© Liwon / Arche Warder
AN ARK FOR DIVERSITY
On the ark: Two are not enough
Marine conservation begins on land – in the Arche (Ark) Warder just outside the gates of Kiel. Arche Warder is located in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein, just 20 minutes from Kiel, and is a unique animal park with a holistic concept.
Arche Warder pursues its goal of preserving the diversity of old domestic and farm animal breeds through conservation breeding and education on the topics of sustainability, biodiversity and environmental protection.
Have you ever seen swimming pigs?
That's possible at Arche Warder. There are no pink pigs in this zoo. The Ark is home to 11 pig breeds, including the swimming Turopolje pig from Croatia. Visitors can scratch the pigs' bellies in the walk-in piglet parlour.
Sheep or goat?
Do only goats have horns? No, some of the sheep breeds at Arche Warder also have horns. In some breeds, not only the males have magnificent horns, but also the females, such as the Soay sheep, an original breed of sheep whose wool does not need to be shorn. The Hungarian Zackelschaf with corkscrew-like twisted horns or the Jakobschaf, which can have four to six horns, are also sheep breeds with special horn shapes. These and many other breeds can be experienced up close at Arche Warder.
“Their loss would mean that part of the genetic diversity would disappear and an important cultural asset would be lost.”
Stefanie Klingel
© ©Liwon / Arche Warder
The fact that these old breeds have almost been forgotten is due to modern agriculture, which uses machines instead of draught animals and high-performance breeds that produce more. Arche Warder is committed to ensuring that the old breeds do not die out. These old breeds are characterised by their robustness and their adaptation to certain regions.
Stefanie Klingel, zoo educator at Arche Warder, says: ‘The Murnau Werdenfelser cattle were bred for the mountain pastures of Upper Bavaria, the Heidschnucke for heathland. These livestock breeds have characterised the landscape and are therefore also used as landscape conservationists. Their loss would mean that part of the genetic diversity would disappear and an important cultural asset would be lost’.
Stefanie Klingel
… is responsible for marketing and public relations as well as being a zoo educator. After 17 years, she knows the Ark better than anyone else.
Arche Warder is the world's largest zoo for rare and endangered livestock breeds.With a clear scientific concept, Warder Ark plays an important role in the conservation of rare livestock breeds. Around 1,100 animals from currently 94 different breeds live on 40 hectares of parkland with species-appropriate and aesthetically designed facilities and various satellite stations.The Warder Ark is a non-profit organisation and relies on donations. Help at www.arche-warder.de
Lisa Iwon
... has been working at Arche Warder since 2008 and is responsible for donation management and marketing/public relations.
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