Zoo Heidelberg in late December

7.1.2024 – Photos by Petra Ballon

When Petra visited the Zoo Heidelberg on the 28th of December there was no snow but there was frost on the ground and on the plants. The frozen roses are beautiful!

frozen rose

In the end of August 2024 the Heidelberg Zoo could announce happy news:

‘We have offspring among the Barbary lions! On Monday morning, our animal care team discovered a little surprise: Binta gave birth to cubs in the protected interior of the predator house. Unfortunately, one of them was lying lifeless next to her. The surviving cub is suckling lively on its mother’s teats and clinging closely to her. To allow Binta and her cub to bond undisturbed, we have temporarily closed the raptor house. We are eagerly awaiting the development of our latest addition and will of course keep you up to date!’

Now the baby lion is about 4 months old.

Nouri1

nouri6

Now Binta can proudly present her baby to the visitors.

nouri Binta1

Of course, mama never leaves Nouri out of sight!

nouri Binta2

Hello, little lion! 🦁🧡 Nouri is, naturally, the visitors’ darling.

Nouri2

Barbary lions have been extinct in the wild for around 100 years. To this day, the subspecies has only survived as a protected species in zoos.

Nouri is a real treasure!

nouri7

Mama Binta looks a bit tired but it’s understandable. Even good mothers get tired sometimes!

Binta

Papa Chalid is a handsome male. Oh my, was he getting tired of paparazzis? 🙂

chalid1

A close-up of a papa face ….

chalid3

…. and here’s a cute baby face.

nouri3

nouru4

The animal care team in Heidelberg gave the baby the name ‘Nouri’. The Arabic name means ‘the shining one’.

Did you know that the roar of a lion can be heard up to 5 kilometres away? 🦁🌅 Lions roar, especially at dawn and dusk, to mark their territory and make their presence known. This powerful sound is not only impressive, but also an important means of communication for the ‘kings of the beasts’. 👑

The Heidelberg Zoo has not only a lovely lion family. There are many other sweet animals, too – here are some of them.

The binturong was peeking out of his/her home.

binturong1

binturong2

This ‘treeguard’ is making sure noboby pinches the tree! 🙂

erdmänchen2

Our young old friend Ludwig is doing fine.

ludwig1

It’s good to know Ludwig has a good friend, too!

ludwig3

ludwig4

The red panda waves ‘goodbye’ for this time.

red panda2

4 Comments

  1. Liebe Petra!
    Danke für die guten Neuigkeiten aus dem Zoo Heidelberg. Nouri is niedlich. Ihre Eltern sind beeindruckend.
    Es ist schön Ludwig zu sehen.
    Hugs
    Ludmila

  2. Liebe Petra!
    Danke für die niedlichen Bilder aus Heidelberg! Natürlich ist die kleine Nouri der Liebling der Zoobesucher. Kleine Raubkatzen bezaubern nun mal wirklich jeden. Wie traurig, dass ihr Geschwisterchen nicht überlebt hat!
    Danke auch für das Update zu Ludwig! Er hatte Glück mit seiner Unterbringung in der Männer WG im Heidelberger Zoo und macht einen guten Eindruck.
    Auch den Binturong, das puschelige Erdmännchen und den indischen Panda hast Du schön “erwischt”.
    Vielen Dank fürs Zeigen!

    Herzliche Grüße
    Anke

  3. Vielen Dank für die sehr schönen Fotogrüße aus dem Heidelberger Zoo und den interessanten Bericht dazu !!👍
    Der Name Nouri passt gut zu dem kleinen Löwenmädchen, die wirklich einen zum Strahlen bringt!
    Es freut auch, dass Ludwig sich im Heidelberger Zoo wohlfühlt!😊

  4. Der kleine Löwe ist natürlich ein Highlight.
    Der Löwenvater ist zu Recht stolz.
    Über das Wiedersehen mit Ludwig habe ich mich auch gefreut.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*