Stories from the Cologne Zoo (9th Season)

The biggest birthday present is one the zoo is giving itself. After fourteen months of construction work, the Hippodrome is ready! This is a 3,500 square meter home for hippos, antelopes, Nile crocodiles and eleven other African species. About 100 animals will find their new home here. That means a lot of work for Monika Assenmacher and Dirk Vogt, the main keepers in the zoo‘s new prestigious habitat.

The California sea lions also have a move to deal with. Their pool has to be completely renovated, so the harem goup will move temporarily to the unoccupied hippo pool in the old Elephant House. But before Yumni, Astrid and the others agree to go into their crates willingly, the zookeepers Klaus Heise and Reinhard Schabbing will have to use all their powers of persuasion.

The Jungle House is pleased to welcome a new baby. The little gorilla’s name is Gasira, and she is further proof of the successful breeding methods at the zoo. The baby girl is the sixth which the silverback gorilla Kim has fathered in Cologne. But the joyful feelings about the birth are mixed with many worries. Zookeeper Klaus Pyszora is all too aware that one out of four animals dies in the first year.

Broadcast date:ab 13. Juli täglich um 15:15 Uhr im ZDF
Length:45 min.
Author:Katrin Buhbut, Harald Hürter u.a.
Editorial advisor:Renate Marel, Susanne Hillmann (ZDF)
Production:Ulrike Römhild, Simone Wilms
Line producer:Anke Meyer
Producer:Martina Sprengel
Executive producer:Hartmut Klenke
Filming location:Köln