When zoo animals come into your front room.

Zoos may be closed in Switzerland for the time being, but that doesn’t stop children at home from learning how the animals are getting along.

The Bern Animal Park has published a series of videos and learning materials for children being schooled at home, under the heading dählhölzli@home.⁠

Via live webcam, youngsters can watch how tadpoles grow into frogs. They can go on a virtual visit to see the bears and tortoises with the zoo educator, Peter Schlup. There are also watch-and-learn videos about flamingo behaviour for older kids. ⁠

During the lockdown, zoo staff have had to provide more stimulation for the monkeys, who miss their human visitors. Changes in animal behaviour in the absence of the public are also featured in the digital package.⁠

As the zoo belongs to the city of Bern, it has a teaching mandate and works closely with the directorate of education and schoolteachers to develop learning materials.⁠