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Animal glossary

Our animals: Cheek by jowl with chicken and pony

Look forward, together with your children, to the pets’ corner, in which you can experience the animals at close range. Animal food can be bought at the entrance and at the cash desk near the pond. No brought-in food may be fed to our animals!

In our animal gallery you can make a virtual journey of discovery on our indigenous animal species.

Squirrel

Eichhoernchen

Lat.: Sciurus vulgaris

Squirrels can be found in every wooded region of Europe and Asia. They prefer conifer trees as living spaces, but also live in large park grounds with deciduous trees.

The bottom side of their belly is always white, the tail always longer than the whole body. It serves as a balancing pole especially when risky jumps are ventured. Special hairs on the head, the flanks of the body and on the legs are sensors the squirrel uses to feel the distance from branches. Climbing downwards, the squirrel holds on to the tree with its sharp claws. On the ground, however, it moves around cautiously, always reconnoitering danger with its neck straight. In case of excitement it utters loud “tjoock tjoock tjoock” sounds and drumms with its forefeet.

Domestic goose

Hausgans

Lat.: Anser anser

Quite contradictory to the expression of a “dumb goose” (“dumme Gans” in German), geese are highly intelligent and attentive animals.

The old Romans took advantage of that trait and had geese watch the Capitol and the Roman Castle. In the case of danger the animals would alarm the guardians immediately with their loud calls.

Geese are not just bigger than ducks and chickens, but also louder. Their habits cannot be manipulated as easily as the ones of chickens can by light programmes, e.g. Therefore their natural production rate of 50 eggs a year cannot be altered. Moreover, geese are definitely pasture animals and very sensitive alltogether. They need quite a while to get used to each other in a group; these loyal animals live with their companions in monogamy and only enter into new partnerships if their partner dies. The male geese are called ganders, the young geese “goslings”.

Pig

Schwein

Lat.: Sus scrofa domesticus

A pig has a thick rind and is covered by a dense layer of bristles. Its plate-like snout with two holes resembles a plug socket. The wedge-shaped head and the firm muzzle give the pig a movable plow to root up soil. As an omnivore this animal does not get stopped by anything: it eats roots, beechnuts, grain and meat.

The house pig is the domesticated version of a wild boar. With the right training it can be brought to search for truffels in the forest. Some areas in this world – for example the Southwest of the United States – shelter hybrids of domesticated and wild pigs. Pigs can become 20 years of age in the wild. Due to their habit of rooting and digging, though, they are hunted by men. At first sight they seem to be calm and indolent, but pigs can become very aggressive when feeling in threatened. Galloping directly towards their opponents, they finally knock them over.

Duck

Ente

Lat.: Anas platyrhynchos

The Mallard is the most commonly known wild duck and ancestor of the domestic duck. There isn´t a pond, fountain or river where this water-loving animal is missing. The ducks´ spread out wings display a blue so-called “speculum” edged with white feathers. Mallards are swimming and dabbling ducks. They exploit a variety of food sources by upending, using their web feet to row.

While the drake (male mallard) posseses a colorful plumage, the females are light brown to better hide in the reed or on a river bank when breeding. The open nest on the ground or in low trees is made up of stalks and straws with the inside kept soft with down. Down is also used to cover the eggs if the mother has to leave the nest to search for food.

Sheep

Schaf

Lat.: Ovis ammon aries

Sheep are among the oldest domestic animals and are – just like cows and goats – ruminants. A male sheep is called “ram” or “wether” if it is castrated. The lather is calmer, eats a lot and hence grows faster. A “lamb” is a young sheep in its first year. “Ewes”, the female sheep, give birth to one or two lambs each spring after carrying them for only 5 months.

For more than 7,000 years the sheep provided mankind with skins, furs, wool, milk, meat and fat. Originally sheep were only bred for their guard hairs. Hundreds of different sheep races are distinguished by the quality and the attributes of their guard hairs: There are sheep with long woolly hair, short woolly hair or coarse hair, for example. The wool was used to make clothing, carpets and blankets. The animal´s tallow served as the raw material needed for glue, candles, soaps and even cosmetic products. The excretions were used as fertilizer.

Goat

Ziege

Lat.: Capra

Who does not know the typical bleating of a goat? The goat comes from the Orient and is among the oldest domestic animals economically used. Wearing a beard, goats can be found in all kinds of colors: black, white, brown, grey, piebald and with different other hues. The male goats, known as “bucks” or – more coloquially – as “billys” have hollow horns; sometimes the “does” or “nannies” (female goats) do too. The horns can be short and directed backward or long and spirally twisted.

Goats prefer to live outside, but need a stable or goatpen in winter. They love resting in places high above to spot any peril early and warn their surroundings by whistling. A doe gives birth to up to 3 “kids” that can immediately jump and walk around. Some goat races give more than 1,200 liters of milk every year; milk, that is then used to produce delicious goat cheese. Cashmere goats deliver about 5 kilogramms of wool annually.

Chicken

Haushuhn

Lat.: Gallus gallus

The chicken is believed to be descended from the Red Junglefowl, a wild bird from the Asian jungles. Chinese bone findings show that chickens were kept as domestic animals even 6000 years B.C. The Egyptians worshiped chickens and believed they heralded the sun king in the morning. Within Europe, the cackling poultry started being spread at the time of the Romans. Wild forms in Germany are – among others – the capercaillie, the partridge and the black grouse.

Out in the wild chickens feed from everything their acuminate beaks can pick up from the ground: grain, worms and insects. After squeezing their aliment until it is soft, the food gets broken down and minced by grains of sand in the chickens´ stomaches. Although their senses of smell und taste are not well developed, chickens can differentiate between salty, bitter and sweet-and-sour, not being fond of sweet. When it comes to personal hygiene a daily sand and dust bath is the means to cleanse their feathering and expel bugs.

Bunny

Hase

Lat.: Leporidae

The best-known representatives of all bunnies are the indigenous hare and the rabbit. Both frequently get confused, while the hare is a lot larger than the rabbit with its short ears and its roundish head. As a close relative of the the regular hare, the arctic or mountain hare lives around the Northpole. It gets a white fur in winter to camouflage itself. The bunnies that are kept in barns and stables do not originate from the hare but from the rabbit. In spite of their long and sharp nippers that keep growing through all of their life, hares and rabbits are not related to rodents.

Hares and rabbits are fast and attentive. They can hear and see very well. Being able to move their ears independently, they are able to listen to sounds coming from different directions. With their athletic legs hares and rabbits move around hobbling and jumping. When they get hunted, they rapidly change their direction zigzagging and shaking off their opponents. They are rather calm and quite animals.

Pony

Lat.: Equus islandicus

Ponies belong to the horse family and hence are equids. Unlike it is the case with goats and pigs, their middle toes come in the form of just one hoof. Those scrubbily little horses with their bushy mane can be found in many different colors and musters. Icelandic and Shetland ponies are best-known.

As the name tells us, the lather stem from Iceland. The vikings once brought the small horses from Norway to Scotland. For being sturdy, athletic and last but not least well-tempered and loyal, they were used as working animals and first exported to England at the end of the 19th century and finally to the rest of the world. Just as much as these horses were appreciated as means of transportation before cars were built, they are now still loved as docile and reliable animals during leisure time.

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