I visited a zoo in Wuppertal with friends - updated 1st Sept. 2015

The "Green Zoo" in Wuppertal
 51° 14′ N, 7° 6′ O

 is one of the oldest zoological gardens in Germany (opened 1881) with many old trees and deep hills.
The sun was shining from a blue sky and it was hot - really hot! With some cold drinks prepared in a cool bag we had fun strolling around for several hours!

The official website in english

A comemmorative medal of the zoo
given as a present from my friends
thank you :-)

Phoenicopterus ruber roseus

 Ara Ararauna

 Emys orbicularis

Leafcutter Ants

Ardea cinerea
 (Grey Heron)

Black-footed penguin - Spheniscus demersus

 Oriental short-clawed otter - Amblonyx cinerea

Sea-Lion

 Piranha
 

 Channa pleurophtalma

 Dendrobates leucomelas

 Uromastyx nigriventris

 A Caiman (Caimaninae)

Welcome to the cold world of the King penguins.
.. oh yes, it's snow down there!

 Aptenodytes patagonicus

This small guy get's a shiver :-)

 Outside the hall of the penguins it's hot. Even the Bongo antelope needs a rest

 Tragelaphus eurycerus

 The meercats are chilling

 Suricata suricatta

These wonderful flowers attracted my eyes.
The colours glowed in the sun!

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Hibiscus schizopetalus (seems to be rare)

 Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

 Andean condor (Vultur gryphus)
concentrated while practicing yoga?


Okay, now it's time for some sleepy big cats:

 Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

 Panthera tigris

 oh yes, these paws are huge!

oh yes, this kitty is tired!

The zoo provides a huge aera for the lion 

 Panthera leo - one of three 3-year-old teens

and this is daddy "Massai" - guess what: he's sleeping tight!

He was sleeping very close to the visitor's window with a lioness by his side.
Hopefully the window is thick enough :-)
 

 Red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus pictus)

 The Reindeer, comfort to arctic temperatures, suffered in the german summer heat
 (Rangifer tarandus)

 Snowy owl (Bubo scandiaca)

 A couple of Hudson Bay wolves (Canis lupus hudsonicus)
Give an "awww" for the small elephant

and a "woohooo" for the huge male named "Tusker"

he lives on his own part of the game reserve until a female elephant is in heat.

We went down a hill around the elephants reserve and saw the small elephant playing :-)

 head down, feet up

 "snorkelling"

Baby still tries to find out what he can do with its nose

Primates

 Gorilla "Vimoto", leader of a harem of four ladies

 Orang Utan (view through a window incl. reflections)

 Bonobo (Pan paniscus)

 Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus)

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
 

 Okapi (Okapia johnstoni)

 Finally, we observed Lars, the Icebear (Ursus maritimus).
Obviously the heat was a bit too much for him while he was wandering around on identical paths.
And - obviously - the reserve is much too small. But as far as I know the reserve is
planned to be fairly enhanced.