Europe’s largest herd of caribou spends its time grazing in the capital of Lower Saxony, or to be precise, in Hannover Adventure Zoo’s newly created Canadian landscape. Yukon Bay is populated by 100 animals belonging to 15 species. The 22,000 square-metre theme world opened last May following seven years of planning and two years of construction. “Naturally, we can’t compete with Canada’s Yukon Territory,” says zoo director Klaus-Michael Machens. “But at our zoo we do try to convey the feeling of this impressive landscape.”
And in this respect, the people responsible for Yukon Bay appear to be on the right path. Klaus-Michael Machens has already received the first postcards from German tourists who were so inspired by their visit to the Adventure Zoo that they travelled to the Yukon Territory and wrote to tell him about their wonderful impressions.
Apart from the caribous, which came from the Zoo sauvage de St-Félicien in Québec, numerous other inhabitants of the Canadian landscape can be admired at close quarters in Hannover. Not far from the herd of hoofed animals, their natural enemies roam the zoo: the timber wolves. And the mighty bison, which are now threatened in the wild, live in Yukon Bay, too. A small gold mining town rises up between them and the saltwater pools for seals and polar bears. The zoo director made two trips to the Yukon to gain inspiration for the design of the little settlement which includes a replica of the Yukon Saw Mill and the historical mountain railroad locomotive, the Duchess. The zoo is also being supported by the Yukon Territory’s Department of Tourism and Culture with exhibits, photographs and films.
The plantings at Yukon Bay have been strongly influenced by the natural vegetation of North America. As a result, the zoo’s trees include acers, sugar maples and Canadian hemlocks. Elaine Taylor, the Yukon Territory’s Minister of Tourism, was deeply impressed by Germany’s Yukon Bay during her recent visit to Lower Saxony. “The zoo’s variety of landscapes and miniature ecosystems will definitely give visitors a good impression of the real Yukon.”////
