The history of reptiles and amphibians at Frankfurt Zoo

2010·6.2 MB·English

by  Manfred Niekisch

Bonn zoological Bulletin Volume 57 Issue 2 pp. 347-357 Bonn, November 2010
The history of reptiles and amphibians at Frankfurt Zoo
Manfred Niekisch
Zoo Frankfurt, Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee D-603 6 Frankfurt am Main;
1, 1
E-mail: manfred.niekisch(a)stadt-frankfurt.de
Abstract. Reptiles and amphibians were kept in Frankfurt Zoo fromthevery beginning in 1858. Information onthe col-
lection is somewhat fragmentary but still sufficient to draw a picture on its development from then until today. Starting
withjust a few reptile cages in the monkey house, reptiles soon became a major attraction forthe visitors, and a special
section in the aquarium building was opened for them in 1904. Knowledge about how to keep reptiles and amphibians
was still very poor, but evolved steadily, and shortly before World War II Frankfurt Zoo was famous for its impressive
collection ofherps, especially crocodilians. Completely destroyed in 1944, the zoo re-opened only a few months after
the end ofwar, but it was not until 1957 that the reptile hall on top ofthe newly erected aquarium building, which now
was called"Exotarium", couldbe opened. Havingundergone anumberofimprovementsandrenovations inthe last four
decades, the Frankfurt Exotarium today has a number ofremarkable breeding results and is putting - as the whole zoo
-a focus on nature conservation.
Key words: Exotarium, terrarium, herpetological collection, breeding success, nature conservation
THE START WITH A FEW SPECIES
Frankfurt Zoo was opened on 8 August 1858, the second scattered over a wide range of articles, zoo guides, and
zoo in Germany after Berlin's. Reptiles and amphibians annual reports, allowingoneto gain an overallpicturewith
were exhibitedhere fromthebeginning. Theywere shown limited, but nevertheless interesting data.
in a wing ofthe monkey house and consisted mainly of
European species. The firstFrankfurtZoo guidepublished Despite the growing importance and attractiveness of
in 1860 mentions a few tailed amphibians and lizards, FrankfurtZoo's herpetological section, notmuch attention
snakes andturtles (see Table 1). That chapter onherps al- waspaidto it inthe zoopublications, aswill alsobe shown
somentionsthatthere wereplans to replace the small "rep- later. For example, the bookpublished on the occasion of
tiles cage" and aquarium by a bigger facility. The newts the 100th anniversary of Frankfurt Zoo (Zoologischer
and the salamanders were at that time kept in the aquar- Garten der Stadt Frankfurt am Main 1958) has no picture
ium togetherwith the GreatLoach (Cobitisfossilis). With ofa reptile or amphibian and only one - rather unimpor-
regard to the salamanders, it was stated that the animals tant - view of the interior of the reptile building from
could be found "on the leaves" in the aquarium, but it is 1957-58.
not clearwhatthis means exactly. Were theypresentedon
leaves floating on the water surface?
THE FOUNDING OF THE "DEFINITIVE" ZOO
Unfortunately, aside from this first small "inventory" of
the reptiles and amphibians kept in Frankfurt Zoo, a sys- This first zoo was a huge success as it awoke much inter-
tematic list was started only in the 1950s. Daily reports est among the citizens ofFrankfurt, but the terrain at the
contained information on new acquisitions, deaths and "Leers'scher Garten" was small and could be rented for
births, and an electronic register for herps has been start- only ten years. As a consequence, the founders ofthe zoo
ed only recently. So there is no detailed, continuous doc- decided to find a new location for a bigger and "defini-
umentation ofthe herpetological species kept here from tive" zoo. In 1865, the Frankfurt Zoological Society and
the beginninguntil today. Substantial information on rep- the Senate of the City ofFrankfurt signed a contract to
tiles and amphibians in the Frankfurt collection is establish a new Zoo at the "Pfingstweide", (then) outside
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
348 Manfred Niekisch
Table 1. Herpetological species as mentioned in the first guide to Frankfurt Zoo (Weinland 1860).
