The opening takes place 541 days after the ground-breaking ceremony on 2 December 2020. During this period the old, abandoned brown bear enclosure was converted into a modern, spacious lion enclosure in accordance with the Hellabrunn Master Plan. The new habitat meets all the current requirements for big cat husbandry and is situated in an area that will become the geo-zone Africa continent at the zoo.
The enclosure is designed to replicate the environment on an African savannah and is quite impressive: The lion brothers Max and Benny’s new home has a total area of around 2,400 m² and features the Lion House, an outdoor area with bathing pools, heated retreat caves, viewing hills and many enrichment activity installations. The Lion House itself has a large panoramic window for better viewing and offers the two lions more than 150 m² of space. Its sleeping and resting areas are designed with natural flooring, which ensures safe and species-appropriate care for the big cats. Since moving into their new pad two weeks prior to the opening, Max and Benny have had an opportunity to explore the animal house and have now settled in nicely.
The new lion enclosure will certainly impress guests visiting the two lions in their new home: A total of nine viewpoints (most barrier-free) allow visitors to view the lions from different perspectives. However, the design of the house also includes retreat areas that give the animals privacy away from the public eye. Another new design feature is the “contact membrane” in the savannah cave, which allows visitors to get up close to the two big cats through a thin steel plate with numerous small holes. Here you can smell, feel and hear Max and Benny – in safety.
As part of its mission to educate and inspire visitors of all ages, the zoo has installed an extensive educational system at the facility: Exciting, interactive displays, discovery stations and digital components in the visitor area inform visitors about the species and its habits, natural habitat and conservation status.
Furthermore, Hellabrunn Zoo’s new lion enclosure meets the latest technical and safety requirements for animal management: The indoor enclosure areas can be separated off individually; there is also a designated outdoor area next to the building where a transport crate can be securely docked. The entire facility is equipped with a new lock and slide system, which virtually eliminates any hazardous situations for Hellabrunn’s lion keepers.
Verena Dietl, chairwoman of the supervisory board and Munich mayor, is thrilled with the result: "The new lion enclosure represents another important milestone for Hellabrunn Zoo on its path to becoming a geo-zoo of biodiversity. With its overall concept, Hellabrunn shows that species protection, breeding endangered species and educating visitors about nature and environmental conservation are very important in our state capital Munich. The financial support from the City of Munich, which contributed around € 4,300,000 to the construction costs, is therefore an important and meaningful investment.”
In addition to the municipal funding, the zoo’s longs-standing partnership with Stadtsparkasse München also played a vital role in the realisation of the lion enclosure. “Our company has been supporting Hellabrunn Zoo in important construction projects that benefit endangered wildlife for over 50 years. True to our motto 'We sponsor what you love', we were absolutely delighted when we saw this beautiful lion complex today!" said Sabine Schölzel, board member of Stadtsparkasse München. "To celebrate the new facility with the people of Munich and as a special expression of our partnership, we will have an SSKM adventure day at Hellabrunn Zoo in July. We are also launching a special edition credit card to mark Max and Benny moving into their new home. The credit card featuring an image of the two lions is now available.”
Zoo director Rasem Baban is relieved and thankful: "After intensive preliminary planning and an 18-month construction period for the new lion enclosure, my team and I are very happy that despite all the challenges caused by the pandemic, we are now able to open this beautiful animal enclosure for our lions as planned. My sincere thanks for this successful result go to all the construction companies, specialist planners and project managers involved, and all the employees at the zoo,” said the zoo director. "And of course, we have to say thank you to the City of Munich, our main shareholder, and to our most important partner, the Stadtsparkasse München, for their generous financial support, without which the realisation of this project would be unthinkable."
Max and Benny will be the only two lions living in the new facility for now. Since the two males are already at an advanced age and get along well with each other, there are currently no plans introduce other lions into their habitat. However, the new enclosure is also designed for rearing and housing offspring. This means that at some point in the future Hellabrunn Zoo could have an entire family of lions.
The building project was planned by the Munich-based architect office Unit 5. The original draft was updated and revised in close cooperation with the architect firm Lanz and the landscape planners Ritz und Ließmann, also based in Munich. The new lion enclosure is located halfway between the Isar entrance and the Mühlendorf village of the zoo and is now open to visitors.