IllustrationCome to Zoo im Kurpark for an easy animal-watching stop that leaves plenty of time for the rest of your seaside day.
Come to Zoo im Kurpark for an easy animal-watching stop that leaves plenty of time for the rest of your seaside day. The little zoo sits within Kurpark Döse, where ponds, lawns and tree-lined paths surround the animal enclosures. Start by finding the penguin pool and checking the feeding time, then let each child choose an animal to watch before you continue.
The collection includes Humboldt penguins, cotton-top tamarins, rabbits and birds in aviaries. Blue-fronted amazons and an eagle-owl bring very different shapes and movements to the visit. Take your time at a few enclosures: following one animal for a minute often gives you more to talk about than a quick glance at everything. What is it looking at? How does it move between resting places?
The penguins offer a connection with a very different coast. Their wild relatives live along Peru and Chile, where the cold Humboldt Current supports their marine food supply. Watch the pool with that ocean setting in mind, then compare what you notice with the keeper’s commentary. Afterwards, the Kurpark’s pirate playground gives children somewhere to climb and play before you head back into town or continue your holiday. Explore the grounds like a pro—download the Snappit app to instantly identify animals and plants.
The Kurpark’s animal enclosures date back to 1936. In the early years, seafarers brought animals home from their voyages to be shown in the park. The collection gradually developed into the small zoo, giving this seaside green space a long association with animal watching.
Make an unhurried circuit of the enclosures, pausing at the tamarins and bird aviaries before returning to the penguins. Look for the tamarins’ white head crests and try a quiet listening stop: their calls can sound surprisingly bird-like. At the owl enclosure, let your eyes search the resting places before deciding there is nothing to see. Animals may be resting or out of view.
The daily penguin feeding is advertised for 15:00 and includes commentary. Arrive a little beforehand so children can find a view without being lifted onto barriers. Leave room for other families, and stay after the first excitement to watch what the birds do next. Finish at the Piratenspielplatz, with its boats, digging equipment, climbing frame, swing and slide. This is a suggested order of stops; follow the public paths and signs within the zoo and park.
Usual published zoo hours are daily 09:00–17:00. Check the official visitor page before setting out, especially around holidays and Kurpark events. The animal-watching areas are outdoors, so bring a rain layer and something warm for standing still. The wider park’s swan pedal boats are a separate spring-to-autumn activity, hired on site when operating.
The zoo has barrier-free access and is listed as suitable for pushchairs; the surrounding park has accessible paths. Public toilets, an accessible WC and baby-changing facilities are listed in the Kurpark. For a particular wheelchair, walking aid, low viewing position or toilet requirement, call the zoo on +49 4721 666637 to check the approach and facilities you need.
Watch the Humboldt penguins while a keeper explains their meal.
Look for white crests and listen for the little monkeys’ varied calls.
Take a slower look at the eagle-owl and the colourful parrot collection.
Follow quiet animal watching with boats, climbing and digging in the Kurpark.
Allow roughly an hour for a circuit of the animal enclosures. If you want to catch feeding time, work backwards from 15:00 and leave the playground until afterwards. Finish with a park break; keep the whole plan flexible if children find a favourite animal.
Choose one enclosure and quietly record three things: where the animal rests, how it moves and what catches its attention. Younger children can draw; older children can time their observations. Compare notes afterwards without trying to make the animal perform.
For a longer indoor break, book pottery painting with Pinselwerk Cuxhaven. Ask when your piece will be fired and ready to collect before choosing this for the final day of a holiday.
Find the white crest first, then follow one tamarin as it changes position. Pause to listen as well as look: cotton-top tamarins make a range of calls. Their wild home is northwestern Colombia. Watch from the visitor side of the enclosure and let the animals approach or withdraw in their own time.
The eagle-owl rewards a slower scan of its aviary. Start with resting places and watch for a small change in posture rather than expecting flight. Keep children back from the mesh and avoid calling to the bird. A quiet, resting owl is still worth looking at closely.
The German name Lisztäffchen refers to composer Franz Liszt: the monkeys’ sweeping white crest was compared with his hairstyle. Look at the crest from the side and see whether the resemblance makes you smile.
The park combines toilets and baby-changing facilities with an outdoor playground. A restaurant and pottery-painting studio are separate businesses in the wider park, so check their arrangements if they are important to your visit.
Use Strandstraße 80 for the zoo. By bus, line 1006 serves Kurparkallee from Cuxhaven Bahnhof/ZOB. Allow time to walk from the stop and locate the zoo before a feeding; consult KVG for the service on your chosen day.
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Find the right place
Head for Strandstraße 80, 27476 Cuxhaven, in Döse. Look for Zoo im Kurpark within the park.
Bus from the station
KVG line 1006 links Cuxhaven Bahnhof/ZOB with Döse. Use Kurparkallee as your destination stop, then continue to the park; check your return connection.
Dogs
Dogs are not permitted in either the zoo or the adjoining Kurpark. Arrange your day accordingly.
Let keepers feed
Keep food and fingers outside the enclosures, and give resting animals space.
Good viewing manners
Keep voices low and leave gaps at the front for children and seated visitors. Use your camera from the public path.
Food break
Kurparkrestaurant Zur Kugelbake is an option in the wider park. Check its opening before relying on it for lunch.
Small-child rhythm
Alternate one or two animal stops with a pause. Save the playground for when children are ready to move.
Before leaving
Let everyone choose one animal behaviour to remember or sketch. A single careful observation makes a good souvenir.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
North Carolina, US
You might spot American Robin and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
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Florida, US
You might spot Anhinga, American Alligator, and Wood Duck.
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New Mexico, US
You might spot Wood Duck, Duck, and Canada Goose.
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Michigan, US
You might spot African Lion, Komodo Dragon, and Brown Bear.
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Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
