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Nature and Environment

Germany: Flooded safari park relocates smaller animals

December 28, 2023

More than 200 monkeys, along with lemurs, prairie dogs and meerkats, have been relocated in a large zoo and safari park in northern Germany. The premises are badly flooded; water had breached some animals' enclosures.

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Aerial shot of the "Serengeti Park" safari park and zoo in Hodenhagen, Lower Saxony, with vast portions of its grounds submerged beneath floodwaters. December 28, 2023.
Most of the facility is underwater, with the floodwaters also breaching some of the animals' enclosuresImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

Large portions of the premises of the Serengeti Park zoo and outdoor leisure park in northern Germany were totally submerged on Thursday, as the state premier visited to tour the stricken facilities. 

Water had entered some of the animal enclosures, a spokeswoman for the zoo said, adding that staff and emergency workers were trying to create makeshift dams to protect some other enclosures. 

The zoo moved more than 200 monkeys — along with some lemurs, prairie dogs and meerkats — relocating them to another, drier location on site. 

An employee of the Serengeti Park stands, back to the camera, in floodwaters up past his ankles, wearing rubber boots. December 28, 2023.
Staff and emergency workers were on site trying to protect animal enclosures from the floodwaters, and coordinating the relocation of some of the smaller mammalsImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

The zoo in Lower Saxony, north of Hanover, is near the Meisse River, which burst its banks after several days of heavy rains over the Christmas holidays that have affected many parts of the country.

The flooding has hit during the park's winter off-season, when it is not open to customers. 

Larger animals to stay put despite some flooding in stables

The situation was particularly bad on Thursday at an area of the leisure facility called the Masai Mara Lodges, a section that houses its antelopes and giraffes, as well as some huts for guests who wish to stay overnight.

Aerial photo of the Serengeti-Park taken on December 28, 2023.
The Meisse river is close to the site of the leisure park, which closes to guests anyway during the winter months, but the flooding has still caused major issues for staff and animals on siteImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

Water had already entered the stables there, too, but for now the park was not planning to move the huge animals.

"For the moment the water's still below the tops of their hooves, we can soak that up with straw," spokeswoman Asta Knoth told the dpa news agency. 

She said that these larger mammals would only be relocated if the situation deteriorates considerably.

"You have to think very carefully before moving a giraffe," she said. "It's not without its dangers." 

The park had to temporarily cut off electricity for the entire site and switch to emergency generators to heat the stables and prepare drinking water. 

Floodwater outside clearly marked guest toilet facilities at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen. December 28, 2023.
Sandbags and other barriers were placed at the entries to buildings on site to try to keep them dry insideImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

Local SPD leader visits scene

The state premier of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil of the Social Democrats (SPD), visited the site on Thursday along with the party's chairman at the national level, Lars Klingbeil, to see the situation for themselves. 

The northern German and more predominantly protestant region around Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen and Lower Saxony is the SPD's heartland, where it tends to fare best in elections, and where both the last SPD chancellors, Olaf Scholz and Gerhard Schröder, made names for themselves before moving to national politics.

Lower Saxony's state premier, Stephan Weil (left in picture) walks and talks with Fabrizio Sepe, the owner of the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, while touring the flooded facilities. December 28, 2023.
State premier Stephan Weil (left in picture) spoke to the park's owner, Fabrizio Sepe, as he toured the flooded facilities on ThursdayImage: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance

In the small villages nearby, several hundred people have had to leave their homes because of the flooding.

In Lower Saxony as a whole, warnings are in place for high water levels on several rivers — including the Weser, the Aller, the Leine and the Oker. 

Days of heavy rains led to flooding across much of Germany. Although the precipitation has since stopped, in some cases excess water is still running off into rivers and flowing downstream, leading to continued flood risks even as the storm warnings have ebbed. 

msh/lo (AFP, dpa)

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