Sunshine and holidays are the best combination for a trip to the wildlife park. And that’s not all: in spring there are a particularly large number of baby animals to see. The first fawns, pigs or lynx cubs are being born these days.

In order to find out which German wildlife parks are particularly worthwhile for an animal excursion into nature, the short travel portal “kurz-mal-weg.de” compared 80 of them with each other. The result certainly helps not only with Easter planning:

What makes a wildlife park?

According to the Deutsche Tierpark-Gesellschaft (DTG), there is something different in a wildlife park than in Zoos or animal parks mainly domestic game, such as deer, bears or wolvesas well as rare or endangered domestic animal breeds.

Sometimes you need a bit of luck there, too, as the enclosures are ideally adapted to the natural way of life of the animals and are therefore quite spacious. In some wildlife parks there is also the opportunity to experience and feed some of the animals such as deer or goats up close.

What are the ten best animal parks in Germany?

When comparing the wildlife parks, the travel portal looked at the number of Instagram hashtags, the size of the parks in square meters, the entrance fee and the variety of wildlife. 80 points could be scored per category. A total of 320 points were possible.

Ultimately, the Wildpark Leipzig in Saxony won this ranking, followed by the Fasanerie Wiesbaden in Hesse in second place and the Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen in North Rhine-Westphalia in third place. The whole ranking:

• 1st place: Wildpark Leipzig, Saxony
• 2nd place: Fasanerie Wiesbaden, Hesse
• 3rd place: Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen, North Rhine-Westphalia
• 4th place: Wildpark Eekholt, Schleswig-Holstein
• 5th place: Wildpark MV, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
• 6th place: Wildpark Poing, Bavaria
• 7th place: Wildpark Schwarze Berge, Lower Saxony
• 8th place: Lindenthaler Tierpark, North Rhine-Westphalia
• 9th place: Animal enclosure in the Lusen National Park, Bavaria
• 9th place: Wildpark Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg
• 10th place: Wildlife Park Schwentinental, Schleswig-Holstein

Information on the best wildlife parks

1st place: Wildpark Leipzig, Saxony (267 points)

On the one hand, the Wildpark Leipzig serves as a local recreation area, but on the other hand it is also used for research and conservation purposes of the native wild animals.

Red deer: a bellowing red deer in the Leipzig wildlife park. (Source: STAR MEDIA/imago images)

In addition to red and fallow deer, moose, lynx, raccoons and around 30 other animal species can be observed here. The zoo is located in the floodplain forest and is around 420,000 square meters in size. In addition to the normal visit, there are guided tours, excursions or exhibitions.

• Address: Koburger Str. 12a, Leipzig
• Opening hours: March 16 to October 30 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; November 1st to March 15th from 9am to 5pm
• Entry: Free, donations are welcome

2nd place: Fasanerie Wiesbaden, Hesse (254 points)

The Fasanerie Wiesbaden is home to more than 40 species of animals, including sheep, wolves, foxes and bears. In addition, meadows, water bodies and a variety of plants invite you to linger in nature. Sheep, goats and deer may also be fed.

However, the approximately 230,000 square meters are spread over an altitude of around 60 meters, which makes it difficult to visit with prams and wheelchairs.

• Address: Wilfried-Ries-Str. 20, Wiesbaden
• Opening hours: in summer daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., in winter from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m
• Entry: Free, donations are welcome

3rd place: Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen, North Rhine-Westphalia (242 points)

The Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen is located in Bielefeld, on the northern edge of the eastern Teutoburg Forest. Around 450 animals romp around here on 160,000 square meters – from the stork to the Alpine marmot to the bear.

Something very special in this zoo: Some animals have come and stayed – without fences and without human intervention. This includes storks as well as herons.

• Address: Dornberger Str. 149a, Bielefeld
• Opening hours: daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m
• Entry: Free, donations are welcome

4th place: Wildpark Eekholt, Schleswig-Holstein (238 points)

Eekholt Wildlife Park is about an hour’s drive south of Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. Around 100 animal species live here on 670,000 square meters.

The park was founded in 1970 and has since been developed into a nature experience and educational site. There are now more than 700 animals in Eekholt, including deer, cranes, white-tailed eagles and wild cats, but also foxes, wolves and otters.

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula): There are also some special species of birds to see in Eekholt Wildlife Park. (Source: Strussfoto/imago images)

• Address: Stellbrooker Weg, 24598 Heidmühlen
• Opening hours: from March to November from 9am to 8pm, last entry is at 6pm; from November to March the park is open from 9am to 6pm, last entry is at 4pm
• Entry: 11.50 euros for adults, 10 euros for children

5th place: Wildpark MV, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (237 points)

The Wildpark MV is located in Güstrow, about 40 minutes by car south of Rostock. The park is particularly impressive because of its size: 90 animals live on 200 hectares, which means they have a lot of space.

Another highlight of the park are the approximately two-hour guided wolf hikes at dusk including wolf feeding from April to December.

• Address: Primerburg, Güstrow
• Opening hours: March from 9am to 6pm, April to October from 9am to 7pm and November to February from 9am to 4pm; admission ends 30 minutes before closing
• Entry: 13 euros for adults, 8 euros for children

Where are there more wildlife parks?

Even if the wildlife parks in the ranking are not in your area, it is worth taking a look around. There are more than 150 wildlife parks and wildlife enclosures throughout Germany, many of which even have free entry.

According to a list by “freizeitfans.de”, most wildlife parks are in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. But even small federal states like the Saarland with at least nine game parks offer numerous possibilities. Only in Bremen there is no such zoo, but in Lower Saxony there are nine.