Zoo Leipzig

Start with the ground-level rainforest paths in Gondwanaland and decide whether to add the boat ride. Then walk to South America for Feuerland, leaving time for the tunnel and an above-water view. Add a play break near Hacienda Las Casas rather than trying to include distant Pongoland as well.

Begin with Gondwanaland, then choose your Asia stops on the way to Pongoland. Pause for lunch around Africa and take time for the giraffes or okapis. Continue into South America, with Feuerland as the final large attraction. Keep the aquarium, terrarium and koalas as flexible choices near the entrance, rather than promises to squeeze in.

Choose one animal moving through trees, one walking on land and one swimming. Sketch the body parts doing the work. Pongoland, the savanna and Feuerland make good places to compare your observations.

In Gondwanaland’s useful-plant garden, look for familiar ingredients such as cocoa and pepper. Read the labels, then see whether anyone can draw the plant and the food you know from home. Leave leaves and fruit on the plants.

Pair the aquarium and terrarium in Gründer-Garten with Gondwanaland. If you want to explore farther, the indoor ape house and elephant temple offer more sheltered watching. Keep a dry layer for children after the outdoor walks between buildings.

Watch one animal for a few minutes: which food does it choose, and how does it use its hands? Leipzig keeps western lowland gorillas, a subspecies of the western gorilla.

Look above the penguins for the dark seabirds with striking white facial feathers. Watch a tern settle on a perch, then compare its folded wings with the penguins’ flippers below.

Look above ground level for an orange coat among the climbing structures. The animals here are Sumatran orangutans; this broader animal group covers the orangutan genus Pongo. Watch how the long arms reach between supports.

Check the outside areas and temple, then try the lower window during the bathing commentary. Watch the trunk picking up or testing objects. Bathing is a possibility rather than a performance on demand.

Scan the rock ledges slowly before looking only at ground level. A resting cat can blend into the stone. Look for the very long tail and compare its length with the body.

Watch a giraffe browse, then follow its gaze across the mixed savanna. The terrace at Kiwara-Lodge gives a broad view; the giraffe house is another useful stop in poor weather.

Pause at more than one public viewing point and search between the trees. Look for the striped hindquarters. Despite those zebra-like markings, the okapi belongs to the giraffe family.

Compare the Komodo dragon in Gondwanaland with the younger Komodo dragons in the terrarium if both are visible. Young dragons spend much of their early lives in trees; look for how the climbing space is used.

Look into the canopy before deciding the sloth is hidden. Trace the branches with your eyes for a rounded, hanging shape. A small change of head or limb position may be all the movement you see.

Check both the waterside and dry resting places. Watch how a capybara moves between them. These are large rodents, and their German name Wasserschwein does not make them pigs.

Compare the sea lions’ movements in the tunnel with their movements on land. The animals are California sea lions, native to the eastern Pacific; the Feuerland setting does not mean they are South American sea lions.

Look in the branch forks and expect plenty of resting. Koalas conserve energy on a diet of eucalyptus leaves. A quiet look at the paws and sleeping posture can be more rewarding than waiting for activity.

These animals belong to the zoo’s captive collection. They are not wild Leipzig sightings, and individual animals may be resting or off view. The orangutan entry represents the genus Pongo; the animals displayed here are Sumatran orangutans.

Pongoland houses the Wolfgang-Köhler Primate Research Center, working with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Its studies explore how great apes think, communicate and understand their surroundings. Try the visitor discovery stations as part of your stop.

The koala house was originally an ape house, built in 1901. Look at its historic exterior before stepping into the eucalyptus-planted interior, adapted for koalas in 2016.

Ask at the Safari-Büro near the entrance for the nursing room and changing facilities. Handcarts can be booked ahead, subject to availability; they still need to be parked for the restricted Feuerland areas.