Inventory of the animals at the zoo

Animal news | 17 January 2025

At the end of each year, we do a precise headcount of all the animals at the zoo to determine exactly how many inhabitants we have on 31 December. Although the census rarely holds any surprises for the keepers, as they check and log the animals in the enclosures every day, it is helpful to compare the figures against the arrivals and departures recorded throughout the year. In addition to determining the weights and sizes of animals, and population figures, zoo director Karl-Heinz Ukena takes what is traditionally the first press event of the year as an opportunity to review the past twelve months and look ahead to the future. He and Mayor of Culture Annekatrin Klepsch welcomed t attendees to the new orangutan house ‒ Dresden Zoo’s biggest investment to date ‒ which opened last June. Karl-Heinz Ukena stressed that financial support for such a large project is by no means guaranteed in the current difficult economic climate. “So I would like to thank the Supervisory Board, the city authorities, the city council and, of course, all Dresden residents and friends of the zoo who have helped us build the orangutan house.”

Almost 500,000 people (470,660) visited Dresden Zoo last year. Visitor numbers for 2024 cannot be compared with the figures for previous years, as Dresden Zoo introduced a new ticket system in 2024, which now allows individual visits by those holding annual passes to be recorded. Annekatrin Klepsch highlighted a survey of non-visitors, undertaken in collaboration with scientists from TU Dresden, which identified Dresden Zoo as the most popular and best-known recreational facility in the state capital. This is clearly testament to the excellent work of the entire zoo team, Ms Klepsch continued, but it also indicates that visitors could be made more aware of the zoo’s continuous improvement and development. Her hope is that the zoo will welcome “exciting new arrivals and interested visitors” in the coming year and that it will raise enough in donations to be able to expand the giraffe and zebra enclosures as planned, and in the longer term, build a new petting zoo.