JURA ZOO, NEUMARKT, GERMANY
BY BENJAMIN IBLER
Neumarkt is an economically very successful town with 45,000 inhabitants, located 30 kilometres from Nürnberg (Nuremberg) in the Bavarian administrative district of Upper Palatinate. In the German regional and city plan the town is regarded as a possible ‘regional metropolis’. And Neumarkt, convenient for traffic, has more to offer than other comparable communities. To have a zoo enhances the quality of life for a town or borough. Upper Palatinate is unfortunately under-developed in terms of zoological facilities.
Originating in a private hobby, the collection opened to the public in 1989. It is located in the south of the town, where an area is rented by the owners, the Pelech family. The area is quite small – under one hectare – but nearly 70 species are kept. The zoo raises its funding from entrance fees and the profits of the restaurant.The Jura mountain range extends from eastern France across Switzerland into southern Germany, including the Upper Palatinate region: hence the name is sometimes used to advertise products from Neumarkt (e.g. ‘Jura wheat beer’). The Jurassic period was, of course, first named from this range; but visitors to Jura Zoo will not see any dinosaurs or living fossils. The collection specialises in smaller and middle-sized mammals and birds, together with a few reptiles and some domestic animals for petting. All in all it provides a good contrast with Nürnberg Zoo. Primates have been a main focus of interest since the park was created. Crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were once a common primate which could be seen nearly everywhere, and a group of old animals were spending the ‘sunset of their lives’ here until Jura Zoo took over a group from the former Vida garden centre in Bremen. The first offspring of the new group was born in August 2009. Another frequently kept species is the brown capuchin (Cebus apella).
An old speciality of the zoo is the white-handed or lar gibbon: a new hand-reared female of the brown colour variant, born in 2000, was obtained from the above-mentioned Vida centre to provide fresh blood for breeding, and is living with a black male born in 1996. At present (May 2010) the pair are housed together during the day, but separated at night. In the last two decades Neumarkt has had remarkable breeding results with this species, though unfortunately hand-rearing has been necessary. Nevertheless offspring have been sent even to Ramat Gan Zoo (Tel Aviv, Israel).
The author has known this small zoo for over 15 years. Over that period many interesting primates have been maintained, such as black mangabey (Lophocebus aterrimus) and green and mona guenons (Cercopithecus aethiops and C. mona). Many guenons have become very rare, and the zoo received old and single individuals of various species, so it was not possible to establish breeding groups in every case. The establishment and maintenance of breeding groups does, of course, depend on collaboration.
A noteworthy exhibit is an agile group of white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) with ten individuals. At present they are housed in two cages enriched with equipment, but a new exhibit quadrupling the ground area and doubling the height is under construction. In contrast to common coatis (N. nasua), the white-nosed species is not numerous in Germany.
A scene at Jura Zoo, Neumarkt, showing the canary bird aviary (right), tortoise enclosures (right) and gibbon house (left),
(Photo: B. Ibler)
Other carnivores include an old single raccoon and an old serval which cannot be socialized with a partner: numbers of this savanna species have declined in German zoos during the last two decades. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are not kept any more since the last ones died.
All construction of new facilities is done in-house. Many facilities are multifunctional, and can be occupied by a variety of animal species such as primates, macaws or carnivores in turn. In general the housing consists of unfashionable – but from the keepers’ point of view more functional – cages, which are of course not as stylish as many modern ‘immersion’ habitats.
As a sideline some interesting – but not really rare or seldom kept – mammals can be seen, such as red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), guinea pigs, brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), rabbits, and unusual domestic breeds like miniature pigs and Ouessant (Ushant, Brittany) sheep.
The bird collection is quite interesting. A pair of common caracaras (Polyborus plancus cheriway) have been present for over fifteen years. Another falcon is the lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus). Some older aviaries have been demolished after their wooden construction became rotten and the birds of prey and owls are to receive new facilities. Other birds kept here include white-necked raven (Corvus albicollis), an omnivore which takes fruit, grain, insects, small animals and human food, spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus), a medium-sized species and one of the smallest of the eagle owls, snowy owl (B. scandiacus) and European eagle owls (B. b. bubo). The owl and bird of prey garden is the only part of the park which looks forest-like, with some old pines.
Three modern aviaries of bigger dimensions are already finished: the first houses wading birds such as sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus), waldrapp (Geronticus eremita) and African spoonbill (Platalea alba), the second a group of ten lesser flamingos, and the third blue-and-yellow macaws. In an extension area a square pond has been built. The original intention was to use it for penguins, but instead it is occupied by some sea ducks. The common eider (Somateria mollissima) is a large duck with a 50–70-cm body length. The species is characterized by its bulky shape and large, wedge-shaped bill. Although eiders are not really rare in captivity, these individuals are the only ones in a Northern Bavarian zoo. The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized duck.
Sacred ibises at Jura Zoo, Neumarkt. (Photo: B. Ibler)
The pheasantry displays silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), Temminck’s tragopan (Tragopan temmnincki) – at present a very popular bird even in smaller institutions – and Edwards’s pheasant (Lophura edwardsii), a species endemic to the rainforests of Vietnam. The upper floor of each facility is inhabited, too, with the beautifully coloured rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) from Australia and a number of less spectacular and more familiar cage birds such as cockatiels of different varieties, crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans), canaries and zebra finches. The collection shows how one should keep these species at home – in groups and good-sized aviaries.
To represent the reptiles, two enclosures hold chelonian species: African spurred tortoises (Geochelone sulcata) and Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) from Greece.
Smaller zoos in Germany exhibit a different spectrum of species than the big organized parks. Some of these species were common five decades ago but have now – for various reasons – been almost phased out. It is good for people to have the opportunity to learn about such ‘uncommon common species’. So the small zoos have a right to exist and a raison d’être, and should be integrated into ex situ conservation efforts.