The opening of the Giraffe Savannah, the second highest visitor numbers on record and a significant increase in sales of annual passes are just some of the positive highlights of the past year. Münchener Tierpark Hellabrunn AG reports an all-around successful year for 2013 - financially, zoologically, and in terms of structural modernisation.

For the presentation of the Annual Report 2013 on Wednesday, 9 July, invitations were extended by the Deputy Mayor of Munich and Chairman of Hellabrunn Zoo, Christine Strobl and interim zoo director Beatrix Köhler.

"In 2013, Munich's Hellabrunn Zoo positioned itself in Europe as a particularly animal-friendly attraction with a rich variety of species. This can be attributed to the recording of the second highest visitor numbers in the zoo's 102-year history (more than 1.7 million visitors), modernisation projects such as the opening of the African Giraffe Savannah and a continuous strong presence in local and national media. As the first geo-zoo in the world, Hellabrunn jumped up the best zoos in Europe ranking in 2013 from 12th to 4th place," says Christine Strobl, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of Hellabrunn Zoo.

"I consider the success of our polar bear breeding programme as one of the key events of 2013: On 9 December 2013, two healthy polar bear cubs came into the world, giving us an unprecedented insight into the maternity den of a polar bear. This was the reward for meticulous planning and investment for the redevelopment and extension of the enclosure. I am especially pleased that our efforts to continuously improve breeding management at the zoo have been recognised by our visitors, as is demonstrated by the rise in attendance figures," explains interim chief Beatrix Koehler.

Overview of the key highlights of the fiscal year 2013:

 - Zoo with rich variety of animals and species: At the end of the fiscal year 2013, Hellabrunn had 19,132 animals comprising 752 different species living at the zoo. This makes the zoo in Munich the most diverse zoo in Europe both in terms of the number of animals and the variety of species.

- In the last fiscal year, 1,717,473 visitors visited Hellabrunn Zoo. This is the second highest attendance figure since the zoo was founded in 1911. 

- Annual pass sales once again increased over the successful prior year figure: 30,668 annual passes were sold in 2013. This represents an increase of 25 per cent compared to 2012.

- The 10,000 m2 Giraffe Savannah opened on the Whitsun weekend in 2013, after only one year of construction. The new residents are reticulated giraffes, meerkats and porcupines, all living in close proximity to each other, just like in their African homeland.

- Animal births in 2013 include the birth of the polar bear twins on 9 December 2013, widely reported around the world. Other successes of targeted breeding programmes in 2013 include the birth of baby giraffes, gorillas and the endangered drill.  

- Animals relocated from other European zoos to Hellabrunn Zoo and have been living in Munich since 2013 are as follows: cape hyrax, meerkats, swamp wallabies, porcupines, fats sand rats and Girgentana goats.

- Hellabrunn Zoo on social media: Hellabrunn Zoo's Facebook page went live in 2012. The Facebook page recorded a 143 per cent increase in Likes in the course of 2013 and currently stands at 15,210 Likes. The video clips posted on Hellabrunn's YouTube channel to celebrate the birth of the polar bear twins in mid-December 2013 recorded almost 192,000 hits within two weeks.

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