Scientific name* Common name Remarks (translated from German)
(translated from German)
Lacerta viridis European green lizard our specimens come from Vienna
Pseudopus Pallasii Glass snake
(scheltopusik, horned serpent)
Tropidonotus natrix var. bilineata Ringed snake
Coronella laevis Smooth snake
Testudo graeca Greek tortoise eats grass, outside during the summer
Testudopolyphemus Gopher tortoise on the flamingo meadow during the
summer
Triton cristatus, igneus, taeniatus Our German water salamanders
Salamandra maculata Common European salamander on the leaves
* Note: Scientific names in the whole article, when in quotes, and in this table are given as they are mentioned in the respective
publication and have not been transferred into modern nomenclature.
the City ofFrankfurt. Reptiles and fishes had turned out wars between Prussia andAustria (1866) and France and
to be a real attraction forthe visitors, and so, from the be- Germany (1870-71), this contractnevermaterialized and
ginning, the plan for the new zoo included designs for a the zoo remained - with an extension ofthe old contract
herpetological exhibition and aquaria. Due to a number - at the "Leers'scher Garten" for a few more years. Fi-
ofcomplications and especially as a consequence ofthe nally, under a new contract, the new zoo was opened at
the Pfingstweide on 29 March 1874, atthe same place that
had alreadybeen envisagedbeforethewars. FrankfurtZoo
has remained at this site until today. Thanks to an initia-
tive ofBernhard Grzimek immediately after the Second
World War it was enlarged and now covers eleven
hectares. The city ofFrankfurt has grown around it, soto-
day Frankfurt Zoo is in a central location.
SLOW START FOR THE TERRARIUM SECTION
Despite all theplans andgood intentions, the construction
ofa numberofenclosures formammals and birds and, in
particular, a new aquarium and terrarium building had to
be postponed due to financial and other constraints once
the zoo had moved to its new destination in 1874. But at
least there was substantial planning, and the knowledge
about how to keep fish and herps as well as the develop-
ment of technical means was rapidly increasing right
throughout that period. This is also indicated by the fast
growing number ofassociations ofaquarium and terrari-
um hobbyists in Germany in the last two decades ofthe
19th century.
To provide the financial means forthe aquarium building,
the members of the administrative council and supervi-
sory board provided a loan of 50,000 Reichsmarks. In
Fig. 1. The„romantic"AquariumtowerofFrankfurtZooabo- 1877, the building, comprisingtwo freshwaterand 12 sea-
ve the lake in 1880. water aquaria and (as far as is known) a few terraria was
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
.
1 lcrpctolog\ at Frankfurt Zoo 349
finally able to be opened. The building was placed inside DIFFICULTTIMES, BUTASTEADY INCREASE IN
an artificial hill, so the walls were insulated and the tem- EXPERIENCE
perature couldbe kept relatively constant. The issue ofma-
jor concern and of utmost importance for the aquarium The herpetological section had been planned as the sec-
section, namelywater, was solvedby erecting atowerwith ond storey of the aquarium building and could only be
water tanks inside filled with ground water. This simple built later. It finally opened on 15 May 1904. In the ten
technique, basedon gravity, is still functioningtoday, guar- years before that, the reptiles seem to have had a rather
anteeing the constant and uniform flow ofwater into the difficult life at Frankfurt Zoo. Especially in winter, many
filters and aquaria. ofthese animals died because ofthe poor conditions they
were kept in. It was Wilhelm Haacke, director ofthe zoo
Thetowerwas made to looklike an old castle orruin, and, from 1888 to 1893, in particular, who expanded the rep-
together with the hill it stands on and the neighbouring tile collection. Duringthe summermonths, whenthe mon-
lake, it catered nicely to the romantic taste of that time keys were kept in outside enclosures, he used the mon-
(Fig. 1). key house to put boxes with reptiles and amphibians on
exhibit. As can be read in the 1895 zoo guide, the "col-
An extra entrance fee was charged forthe aquarium in or- lection that was outstanding because of its richness ..
derto pay the loan back. So the aquarium had its own en- [was] usually set up in May, temperatures allowing, and
trance fee, and only in 1992 was this practice abandoned remained there until October, a fewboxes (containing the
and no extra fee was charged any more for visiting the giant snakes and bigger lizards) even remaining on show
aquarium. during the winter". For that latter purpose, a heated plat-
form ("Warmetisch") had been built in 1891.
