One of our favorite weekend activities is walking to the Wildpark, a zoo/wildlife preserve for native animals in the southern part of Leipzig. The Wildpark is located within a stretch of forested park areas, and is always crowded with families. We especially like seeing the baby boar, raccoons* in trees, birds**, and albino reindeer. On one visit we arrived around feeding time, when the grey heron flew into the river otter enclosure to steal some fish, and the little mink ran around excitedly for twenty minutes before devouring his “prey.”
* raccoons are called Waschbär in German, which literally translates to “wash-bear.” I love this name for these mini-bears that wash their paws and food!
** including the European robin, which is much cuter than it’s North American counterpart