Close encounters

Any time of year is good time to visit Frankfurt Zoo

Story and photos by Karl Weisel

U.S. Army Garrison Hessen Public Affairs Office

One thing about zoos — they don’t close for bad weather. On those darker winter days when many people prefer staying home curled up with a good book or DVD, the denizens of Frankfurt’s Zoo still await visitors.

In other words, if you’re looking for something fun to do with youngsters on even the soggiest day of the year — the Frankfurt Zoo welcomes your visit.

With several new “animal-friendly” enclosures constructed over the past few years and various indoor animal houses, visitors will find plenty to keep their children occupied and dry at the same time.

Located on two U-Bahn lines just east of the city center at Alfred-Brehm Platz 16, Frankfurt’s Zoo features miles of trails offering close-up encounters with everything from Indian tigers to African bonobos, American eagles to exotic snakes and spiders. Don’t be surprised if you have a tendency to take a step back as one of the tigers approaches the thick, plate glass window providing a wide open view into one enclosure. Or feel the skin crawl on the back of your neck while gazing into the tarantula cages.

Among the more popular indoor exhibition halls is the Exotarium featuring everything from penguins and stingrays to giant snapping turtles and crocodiles. Visitors may be hard-pressed at first to locate the stone fish in one aquarium which blend in perfectly with their habitat to confuse their next meal, or the leave insects dangling from tree limbs in another exhibit.

Another always popular exhibition hall is the Grzimek Haus, named in honor of German veterinarian Bernhard Grzimek. Once visitors’ eyes adjust to the relative darkness of the nocturnal environment in the hall they can stroll past cases featuring everything from bats in full flight to desert foxes on the hunt. Observe as one species of African birds builds a giant communal nest together or otters splash playfully by in another enclosure.

The city of Frankfurt has long supported efforts to document and help promote the survival of the world’s many animal species. A zoo first opened in the city in the mid 1800s, funded in part by donations from the Frankfurt Zoological Society, in the Bockenheim section before relocating to its current site in 1874. After the zoo was destroyed in World War II (60 percent of the city was demolished in Allied bombing raids in 1945), it was rebuilt thanks to donations by concerned citizens.

Today the city’s Zoological Society is immersed in some 80 conservation projects in 30 countries around the globe. The zoo is continues to remain open while construction work to enhance the various enclosures and exhibit halls is in progress.

The Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter months (open until 7 p.m. in summer). Admission is I8 for adults, I4 for children and students. A family ticket valid for two adults and their children in a family costs I20. On the last Saturday of the month admission is I6 for adults and I3 for youths.

To get to the Frankfurt Zoo by public transportation take the U6 or U7 to the Zoo Station.