Fig. 2. In the newly opened "Reptile Hall" sunlight was seen an important factor for the well being ofreptiles (1904).
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Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357
350 Manfred Niekisch
Fig. 3. Mixed life in a tropical jungle environment: Tiliqua rugosa (?), Cordylusgiganteus and Macroscincus coctei (1912).
It is plain that mortalitywas high. The 1895 zoo guide (the anuran species and three species ofurodela. A few ofthe
first to be publishedafterten years!) lists, however, an im- comments and specimens are truly remarkable. So
pressive number ofspecies - or to be more precise: two "thanks to the goodness of Mr Schmacker from Shang-
crocodiles, eleven turtles, 17 snakes, 22 lizards and ten hai", the collection contained "the first specimen ofthe
Chinese alligator brought live to Europe" and "two giant
Aldabra turtles (Testudo elephantina)" Withregardto the
.
latter, the 1895 zoo guide states that "only a few decades
will pass until this turtle ofsuch incredible dimensionswill
havebecome extinct". "One oftherarest species attheZo-
ological Garden, the snake-necked turtle, Hydraspis hi-
lairei", was kept togetherwith Chelydraserpentina. "The
Sinai lizard (Uromastix ornatus)" is described as a "very
strange animal. It feeds on rose petals in summer and on
acacia and lettuce in winter; as soon as the sun shines on
its back, it opens certain depressions in the skin and the
body assumes a very beautiful colour". The lizard species
ranged fromAngitisfragilisto "Silubosaurusstokesi" and
from "Lacerta muralis" to "Tiliqua gigas". Aside from
alpine salamander, Japanese giant salamander, bull frog
and Leptodactylus, all amphibians kept at that time were
A
Fig. 4. big specimen ofPython reticulatus in its terrarium species that occurred wild in the Frankfurt area.
(1912).
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
Herpetology at Frankfurt Zoo 351
The zoo did not suffer any major physical damage dur-
ing the First World War, but the economically difficult
post-war era obliged director Priemel to be creative. He
made an interesting contract with the animal catcher and
dealerJohn Hagenbeck. Frankfurt hostedreptiles import-
ed by Hagenbeck and, in exchange, got the pre-emption
rights and areducedprice on the specimens Priemel want-
edto buy. It is reportedthat visitors were quite astonished
by a sign saying "for sale" on a big container full ofgi-
ant snakes which "none ofthe visitors managedto count"
(Scherpner 1983).
