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Berlin Zoo:
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Present-day entrance
to Berlin Zoo. Courtesy: Moeller Archives.
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The Zoologischer Garten
Berlin was the first zoo in Germany, opening its doors to the public on
the 1st August 1844. A total of four thylacines were exhibited at
the zoo between 1864 and 1908. The thylacines were housed in the
Carnivore House (Raubthiere) shown in the map of the zoo below.
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Map of Berlin Zoo, circa
1906. Place your pointer over the map to magnify.
The Carnivore House (Raubthiere)
where the thylacines were housed is circled in red.
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A rare photo of the
Carnivore House (Raubthiere) at the Berlin Zoo in 1874.
The thylacine enclosure
is highlighted in this detail.
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The first of Berlin's
thylacines was purchased from the London Zoo. The thylacine, a male,
had been on display in London from 9th April 1856 until its transfer to
Berlin on the 7th June 1864. Unfortunately, its stay at the zoo was
short lived; the thylacine died on the 14th November 1864. This thylacine
holds the longevity record for a thylacine in captivity at 8 years 220
days (Moeller 1997). |
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| Thylacines
displayed at the Berlin Zoo (1864 - 1908) |
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| N |
Date
of arrival |
A/J/P |
Sex |
Captured
by |
Source |
Capture
locality |
Sold
/ exchanged |
Date
of death |
Ref |
FN |
| . |
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| 1 |
10/6/1864 |
A |
M |
Mr. Martin |
London Zoo
(departed 7/6/1864) |
Unknown locality |
N/A |
14/11/1864 |
|
1 |
| 2 |
1871 |
A |
M |
Unknown captor |
Karl A. H. Bodinus
[Zoo Director]
(purchaser) |
Unknown locality |
N/A |
1873 |
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| 3 |
25/2/1902 |
A |
M |
Unknown captor |
Reiche Brothers
of Alfeld
(dealers) |
Unknown locality |
N/A |
16/1/1908 |
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2,
3 |
| 4 |
25/2/1902 |
A |
F |
Unknown captor |
Reiche Brothers
of Alfeld
(dealers) |
Unknown locality |
N/A |
23/12/1905 |
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2,
3 |
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| A/J/P |
Adult
/ Juvenile / Pup |
| Short
dates are formatted Day/Month/Year. |
| Footnotes:
1. Longest lived captive specimen [8 years, 220 days (Moeller, 1997)]);
2. The Reiche brothers (Henry and Charles) were the leading animal dealers
of their time, supplying many circuses and zoos with animals. The
brothers' business was based in New York, with a receiving depot for animals
located in Alfeld (Germany); 3. Possibly the two Scottsdale specimens noted
in the Examiner (13/7/1901 p. 7). |
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Ludwig Heck (1912), the Director of the Berlin Zoo from 1888 until 1931,
made the following observations on the zoo's captive thylacines:
"They act quite familiar
coming restlessly up to the cage bars and sniffing around if one stands
on this side of the barrier directly in front of the cage. Fired
by eternal greed, they constantly demand food when they are not sleeping....
They keep trying to chew through the bars. They are hard to arouse
from their sleep on their soft straw bed in the dim night cage, but are
not unpleasant if you do awaken them... otherwise they pace for hours in
the cage without paying much attention to the outside world, or lie quietly,
sleeping apathetically". |
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Male thylacine at Berlin
Zoo circa 1905. Courtesy: Berlin Zoo.
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| Some of the traits
observed by Heck are now known to be those exhibited by stressed animals.
Several of Berlin Zoo's thylacine skulls, now in the collection of the
Museum für Naturkunde [Humboldt University] in Berlin, show damage
to the canine teeth probably caused, as Heck had noted, by the animals
chewing at the bars of their cage. |
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Specimen skull ZMB 47902,
showing damage (excessive wear) to canines.
Source: International Thylacine
Specimen Database - 5th Revision, May 2013.
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