Raritätenzoo Ebbs – here, visitors’ ideas and wishes associated with a journey to distant lands come true. It is a place for the rarest birds. Experts recognize Raritätenzoo Ebbs as one of Austria’s most beautiful and charming private facilities, and it has long been considered an insider tip.
From the Zoo to the Wildlife Park
The Wildpark Wildbichl, set in a natural environment, offers insights into predominantly native wildlife. You can experience deer, ibex, and wild boars up close, among others.
Stroll past lynxes, wildcats, chamois, and mountain goats, or rare ravens and owls. Enjoy the vibrant colors of peacocks and pheasants or the chirping of native forest birds. A winter hike through the wildlife park is particularly charming. At the end of the tour, there is a children’s playground with a toy excavator and a children’s car track.
Alpenzoo Innsbruck, with over 2,000 animals of 150 species from across the Alpine region, invites you to an exciting visit to Europe’s highest zoo (750m). Both young and old feel at home in the Alpenzoo: the goldcrest, weighing just 5 grams, is a true lightweight, while the bearded vulture, with its 3m wingspan, is the largest bird in the Alps. Otters play in the water, and children can explore the world at the bear-themed playground.
Around 800 animals live in the unique zoo landscape at the foot of Hellbrunn Mountain, with the distinctive backdrop of a steep rock face on one side and the rolling foothills of the floodplain landscape on the other. Experience animal species from Eurasia, South America, and Africa! Stroll through the animal world and watch otters diving, golden lion tamarins hunting insects, or snow leopards playing – a visit to Salzburg Zoo is always an enriching experience!
Munich’s Tierpark Hellabrunn was founded in 1911 as the world’s first geo-zoo. Animals live here in spacious natural enclosures according to their geographical origin, and a visit takes you on a world tour through different continents.
Hellabrunn is not a conventional city park zoo. Today, it is one of Germany’s largest zoological institutions and, above all, a unique natural paradise within the Isar floodplains conservation area. The animals live in generous habitats, surrounded by streams and water features. Thanks to this network of water and the spectacular landscape, visitors enjoy an intimate and natural view of the animals and their habitats, as they would otherwise only expect in the wild. Embark on a journey of discovery through the geo-zoo of the future and experience over 17,000 animals of more than 700 species in Hellabrunn up close with all your senses.
Falconry is the art of hunting with birds, a hunting method over 4,000 years old that originated in the steppes of Central Asia. Due to the vast and open terrain, birds of prey were far superior to the weapons commonly used at the time.
Artwork and later written records testify that rulers like the great Kublai Khan set out with over 10,000 falconers to hunt small game in his empire. In Europe, it was the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) who brought falconry to its peak. With his falconry book “De arte venandi cum avibus,” he created a masterpiece of falconry literature that remains valid to this day. In Germany, nobles such as the wild Margrave of Ansbach and the Wittelsbach Clemens August, son of Max Emanuel of Bavaria, dedicated their lives and work almost exclusively to falconry.
Here at Hohenaschau Castle, hawking was also practiced. Johann Maximilian III, Count of Preysing, invited Clemens August of Bavaria and other nobles like the Count of Sinsheim to hunt herons, which at that time could only be hunted by the high nobility.
With the improvement of firearms in the mid-18th century, falconry in Europe came to a complete halt. It was not until 1923 that Waller Renz and other falconers formed the German Falconers’ Order. This not only established a falconry association but also a recognized nature conservation organization.
Today, in the 21st century, in our modern world, we must preserve the cultural heritage of falconry for ourselves and our descendants.
