The zoo was created as a foundation, initiated by the ornithologist, Otto Fehringer.

Fehringer was supported by Carl Bosch, the German chemist, engineer, and Nobel laureate in chemistry.

During the first years, Heidelberg Zoo was suffering from money shortage, which even worsened after 1940 and World War II.

The neighboring porcupine and meerkat paddocks were redesigned in the same year and an exhibition dealing with the zoo's history was opened to the public.

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