The use of machinery in public parks is a sensible issue - both man and nature must be taken into consideration, which does not make the job easier for those in charge. The visitors must not feel disturbed from either the utility machine or from the mower, neither in volume nor in noise. Paths and lawns should be kept in order, but only in an environmentally friendly way.
This is the case in thousands of parks and recreational areas, but there is an extra twist: The zoo!
Where the animal in all its diversity is at home, there is even more to be aware of. The best way to do this is shown by work of two City Ranger 2200s in the Berlin Zoo. The Zoo Manager, Uwe Hahn who also is responsible for taking care of lawns and paths has for a long time been searching for a machine to fulfil three requirements: Not too heavy on lawns, manoeuvrable on narrow paths and lawns and not too noisy in use. The City Ranger delivers it all.
The benefits for both animals and humans of the City Ranger 2200 are shown in the low sound emission of only 77 dB (A). Animals in the zoo react quite sensible and also differently to unaccustomed outside influences. As the famous Berlin Zoo is situated in the middle of the western city centre, even the nearby construction sites must take the animals into considerations, so of course the zoo must show a good example.
For instance: The usually fitted beacon on the Nilfisk-Outdoor utility machine is taboo, as the bright, flashing yellow light would upset the animals. Also, the colour of the two City Rangers, a soothing zoo-colour, contributes to avoid agitation in the enclosures. The green colour, pleasant for both humans and animals, commonly known as 'fir-green', could be offered by Nilfisk Outdoor Division without any problems.
The area sales manager Olaf Günther and the local dealer Werner Marzahn Reinigungstechnik GmbH had the special profile of zoo-work in mind, when consulting the Berlin Zoo who bought two City Rangers in 2009 and 2010, equipped with mulch and rotary mowers, grass collector with high-tip, suction sweeper with 3 brushes and external suction hose. For winter care, which is not that much in Berlin, the snow gets cleaned away with the snow sweeper and the rear mounted salt and sand spreader. The zoo uses six of a total of 16 available tailor-made attachments. The approximately 2.8 million visitors each year - on a relatively small area of 79 acres - also played a major role in the decision. A high productivity rate and lots of horsepower was not a key factor, as much as a machine that could mingle amongst the visitors, as silent as possible...
The Zoological garden of Berlin
The world famous Berlin Zoo was founded in 1844, back in the day at the edge of the city, today in the middle of the western centre. This has made the zoo much more attractive; approx. 60% of the annual 2.8 million visitors are tourists.
The areal of 79 acres houses 17.134 animals in 1554 enclosures (last time counted late 2010).
Another attraction is the aquarium. The zoo has 200 employees; around the half of these are zoo keepers. The Berlin Zoo educates also new zoo keepers. The park section has 23 employees.
