Bruno Hensel is President of the Gemeinschaft der Zooförderer e.V. (GdZ), an association supporting and promoting zoos. Through this umbrella organisation he represents 64 societies from four different European countries, comprising 110.000 members. Since the year 2000 he is also first chairman of the Zoo-Verein Wuppertal e.V. – during this time many projects were completed, investing a total of more than 16 million euros into the zoo and conservation. The largest project up to the date is the construction of Aralandia at the Green Zoo in Wuppertal – which will play an important role in the ex-situ breeding and the in-situ conservation of endangered parrots. In 2004 the city of Wuppertal honored him for his remarkable honorary commitment and in 2010 he received the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2018 he was appointed to the advisory council of the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (in German: Beirat der Zoologischen Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz e.V. (ZGAP)), which strengthens his longstanding and successful commitment to conservation. Since October 2019 he is also a member of the advisory council of zoos.media.

Dr. Kerstin IMG_1154KleinerTernes has been a senior veterinarian and curator for marine mammals at Zoo Duisburg since 2008. After her time at the university, she was employed at the Hagenbeck Animal Park, then at the Wildlife Safari Park Winston, Oregon (USA). Her next stop was Heidelberg Zoo, where she wrote her doctoral thesis on tuberculosis in seals. After that she took part in internships at the Research and Technology Center of the University of Kiel, the Marine Aquarium of Valencia and at Sea World in San Diego. Since 2012, Kerstin Ternes is a veterinan for zoo and wild animals and since 2015 has been a Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine.

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Michael Miersch is the author of numerous books on topics from science and society. He worked as an author, columnist, and editor for major magazines, wrote the scripts for animal films of the broadcaster ARD, and was the managing director of the German Wildlife Foundation. In the year 2000, Miersch published the work “Life Counts – eine globale Bilanz des Lebens”, which received international attention, together with co-authors and in collaboration with the IUCN and the UNEP. His books, reports, and columns have been translated into many languages and have won awards both nationally and internationally, including “Science Book of the Year” twice.

Quelle: Privat

Prof. em. Dr. Dietmar Todt was director of the Institute of Behavioral Biology at Freie Universität Berlin. He did a doctorate in botany and habilitated in zoology. His specialty is the acoustic communication of birds and mammals. He has built numerous research projects within and outside of Europe. In Israel he investigated the behavior of dolphins. After his retirement, he founded the ANCOR (Animal Conservation Research) project aiming to use behavioral biology for endangered animal species.

Quelle: Privat

Dr. Immanuel Birmelin, born in 1943, is a behavioral researcher. He studied biology and chemistry, promoted at the University of Berne and was a member of the research group of the German Veterinary Society for many years. His specialty is the scientific recording of animal welfare issues. As an expert in animal welfare, he helps to translate the findings from science into practice. Together with the science journalist Volker Arzt, he made numerous documentary films.