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Delphinlagune
Bottlenose Dolphins at Nuremberg Zoo. Copyright: Nuremberg Zoo/Tom Burger
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Dolphin Lagoon

The dolphin lagoon - dolphins swimming like almost in open waters

The dolphin lagoon opened a totally new dimension in Nuremberg for keeping dolphins and sea lions. As it is the first outdoor facility within Germany, the lagoon offers the animals die chance to experience real nature "live". Which is at the same time a real improvement of the living conditions of those animals. Also in quantitative measures, the dolphin lagoon has to offer a lot more to its residents as the former delphinarium: like bigger basins and new living environment. This creates new perspectives of meeting the animal´s needs.

But for the visitors as well, a completey different type of zoo landscape was implemented with the lagoon. Remarkable: just without concrete and premises. The lagoon was just built according to the landscape character of the Tiergarten Nürnberg.

A completely new one resulted for zoo landscape without concrete and buildings but also for the visitors with the lagoon. According to the landscape character of the zoo Nuremberg the lagoon was designed close to nature.

 

 

Special about the dolphin lagoon is:

Best of the dolphin lagoon:

  • Dolphins swim together with sea lions under the open sky
  • A row of basins, modelled close to nature
  • Animals can be watched through a huge underwater panorama-window.
  • A unique open air theater which is perfectly integrated into the charcteristic landscape makes it possible to watch the animals from above.
  • A qualitative improvement for the animals, as they can now experience the outside wheather "live" and enjoy their new living space.
  • Quantitative improvement: a vaster habitat.

Current animals:

Six dolphins, two of them born in the wild, four born in zoos:         

  • Nynke (born in 1983 in the wild, at the Tiergarten Nürnberg since 2018)
  • Jenny (born 1987 in the wild, at the Tiergarten Nürnberg since 1991)
  • Sunny (born in Soltau in 1999, at the Tiergarten Nürnberg since 2005)
  • Dolly (born in 2007 in Duisburg, at the Tiergarten Nürnberg since 2014)
  • Donna (born 2007 in Duisburg, at the Tiergarten Nürnberg since 2014)
  • Nami (born 2014 in Nürnberg).

Sea lions (all born at the Tiergarten Nürnberg):  

  • Tiffy (born on 12 June 1994),
  • Foster (born on 10 June 2008),
  • Blue (born on 18 June 2009),
  • Josy (born on 10 June 1998)
  • Benjamin/Ben (born on 01 June 2012 in Gelsenkirchen)
  • Elsa (born on 15 June 2017)
  • Gloria (born on 16 June 2017)

Dates and facts:

Dates and facts: Over-all volume of the lagoon: 5.4 million liters of saltwater  

  • Basin 1: 1,078.4 m3
  • Basin 2: 1,518.2 m3
  • Basin 3: 1,798.4 m3
  • Basin 4: 363.7 m3
  • Basin 5: 214.8 m3
  • Basin 6: 486.8 m3
  • water depth in the lagoon of between 0.5 and 7 meters
  • nature-orientated basins
  • wide underwater panoramic window
  • unique grandstand

The key characteristics of the dolphin lagoon are:

  • A zoological solution for keeping dolphins and sea lions in order to fulfill the standards in the long run.
  • An enclosure which is embedded into the zoo's topography at the Schmausenbuck area with a nature-orientated landscape architecture.
  • The possibility for visitors to experience the animals in natural surroundings and wiacth improved sub-surface view.
  • Continued and extended work in the fields of research and conservation of species.
  • Implementation of an environmentally friendly technical concept in which operating costs and energy issues are particularly taken into consideration.
  • Embedded into a state-of-the-art education concept.
  • Better possibilities for dolphin therapy and research in this field in co-operation with the University of Würzburg and the Humboldt University Berlin.