Soon the reptile collection had reached an impressive di-
mension, and its increasing importance is also document-
ed by a number ofarticles on it which were published in
Fig. 5. Tropicaljungle landscapemade ofaquaria andplants the Zoo's own "Mitteilungen aus dem Frankfurter Zoo"
(1912). and elsewhere. One ofthe authors is Robert Mertens who
did evidently have acloserelationship with the zoo, since
he authored seven papers between 1921 and 1925 specif-
Haake (who by the way had been vividly recommended ically about the species and specimens kept at Frankfurt
by Ernst Haeckel forthe post ofzoo director) had a well- Zoo, and more precisely on the freshwaterturtles (1921),
developed collector's mentality but his attempt to estab- giant snakes (1921, 1924 - the latter one not mentioned
lish systematic collections ofbirds and herps did not re- by Schirner 1977), venomous snakes (1925), news from
ceivemuchofapositive response from visitors to the zoo, thereptile house (1922), new animals (1922) and on Cer-
and he quit the job in 1893. His immediate successor, atophrys ornata (1922).Anexhaustivepaperonthewhole
Adalbert Seitz, then started to develop a completely new collection ofreptiles by Richard Wieschke (1925) gives,
concept for a reptile exhibit, recognizing that these ani- like the articlesjustmentioned, shortnotes and comments
mals needed sunlight.Aglasshouse calledthe "reptile hall" on the different species shown and mentions, as a special
was erected on top ofthe aquarium building and inaugu- attraction, a giant salamander from Japan which was ex-
rated on 15 May 1904 (Fig. 2). In the venomous snakes hibited in an aquarium in the lower basement. From that
section, increased security measures were introduced in description ofthe collection one can deduce that, in 1925,
the year 1906 to offer the keepers better protection. The there were more than 40 snake species, 28 lizard species,
number ofspecies had by then risen to twelve turtles, 28 more than 20 turtles andtortoises (including a loggerhead
snakes, 25 lizards and 13 amphibians. Evidentlytherewas sea turtle), and seven crocodile species on exhibit. An in-
some "fluctuation" in the crocodile species, as the 1905 teresting detail is the mentioning ofa female reticulated
m
zoo guide states: "Mostly different species such as the al- python 8 in length which, afterhaving undergone "dif-
ligator, Nile crocodile, dwarfcrocodile etc. are on exhib- ficult surgery", hadnot taken any food for 16 months be-
it". The Chlamydosaurus kingikept in the collection is said fore she finally acceptedapiglet. Six anuran and 2 urode-
to be the first specimen "to have reached the European lan species are specifically mentioned as part ofthe col-
continent alive". In 1907, even before becoming zoo di- lection "plus the numerous European frogs, toads, sala-
rector in 1908, the then zoo assistant, Kurt Priemel, start- manders and newts". Among the amphibians mentioned
edchangingthe concept again. He wantedto showthevis- are "two giant bull frogs..., and, even more impressive,
itors the diversity oflife, abandoningthe approach ofsys- two South American horned frogs", as well as African
tematic collections. He built a second glasshouse next to clawed frogs "whichbecause oftheirhopping movements
the first one, added to the reptile hall 40 aquaria for trop- underwatersoon gotthe name 'watermonkeys'", besides
ical fish (Fig. 5) and a tropical wetland area forcrocodiles Pipas, a Japanese giant salamander and a Proteus.
as well as big terraria for giant snakes (Fig. 4) and turned
the reptile house, together with the aquarium, into the Whereas Robert Mertens is well known among herpetol-
"biggest and most diverse ofall such institutions on the ogists even today and does not need to be introduced to
continent" (Scherpner 1983). As visitors to the zoo had the reader, a few words have to be said about Wieschke.
to pay an additional entrance fee forthe aquarium andter- In one ofthe articles, his name is given as "Fritz", in the
rarium building, visitor numbers could be easily moni- otherarticle as "Rich[ard]". It was notpossible to findout
tored. The new and enlargedbuilding attracted more than ifFritz and Rich[ard] Wieschke were the same person -
80,000 people every year. and "Fritz" a printing error? - or whether and how they
©ZFMK
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357
352 Manfred Niekisch
were related. "Fritz" could not be identified at all, where- In the following years, the collection continued to grow
as it is known thatRichardwas avolunteerassistant, help- andattractedmore and more visitors. Various publications
ing out quite actively with many activities in the zoo such talk about anacondas, chameleons, Gila monsters and sea
as the administration ofthe library, keeping the register turtles all becoming part ofthe collection and, ofcourse,
ofanimals andobservingthem. Hepublished several small about "Komo", the tame Komodo monitor lizard which
papers in the Mitteilungen, the last one appearing in No- came to Frankfurt in 1927, only 15 years afterthis species
vember 1928, and, as far as is known, died at the age of had been discovered. It was brought from Komodo to
23 in 1929. Frankfurtby Robert Mertens. Frankfurt already had some
experience in taming monitor lizards. Two Varanus sal-
Aremark in a review authoredby zoo director Priemel on vator had come to Frankfurt Zoo in 1922-23, when they
issues 1 and 2 ofWilhelm Klingelhdffer'sTerrarienkunde were just 25 cm long. They were quite aggressive and,
in the Mitteilungen from May 1925 gives an interesting while one died, the other one had grown to a length of
m
insight into the concept ofreptile keeping. Priemel wel- 1.35 by 1926 and thanks to "persistent, gentle, careful
comes Klingelhdffer's approach to arranging the contents treatment and care"hadbecometame. Wheneverthe door
ofthe terraria in such a way that they resemble the habi- to his enclosure was opened orhis name ("Bubchen", lit-
tat ofthe species in the wild. Furthermore, he writes that tle boy) was called, he climbed onto the keeper's shoul-
terraria for schools should always be arranged so thatthey der and allowed himselfto be carried around (Fig. 7).
