Researchers have been observing animal behavior for ages, but they don’t know half of their lives. That’s what Anna Lena Burger says, and she should know, because she’s an animal researcher and is working to increase knowledge of the missing half. Half of life is the night. Then the animals are among themselves, even in the zoo. “That’s what’s valuable,” says the 35-year-old biologist. Because nocturnal behavior has been researched so little, she sees her work as an “incredible playground”. After a few hours with Burger and the giraffes in the Opel Zoo, it becomes clear what the scientist means by that: the joy of her own work and the opportunity to let off steam scientifically. “More basic research is not possible,” says Burger. Also, she can rave about giraffe eyelashes that it’s a pleasure to listen to.
On this winter’s day, the behavioral researcher and her colleague Melina Kurzawe walk from the main entrance of Kronberg Zoo to the giraffe house. Kurzawe, 24, observes the animals for her doctoral thesis. Burger is already a postdoc. Both belong to the endowed professorship for zoo animal biology at the Opel Zoo at the University of Frankfurt. The working group led by Professor Paul Dierkes has been researching wild animals in zoos and in the wild since 2014. In addition to the behavior of the animals, the scientists are also interested in their sounds and excretions. Data collection is not an end in itself. It is intended to improve animal husbandry and thus animal welfare. The money for the professorship, 100,000 euros a year, comes from the “von Opel Hessian Zoo Foundation”, which also supports the Opel Zoo.