Leipzig City Council is to turn one of the largest parks in Addis Ababa, Peacock Park, into Peacock Zoological Park.
A high level delegation led by Mayor of Leipzig, Burk Hard Jung visited this week and briefed Kuma Demeksa, Mayor of Addis Ababa, and members of the city cabinet on the construction of the park, while a technical team from Leipzig presented the masterplan of the zoo in the middle of this week to the city cabinet. The Mayor of Leipzig expressed his city's readiness to provide all the necessary professional support for the construction of the park. According to city officials about two million people are expected to visit the new amenity each year.
Currently, the park between Bole and Telebole roads is controlled by the city Sanitation Beatification and Parking Development Agency.
Since 2004 when the two cities signed a twinning agreement that includes urban management, business exchange, health education, social and environmental issues, the German city has supported Lion Park in Siddist Kilo on veterinary issues since early 2007.
The Leipzig City Council's latest project was triggered by the conditions under which the lions live in Lion Park. The existing zoo is currently home to 15 adult lions and three lion cubs that are housed in eight cages.
The animals visited by one million people per year are descended from the lions that lived in the palace grounds and are unique to Ethiopia because of their black manes.
The enclosure conforms to minimum standards, but does not comply with international recommendations for species-appropriate accommodation. The area is 1.5 hectare in a dense inner-city area and so is unable to expand it
For this reason, the 25 hectare Peacock Park in Bole Sub-city is considered a more suitable location for the city's only zoo.
According to the proposal, the project connects various fields of development co-operation. It facilitates transfer of knowledge and capacities in various areas, including zoology, conservation, veterinary medicine, education, marketing, project management, urban planning and architecture.
Currently, the park agency controls 14 parks in Addis Ababa. These parks offer outdoor games, weddings, recreation and cafeteria services for small entrance fees.
Peacock is popular for wedding ceremonies at the weekends and a few years ago it added some recreation facilities in the garden area.
"The Lion of Judah and the Lion of Meissen, the heraldic beast of the city of Leipzig, are symbolic of the realisation of this joint task in the context of our city partnership. I wish everyone involved every success for this 'lion of a project'." The Leipzig Mayor added.
The Leipzig Zoo has a long tradition and is seen as a zoo of the future in terms of modern animal-keeping, conservation, education and science. With about 1.7 million visitors a year, the zoo is one of the most significant leisure venues in the city and is an internationally acknowledged state-of-the-art theme park with a rich offering for visitors.
Zoological gardens are experiencing a renaissance. Every year 600 million people visit 1,200 worldwide, and the number is growing