Dresden Zoo in Germany


Dresden Zoo
Typezoo

Owner
Size13 hectares (32 acres)
Total nrs3000
Founded1861
Opened for public1861
Number of species400
Number of animals3000
Address Tiergartenstrasse 1
Place Dresden
StateSaxony
Country Germany
Website Website

Directors 1861-1881: Albin Schöpf (director)
1934-1945: Otto Sailer-Jackson (director)
1861-1881 Albin Schoepf
1881-1909 Adolph Schoepf
1910-1934 Gustav Brandes
1934 Hellmuth Buck
1934-1936 Ingo Krumbiegel
1937-1939 Hans Petzsch
1939-1945 Hans Petzsch/Karl Claus/Otto Sailer
1945-1950 Karl Claus
1950-1973 Wolfgang Ullrich
1973-1984 Gotthard Berger
1984-1990 Hans-Dieter Hohmann
1991 Heinz Eberhard Schneider
1992-2002 Hubert Lücker
2003-now Karl-Heinz Ukena

Key People 1998-1998: Dan Koehl (elephant consultant)

Veterinarians

Elephant department

Head keepers
of elephants
Jörg Burger -2015
2015-now Ronny Moche

Elephant keepers
Record history
History of updates2023-05-20

Latest document update2023-05-20 20:42:01
Google map

Shoepfi with rider Dan Koehl 1999. Photo: © Petra Schmidt, Dresden Zoo

Shoepfi with rider Dan Koehl 1999. Photo: © Petra Schmidt, Dresden Zoo
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Description

Dresden Zoo, located at Tiergartenstrasse 1, in Dresden, Saxony, Germany , was founded in 1861, opened for public in 1861.

Living elephants

At the Dresden Zoo lives 4 elephants with records in this database: (detail list)
  1. Drumbo born 1990
  2. Mogli born 1995
  3. Sawu born 1996
  4. Tonga born 1989

Comments / picturesDresden Zoo in Germany GermanyAktie from 1861.

During World war II, Dresden became victim to one of the worst bomb attacks during the war. On February 13-14, 1945, Allied bombers laid siege to the German city of Dresden. A famous animal trainer, Otto Sailer-Jackson ran the beautiful Dresden Zoo. Sailer-Jackson was under orders that if human life was endangered, all carnivores must be shot. Before he had to face that horrible decision, however, a wave of bombing set the zoo ablaze.

"The elephants gave spine-chilling screams. Their house was still standing but an explosive bomb of terrific force had landed behind it, lifted the dome of the house, turned it round, and put it back on again. The baby cow elephant was lying in the narrow barrier-moat on her back, her legs up to the sky. She had suffered severe stomach injuries and could not move," he later stated. Three hippopotamuses were drowned when iron debris pinned them to the bottom of their water basin. In the ape house, he found a gibbon that, when it reached out to the trainer, had no hands, only stumps.
Nearly forty rhesus monkeys escaped to the trees but were dead by the next day from drinking water polluted by the incendiary chemicals. For those animals that made it to the next day, the assault was far from over. A U.S. aircraft pilot came in low, firing at anything he could see was still alive. "In this way," Sailer-Jackson explained, "our last giraffe met her death. Many stags and others animals which we had managed to save became victims of this hero.

Dresden Zoo in Germany Germany1961: Postcard 100 years Dresden Zoo.

The old elephant house
Dresden Zoo in Germany Germany


In spite of the horrible bombings, the elephant house from 1871 survived, and in 1926 the outside cage was replaced by a dry Moat enclosure. The stable was germanys oldest elephant house until director Dr Herbert Luecker decided to tear it down in 2000, after the new house was built.


Gustl and Drumbo
Dresden Zoo in Germany Germany

1992: Two African elephants, Gustl and Drumbo, arrived from Namibia 1992.


The new elephant house
Dresden Zoo in Germany Germany

1999: Dresden Zoo built a new elephanthouse 1999, with 600 m2 for the elephants. It has an inside pool and nighttime the elephants stands unchained in individual boxes. The house also houses Mandrills, a cafeteria, and attached is a new main entrance and a new restaurant, "Drumbos Weld". Before they were transferred to PC, all elephants were almost daily taken for walks in the zoo. Outdoor enclosure is about 3 000 m2.


The death of Shöpfi
Shöpfi was a very kind and gentle elephant that had gone through a lot. She was captured in Assam, India, in 1960, and shipped together with two other elephants (possibly Nika?) from Calcutta in India to Bremerhafen in Germany.

Schöpfi was named after Albin Schöpf (born 1823) director in Dresden Zoo 1861-1881. During an outbreak of elephant smallpox in DDR in the beginning of the 90´s, she lost all of her Herd 1990-1991, as lone survivor.

References for records about Dresden Zoo

Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan (2024). Dresden Zoo, Elephant Encyclopedia. Available online at https://www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=33. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:


Dresden Zoo on elephant-news.com

Dresden Zoo is mentioned on Elephant News:

DateLinks which opens in new window
2006-02-11Joy over over elephant birth in dresden zoo - Elephant News
2007-01-03Dresden zoo baby elephant eats christmas trees - Elephant News
2008-06-16How islam came to germany - Elephant News
2009-01-16Friday cute pic: baby elephant eating a christmas tree - Elephant News
2009-01-27Opal the elephant is pregnant - Elephant News


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