On 27 April 2022, the AZ visited Tierpark Hagenbeck together with the U.S. Consulate General Hamburg and U.S. Consul General Darion Akins.
There were several reasons for the visit: firstly, we, the Amerikazentrum Hamburg, wanted to visit our sponsored animal June, a female porcupine; secondly, in his three-year tenure the outgoing Consul General Akins had not yet managed to visit Hamburg’s animal landmark and park; and finally, Darion Akins was to take on a sponsorship for the bison bull Yukon.
In bright April weather, we were welcomed at the entrance by managing director Dr. Dirk Albrecht and zoological director Dr. Guido Westhoff. During the roughly 90-minute tour led by Guido Westhoff, we visited elephants, orangutans and lions, among others. A little highlight – besides June, of course – was the visit to the bushpigs and their offspring, which was just nine days old.
At the end of the tour, the sponsorship for the bison bull Yukon was handed over by Cord Crasselt and Joachim Weinlig-Hagenbeck as members of the foundation’s board. Next to the bison enclosure live the porcupines, so we could finally meet June in person. Unfortunately, June and her partner were asleep in their dark den, so we could only catch a brief glimpse of them. Even if we couldn’t see much of her, we could smell all the more of her :D.
All in all, it was a very interesting, exciting and animal-rich day, in which transatlantic friendship was above all at the centre. Many thanks for the wonderful hospitality!