Frankfurt Zoo welcomed more visitors last year than in 2019, the last year without corona restrictions.

838,953 people viewed the animals at the zoo, compared to 824,691 three years earlier.

The zoo also increased its animal sponsorships significantly: by the end of the year, 3294 sponsors had sponsored a total of 3856 meerkats, kea & co.

Daniel Meuren

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

  • Follow I follow

The FAZ is also involved as the godfather of the black howler monkey lady Tambo, who, however, is about to move this year.

The howler monkeys will leave the zoo and leave their enclosure at the entrance, which is so attractive to visitors, to the anteaters.

“We have over 800 animal sponsors and 1000 more sponsorships than before Corona.

Especially in the current uncertain times, this support cannot be taken for granted," says Christina Geiger, who has been the new director of the zoo for a good year: "The donations from the sponsorships help us to keep animal husbandry at a high level despite the many challenges and to improve it.” As in previous years, the list of top ten sponsored animals is headed by meerkats, followed by pygmy goats, elephant shrews and Humboldt penguins.

At the end of the year, not only visitors were counted, but also "residents" of the zoo: According to this, on December 31, 2022, more than 5326 individuals of 467 species lived in the zoo.

Mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians as well as several thousand invertebrates such as insects, spiders, corals and sea anemones were recorded.

These species are practically uncountable and are therefore not recorded according to individuals, but only counted as one.

Schools of fish and offspring of some fish species can also hardly be recorded exactly, according to the zoo.

In the case of mammals, 1733 individuals were counted in 91 species.

On the cut-off date, 354 individuals from 69 species were counted among the birds.

The offspring of two fan pigeons from New Guinea, which weigh 2.5 kilograms and are among the largest and heaviest of the 353 species of pigeon birds, were particularly pleasing.

The Exotarium is by far the most species-rich area in the zoo.

In the case of reptiles, the census revealed 361 animals in 58 species.

The zoo was particularly pleased about the first successful offspring of the Mitchells monitor lizards, which are critically endangered in the wild.

Nature conservation euro for six projects

264,000 euros in donations from the voluntary nature conservation euro came together in 2022.

100 percent of the money goes to six nature conservation projects that the zoo supports in Hesse and worldwide.

Thanks in part to the number of visitors, the 165-year-old inner-city zoo sees itself well-armed for the challenges of the time, including increased energy costs, for example.

In addition, the future projects of the concept study Zookunft2030+ have been tackled again in a more targeted manner after the pandemic.

“A fundamental renewal has meanwhile become one of the most important questions for the future of our traditional inner-city zoo.

I am very happy that Christina Geiger, as the new zoo director, knows about the challenges of the coming years and that we have been able to set the course for the master plan together in the past few months and thus further advance the process," says Ina Hartwig (SPD), for the zoo responsible department head for culture and science.

In the areas of the zoo that are not part of the new planning, a lot has happened in 2022: In July, the digger bite to convert the lion outdoor enclosure, which is scheduled to open in early summer of this year.

In September, the conversion of the former penguin facility in the Exotarium into a mangrove landscape began and in December the large playground was completely renovated with the help of the Crespo Foundation and the Frankfurt Zoo Foundation.