Experience Germany's only walrus group in Hagenbeck Zoo. See these giant animals above and below water. Have you ever stood face to face with a walrus?
The Eismeer (Polar Sea) with animals from the polar regions has been part of the Tierpark since Summer 2012 and is an attraction found nowhere else in the world. Polar bears, walruses, fur seals, Arctic seabirds and different penguin species clearly feel at home in the 8,000 square metre complex with 5.3 million litres of water. Breathtaking insights above and below the water provide a view of both North and South Pole habitats. A 750-metre trail leads through an impressive sea-bird aviary with a wave machine.
The exhibit is the first of its kind in the world and gives you not just a unique visitor experience, but represents an advanced standard in animal management. The energy design too is unique by using rainwater and recycled water, geothermal heat exchangers and solar-generated electricity. Innovative cooling and water technology ensure that the animal inhabitants find near-natural conditions.
The visitor's path crosses the Eismeer in about 1½ hours. Fourteen panoramic windows in the walk-in facility allow underwater insights that are different, some quite unusual, but always extremely exciting. This includes fantastic observations of diving animals.
The Eismeer on historic ground
With the opening of the Tierpark in 1907, founder Carl Hagenbeck inaugurated the "Nordic Panorama" here and at that time for the first time in the world presented an Arctic landscape with animals that were only separated from the visitors by trenches. The original panorama that many friends of Hagenbeck from past decades knew was many times larger than the Eismeer. During the Second World War, the facility was badly damaged and was never rebuilt in its original form. The smaller post-war facility was the home of the famous walrus Antje and, until the building was demolished in the spring of 2009, the rocks were inhabited by fur seals, sea lions, Humboldt penguins and polar bears.
Today's Eismeer is closely based on the historic model architecturally, but is ultra-modern and - as is typical of Hagenbeck - a global pioneer.
