The local gem safari #6 - Zoo Basel (Part 2)
Welcome to the second part of episode #6 of the Local Gem Safari!
To learn what this series is about and how it works, please go --> here <-- and check out the first part.
Our tour continues at the large enclosure for the great apes.
At this early time of the day, only one "resident" can be seen here, but a particularly fascinating one:
The Orang-Utan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three great ape races. Due to the increasing destruction of the rainforest in north Sumatra - its only remaining habitat - the wild animal population of the Orang-Utan is highly threatened. Once its habitat had spread throughout entire southeast Asia.
Several structures in the Basel Zoo were installed to enable the settlement of wild honeybees (Apis mellifica mellifica carnica). For the production of 1 kilogram of honey, three kilograms of nectar must be collected from the worker bees. For this, the workers of a beehive travel 100,000 flight kilometers collectively! By doing so, bees fulfill a pollination service that is indispensable for our environment and agriculture.
The lion monkey (Leontopithecus rosalia rosalia) lives in the brazilian rainforest. 98% of its original habitat is now occupied by man. The Zoo Basel participates in a breeding and resettlement project of the World Wildlife Fund.
It´s time to say good bye to the storks (Ciconia c. Ciconia) of the Zoo. They are about to leave for their wintering grounds in Africa, and will travel up to 10,000 kilometers on their way there.
The pink pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), which weighs up to 15 kg, owes its ability to fly to its extremely light bone structure. Its skeleton weighs only 1 kg!
The zoo restaurant. In summer, it´s terrace is always crowded.
The new elephant enclosure "Tembea" is currently being constructed. The design promises to take into account the latest findings in adequate elephant housing. Wallows, swimming pools and various feeding places will prevent the elephants from boredom. Interestingly, no direct contact with man will be needed to take care of the animals. Thus the elephant´s complex social structur can develop undisturbed.
The opening of the entire facility is planned for March 2017 - now it still looks very much like a construction site.
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - who doesn´t know him. Apart from copypasta the fastest terrestrial predator of our planet hunts small antelopes and springboks ;-)
Originally coming from India, the peacock is probably the most well-known ornamental bird.
Very recently, the peacocks got a new family member. It´s the mother bird alone that takes care of the little offspring...
The wild animal stock of the rhinocerus (Rhinoceros unicornis) consists of about 3200 animals, all living in reservations. Because of their horn, they were nearly exterminated. And they are still hunted by poachers. With the birth of the first rhinocerus back in 1956, the zoo laid the foundations for a breeding station that is successful to this day.
I hope you also enjoyed the second part of this local gem episode. Don´t miss the third and final part, where you can meet my favorite animal, the magnificent snow leopard:
Don´t forget to also check out the previous posts of the local gem safari:
- LGS #6, Part 1, Zoo Basel
- LGS #5, The Goetheanum
- LGS #4, Castle Ruin Rötteln
- LGS #3, Downtown Basel
- LGS #2, Jurassic Encounter in Basel
- LGS #1, The Vitra House
Follow me at @shaka
@shaka, this lot of photographs are amazing. Love all the creatures pbotographed. I will resteem this gem. My day is better after looking at all your pbotographs. Steem On my friend.
Thank you so much @runridefly! What a wonderful feedback. And thanks for resteeming!
Stalks and herons are my favourite birds, so beautiful.