild! There will be fascinating exhibitions, the chance to have a look behind the scenes, evening tours, lectures and readings, a charity run through the zoo, a medieval market, culinary time trips, mascot parades and a new seal show.

From July to August, there will be fun and games at the zoo with Mowgli and his friend Baloo the Bear. In cooperation with Hannover’s GOP Variety Theatre and C2 Concerts, Christian Berg’s smash hit musical “The Jungle Book” (in German), featuring music by Konstantin Wecker, will be performed in the open-air show arena. Tickets are available as from now at erlebnis-zoo.de

© Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover

When Hannover Zoological Gardens opened on 4 May 1865, the central feature of the garden was a romantic rock landscape with an aviary for birds of prey, aquarium and wild animal grottoes. The zoo immediately proved to be a crowd-puller, attracting more than 90,000 visitors within the first year.

Now, 150 years later, the zoo is even more popular than when it first opened and is visited by more than 1.3 million people every year. The traditional city zoo has meanwhile evolved into a unique Adventure Zoo with themed worlds ranging from Africa and India to Canada, and offers boat trips, underwater world, animal shows and commented feeding times. 150 years of fascinating zoo and animal experiences – come and celebrate with us!

There is more adventure for the whole family

Anyone with an interest in river and sea life should pay a visit to the city's SEA LIFE aquarium, Germany's first tropical SEA LIFE marine aquarium. SEA LIFE Hannover is located in the Berggarten in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen. It area of focus ranges from the local Leine river to the Caribbean and the Amazon. The aquarium has more than 2,500 freshwater and marine animals in 37 pools and tanks, from mussels and majestically gliding rays through to piranhas. At the centre is an ocean tank with an underwater glass walkway, where visitors can see sharks circling directly over their heads.

The Tiergarten (Deer Park) in the Hannover district of Kirchrode was originally set up by Duke John Frederick in the late 17th century as a private hunting ground. A herd of 200 fallow deer now roams free, with no fences between visitors and animals. There are also enclosures with wild boar and wild horses. Visitors to the Wisentgehege (Bison Reserve) in Springe to the south of Hannover can admire 100 different species of wild animals: mysterious wolves and sleek otters, massive bison magnificent brown bears and majestic birds of prey make up the fascinating diversity of this 220-acre wildlife park. A forest education centre offers hands-on projects and special themed days and also organises children’s birthday parties, helping to capture the imagination of young visitors and encourage them to discover more about the animal kingdom.