Tiergarten Wels, Municipal zoo in Wels, Austria
Tiergarten Wels is a zoo in the Upper Austrian city of Wels, spread across a green site with enclosures designed to reflect different natural habitats. The grounds are divided into several zones, each housing a different group of animals, from waterbirds and reptiles to larger mammals.
Tiergarten Wels is one of the oldest zoos in Upper Austria, with roots going back to the early 20th century. Over the decades, the enclosures have been rebuilt and expanded several times to better suit the needs of the animals.
The zoo takes part in nine European Endangered Species Programmes (EEP) of the EAZA. Its group of endangered lion-tailed macaques is among the most successfully breeding in the EEP, and releasing Wels animals in India is under discussion. Students from the University of Salzburg have carried out bachelor theses here, for example on curiosity in birds and monkeys or on rat monitoring.
The zoo is bordered by the Welser Messe to the south and west, the Almtalbahn line to the east and Maria-Theresia-Straße to the north. The nearest stations are Lokalbahnhof and Messebahnhof. In summer it has the longest opening hours of any Austrian zoo, from 07:00 to 19:45; in winter it closes at 16:45.
A natural stream runs through the grounds and feeds several ponds along the way. This draws in wild birds and amphibians that are not part of the zoo collection, so visitors may spot species that live freely on the site.
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