Alpenzoo Innsbruck

Alpenzoo Innsbruck

Logo of the Alpenzoo Innsbruck
Alpenzoo Main entrance
Date opened	1962
Location	Weiherburggasse 37, 6020 Innsbruck
Coordinates	47°16′50″N 11°23′53″E / 47.28056°N 11.39806°E / 47.28056; 11.39806Coordinates: 47°16′50″N 11°23′53″E / 47.28056°N 11.39806°E / 47.28056; 11.39806
Land area	5 Hektar
No. of animals	2 000
No. of species	150
Website	http://www.alpenzoo.at

Alpenzoo Innsbruck is a zoo located in the town Insbruck, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It's one of the highest located zoos in Europe.

Founded 22 September 1962 by the Austrian zoologist Hans Psenner, Alpenzoo became famous because of reintroduction of endangered species like the bearded vulture, Alpine ibex, and northern bald ibis in the wild.

The zoo is a non-profit association, and the majority of their funding comes from the entrance fees, but the zoo receives additional funds from the city of Innsbruck and the government of Tyrol. There is also financial participation from the society "Freunde des Alpenzoo", sponsors and animal adopters.

A new wooden pavilion was inaugurated in August 2017 to provide information on forestry and the wood industry. The pavilion was made in collaboration with proHolz Tyrol and the design of the building was the object of a competition for the students in design and architecture of the area. The pavilion is entirely made in wood and has the form of a snail.

The Alpenzoo was one of the places chosen to represent Austria on the collectible 0 Euro bank note. The picture represents three of the zoo's star animals: the bearded vulture, the lynx and the Alpine ibex.

The zoo accommodates about 2000 animals from 150 animal species: 20 mammals (of the 80 mammal species in the Alps), 60 bird species, 11 reptile species and 6 amphibian species, plus almost all the fish species present in the Alps. The Alpenzoo is the only zoo in the world that exhibits the wallcreeper.

Here are a few of the species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians exhibit at the Alpenzoo:

The zoo is on the slope of a mountain, with lots of footpaths to explore the park and observe the animals.

The main attraction of the zoo are the big Alpine animals: bears, wolfs, moose, bison, etc. Birds of prey are also one of the big feature of the zoo, with some species rarely seen in zoos like the northern bald ibises that can be observed in a big aviary that was build specifically to accommodate the endangered birds. There is also the Innergschlöß where many species can be seen, like the bearded vulture. The zoo also has a little show farm to show the diversity of the alpine livestock. Many species of fowls, sheep, cattle, pigs and goats can be observed and petted. A lot of theses breeds are old breeds created to meet the specific requirements of small-scale farming of the many micro-climate of the Alps. There are also six big terrarium created to accommodate the reptiles species of the zoo, and an aqua-terrarium to cater for the amphibians.