Before accepting my position as Director of Frankfurt Zoo, I of course, asked how many listed buildings are there. And Frankfurt has a huge so-called (speaking in foreign language). That’s a huge building, just behind the entrance, where 100 years ago, the society met in a large hole and the… Read More
In these three houses we needed, I don’t know exactly anymore, but it was about 20 persons. And the largest part of your budget in a zoo are the salaries and the wages. And therefore, it was an expensive zoo and not very popular with small mammals and kiwis that… Read More
When you were looking at the master plan for the Frankfurt Zoo, did any of the buildings have to be saved because they had survived the war and were historical?… Read More
The Grzimek House is mainly a small mammal building but houses kiwis, that is one of the specialty in Frankfurt, and very few reptiles as well and some other birds. Read More
Is there a reason, do you believe, why fewer zoos have small mammal collections?… Read More
Well, Frankfurt Zoo is so small so after the test of the second last elephant, Richard Faust gave away the last elephant, which I think was a correct decision but a decision not understood by the politicians and by the Frankfurt citizen. So a politician saying Frankfurt Zoo is not… Read More
And for sure in Europe, it’s the only nocturnal house that has not only the light reserve but the temperature as well. During day time, when it’s artificial night, it’s cooled down, as in the wild. And during night, when it’s artificial daylight, it’s heated. So this is very energy… Read More
Do you feel it is a small mammal building?… Read More
Correct?… Read More
was that under Grzimek or under Faust?… Read More
That was a tragedy insofar as it was, well, during Grzimek’s time, most building were Faust’s building. He usually did the planning and realization and so on. And the Grzimek House started when Bernhard Grzimek still was director. And I don’t know how long it took, probably about 10 years. Read More
And especially for apes, for example, the problem after World War II was there are a lot of parasites in apes. And during these times, you haven’t had the medicine to treat these parasites. And so the solution was to have clean enclosures that can be hosed down five to… Read More
It was always a question, to me even, how to follow the follower of Professor Grzimek. And I always answered, I think it’s wonderful to move from the Hediger zoo to the Grzimek zoo. But for Richard Faust I think it was totally different. He was the opposite person to… Read More
One of the exhibits at the zoo, the Grzimek House for Small Mammals, when was that put together?… Read More
What kind of legacy did he leave for Dr. Faust to work with?… Read More
Was it this bigger than life person and now the second he had to take over and in his shadow or was Dr. Faust his own director?… Read More
You needed to do more in Frankfurt?… Read More
Zurich Zoo was a little bit bigger. Zurich Zoo has elephants, Frankfurt hasn’t had any elephants left. But the biggest difference that set Zurich built new exhibits every one, two, three years. So Zurich Zoo was more or less up-to-date and renewed. And in Frankfurt Zoo, there were no new… Read More
If you would like to tore down immediately the carnivore house, the big cat house, and the ape house, and the city thinks well, it’s a wonderful zoo and you would like to tore down maybe half of the zoo. So I had to go step by step. The first… Read More
Was there a difference in the physical of the zoo?… Read More