imitate nature, butthen he goes on to write: "Unfortunate-
ly, the containers in public exhibitions cannot follow this In that time before World War II, discussions arose about
principle, as so many inhabitants must be kept in them in the rights and wrongs and justifications ofkeeping ani-
order that visitors can observe the major part ofthem at mals "in captivity", and, as one ofthe arguments in favour
any time ofthe day". ofzoos, curator Gustav Lederer (1937) published infor-
mation about the longevity ofreptiles at Frankfurt Zoo.
Fig. 6. Different species, different sizes: Alook into the "world renown" crocodile collection in 1925. Note theMacroclemys in
the right foreground.
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
Herpetology at Frankfurt Zoo 353
ral! Acompletely new approach to keepingcrocodiles was
only introduced around 1975, whenthis collection was fi-
nally dissolved to create a larger crocodile enclosure.
With the retirement ofKurt Priemel in March 1938, the
dynamic development ofthe herp collection came to an
end, as his successor, Georg Steinbacher, was more ofa
"bird man" and evidently not much interested in reptiles.
The first bombs hit Frankfurt Zoo in October 1943, caus-
ing some limited damage including to the aquarium build-
ing, but most, ifnot all, ofthe reptiles survived. The ven-
omous snakes, however, now had to be put down for se-
curity reasons. A few months later, the disastrous bomb-
ing ofFrankfurt on 18 March 1944 completely destroyed
the zoo and the aquarium with all its animals (Fig. 9).
ON THE WAYTOAMODERN ZOO: THE PERIOD
AFTER WORLD WAR
II
Thereconstruction ofthezoo, underits new directorBern-
hardGrzimek, started immediately afterthe endofthewar.
The zoo re-opened on 1 July 1945, offering its visitors a
few animals and a lot ofentertainment in the form ofall
kinds of cultural events, circus shows, carousels and so
on. The re-building ofthe aquarium started in 1951 and
the shell ofa "24 m long tropical swamp area destined for
Fig. 7. Varauns salvator "Bubchen" and his keeper- in the thekeepingofcrocodiles, turtles andso on"hadbeencom-
truest sense ofthe word! - in 1929. pleted in 1952. Precisely 1 chameleon, four snakes, 26 tur-
tles and seven crocodiles were housed in the preliminary
In that year, the zoo was home to an Alligator mississip- terrariain 1953. Fromthen on, more and morereptiles and
piensis, a Trionyx triunguis and two Heloderma suspec- amphibians were acquired by or donated to the zoo. The
tum that had been living at the zoo since 1905, 1912 and building with the newbig reptile hall was opened official-
1927 respectively, as well as a Chinese alligator. The lat- ly on 27 August 1957 and by the end ofthat year, it had
terhadmovedto Frankfurt in 1910whenthe BerlinAquar- had 282,084 visitors. There were "giant crocodiles able
ium had to be closed because of financial problems and to kill a human being" and "gigantic land tortoises 200
Frankfurt took over its entire reptile collection. This alli- years of age" living in the (altogether eleven) "climatic
gatorhad come to the BerlinAquarium in 1886 and so had landscapes", withplant arrangements givingthevisitorthe
lived for 30 years in Frankfurt when he died in 1940. illusion ofbeing in a tropical jungle.
