Knut, for those not in the know, is a baby polar bear, and the highlight of the Berlin Zoo - one of the top zoos in the world. There are actually two zoos in Berlin, something that is not mentioned in most information guides to Berlin. I only found out about it, thanks to Fabian, when I met up with him on Thursday evening.
The city zoo is more compact, and features all the heavy weight attractions: lions, tigers, elephants, polar bears, brown bears, hippos, and many more. Some of the animals are quite good at pulling crowds, like the Panda, whose antics with the bamboo shoots drew large crowds.
A Springbok
Interesting backgrounds ... these are bisons
No idea what the architecture of the Giraffe pen has to do with the giraffes
The gorillas are also a famous feature of the zoo
The lionesses
The Tierpark (the other zoo) is spread over a massive area, and I did not actually go through the whole place because of its size. It probably has more animals (both zoos seem to have the main highlights). However, unlike the city zoo, which has one animal exhibition after another, the tierpark is a more spread out affair, with lots of trees and gardens between the various animal pens. It is a much nicer place to visit, IMO.
Both zoos have polar bears, the Tierpark photos just came out a lot better
A tiger pacing around
The irony of camels in a lush green field, surrounded by water
The park is littered with statues and fountains and places to have picnics etc. Some sculptures are a bit more interesting.
The park has a much larger collection of reptiles. The city zoo does have an aquarium, but it requires an additional ticket.
In the end, I would much rather go see them in the wild. While zoos do offer the luxury of seeing a larger variety of animals, it is just not the same as seeing them in the wild. They somehow seem to loose their magnificence. Which one to go to: if you want to see Knut, there is no option. Otherwise, go to the Tierpark.
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