The already highly diverse collection of crocodiles was As the "aquarium" was now housing fish andotheraquat-
enriched by a Tomistoma schlegeli in 1937, raising the ic animals, as well as penguins in an Antarctic environ-
number of species kept to eight. In addition, young and ment and a few other birds in the tropical section, along
old, small and large individualswere all kepttogether(Fig. with many reptile and amphibian species, it was decided
6). This crocodile collection is repeatedly referred to as a to give it a new name to better reflect the situation and
majorattraction and as "worldrenowned" (Lederer 1937), intention of the building. Since 1954, this building has
but, looking at it today, it certainly must be regarded as therefore beenknown as the "Exotarium". The innovative
highlyproblematic from azoological point ofviewaswell ideas and plans for the Exotarium were basically devel-
as from the aspects ofanimal welfare. Wieschke (1927) oped by Gustav Lederer, who had already been the key
mentions, for example, that the "newly created tropical person forthe "pre-war" aquariumunderdirectorPriemel.
swamp area for crocodiles" is host to "numerous species, Afterthe war, hebecame the zoo's chiefcurator. How far-
among others a large number ofAmerican alligators {Al- sighted and innovative his thinking was and how careful-
ligator mississippiensis), one ofthe few surviving speci- lyhe observed his animals is reflected, forexample, in his
mens ofthe Chinese alligator, Nile crocodiles, saltwater paperonthe "importance oflight in animal keeping" (Le-
crocodiles andAfricandwarfcrocodiles"-each inthe plu- derer 1927).
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
354 Manfred Niekisch
Fig. 8. An unidentified keeper working in the terrarium section (1936).
At the suggestion ofBernhard Grzimek and in recogni-
tion ofhis merits and the quality of his scientific publi-
cations, he received anhonorary doctorate fromFrankfurt
University in 1953. He retired on 30 September 1958, af-
ter having served Frankfurt Zoo for 45 years, accompa-
nying itthrough twoworldwars andall its ups anddowns.
Gustav Ledererdied atthe age of69 on 13 February 1962.
THE EXOTARIUM TODAY
Despite all changes, improvements and renovation activ-
ities in the 1980s and 1990s, the concept ofthe herpeto-
logical section ofthe Frankfurt Exotarium until today es-
sentially goes back to Gustav Lederer. He was followed
by curator Dieter Backhaus who, in 1973, handed overto
Hartmut Wilke. It was still a time ofmuch "trial and er-
ror", since knowledge regarding the keeping ofreptiles
was still limited. In 1960, a few adult andjuvenile spec-
imens ofAmblyrhynchus cristatits were even exhibited,
but did not survive the first two years.
Reptiles and amphibians were selected for their "didac-
tic, zoogeographical and ecological aspects" and the zoo
"dispensed with animals which were always hiding away
during opening hours". Backhaus, as well as his succes-
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
Herpetology at Frankfurt Zoo 355
Fig. 10. The Exotarium Tower overlooking the "seal cliffs" (2008). Photograph: Sabine Binger.
sor, constantly tried to improve the living conditions of for freshwater tortoises (1987) was seized. The group of
the animals, trying out all sorts oflamps, heating equip- Cyclura cornuta then consisted ofshy and aggressive an-
ment and other means to improve the climate control of imals. They had come to the zoo in 1974, but Wicker re-
the terraria. They also did lots ofwork on nutrition and placed them by ten new animals imported from the zoo
disease prevention and carried out the associated physi- in Santo Domingo. These animals laid eggs for the first
cal changes andimprovementstothebuilding, such as spe- time in 1987, but the keeping facility was not the most
cial rooms to prepare food, raise foraging animals and favourable in many aspects, and there was little breeding
raise newly born reptiles and amphibians. Terraria were success. Just a few weeks after they had been moved to
equipped with appropriate soil substrate for digging anewly built enclosure in 1991, they startedbreeding suc-
species as well as stones and trees for climbing species, cessfully and have done so ever since.
in addition to hiding places and other structures, paving
the way to modern reptile keeping. Another remarkable Other remarkable breeding successes of the last two
change was the renovation of the crocodile enclosure decades have been the Phelsuma klemmeri from Mada-
which had made it necessaryto give up the crocodile col- gascar, Varanus salvator cumingi and Erymnochelys
lection in around 1975 andto send the gharial (which had Madagascariensis, aswell astheLaemanctusserratus and
been living at Frankfurt Zoo since 1958) to the Gharial Petrosaurus thalassianus that were all bred in Frankfurt
Breeding Centre in Orissa, India in 1979. After the reno- for the first time ever under human care. Our specimens
vation ofthebuildinghadbeencompleted,Nile crocodiles ofCrocodylusjohnsoni form the onlybreeding group out-
returned to the zoo in 1977, but the enclosure turned out side Australia, and Frankfurt Zoo keeps and breeds
to be unsuitable for that aggressive species. Ctenosaura bakeri, the highly endangered iguana from
Utila island.
Finally, in 1990, Frankfurt Zoo started keepingAustralian
freshwatercrocodiles, which started breeding regularly in Especially as FrankfurtZoo has made nature conservation
1994 and still do so today. This is one ofthe many breed- in situ and exsitu one ofits top priorities, its close coop-
ing successes at the Frankfurt Exotarium since Rudolf erationwith the Customs Service atFrankfurtAirport must
Wickerbecame its curator in 1984. He took overatatime also be noted. Every year, this results in hundreds ofrep-
when again some necessary renovation work had started, tiles being seized fromtravellers orcommercial shipments
and so the opportunity to build a big landscape terrarium at Frankfurt Airport and being brought to the Exotarium
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK
356 Manfred Niekisch
Fig. 11. The entrance to the Frankfurt Exotarium still preserves the charm and character of the 1950s when it was rebuilt
(2008). Photograph: Sabine Binger.
-even rare animals such as a fewPsammobates from two back and were released into the sea by the local authori-
different species. Some of the shipments seized contain ties. The media attention was huge, and so this success-
quite a number of specimens, for example 300 Geoche- ful, but quite untypical, story could be accompanied by
lone elegans or more than 70 Cordylus mossambicus and the message that one should not take home souvenirs of
C. rhodesianus and, repeatedly, also largenumbers ofpoi- endangered and protected species.
son arrow frogs. Particularly with regardto themore com-
mon species and relatively high numbers ofspecimens, it Generally, species conservation aspects todayplay an im-
is extremely difficult to find appropriate people and in- portant role in Frankfurt Zoo, andthis, ofcourse, also ap-
stitutions willing and able to take them on. All these an- plies to the Exotarium. This building, with its long and
imals are lost to the natural world as they cannot usually interesting history and its rich collection ofreptiles and
be taken back and released into the wild. amphibians, is certainly one ofthe best places in Frank-
furt Zoo to demonstrate to the visitors the multitude of
One exception was the case of five hawksbill turtles forms, colours, adaptations and other expressions ofthe
{Eretmochelys imbricata) in 2009. Dogs trained to detect diversity oflife. Today, there is neithera separate entrance
CITES species at Frankfurt Airport discovered the eggs fee nor any counting ofthe number ofvisitors to the Ex-
in the luggage ofa tourist. The eggs were brought to the otarium, but, in all probability, it may be assumed that al-
Exotarium, and, as they looked good, were put into an in- most all the visitors to Frankfurt Zoo (more than 900,000
cubator. Duringthe following days, the turtles hatched and per year!) also visit the Exotarium. Showing around 170
were kept in an aquarium until they had reached a length adult specimens of29 amphibian species and more than
ofaround 20 cm. As it was known from which beach in 400 reptiles from 68 species, it is and remains one ofthe
the Seychelles they hadbeen collected, they couldbe sent main attractions ofFrankfurt Zoo.
Bonn zoological Bulletin 57 (2): 347-357 ©ZFMK