Visit of the amazing Affenberg Salem | Famous Monkey Mountain near Lake Constance, Germany 2023

The Affenberg Salem is an monkey mountain and animal park west of Salem in the Lake Constance district and also Germany's largest open-air monkey enclosure. The main attraction of the over 20 hectare forest area are almost 200 Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvana), which roam freely there. There is also a free-flying colony of white storks that breed every year on the roofs of the Mendlishauser Hof, a herd of fallow deer, and a large pond that is a refuge for many different bird species. The Salem Monkey Mountain is characterized by the fact that there are no separating grids or ditches to shield visitors from the animals. Visitors move through the natural forest on permanent paths. From mid-March to early November, Affenberg is open daily in all weather, and is on winter break from early November. The winter break is considered an undisturbed mating season for the monkeys. The founder and owner of the park is the Alsatian Baron Gilbert de Turckheim. He opened the first enclosure, La Montagne des Singes, in 1969 in Kintzheim, Alsace, and the second in 1974 in Rocamadour, southern France. In 1976, the "Monkey Mountain Salem" was added on leased land of Salem Castle. Since 2006, the park director has been Roland Hilgartner, a zoologist with a doctorate in primatology. The concept provides for a restriction to one animal species on generously dimensioned areas. Therefore, the behavior of the Barbary macaques in Salem does not differ from the animals living in the wild. In 2005, another monkey enclosure was created in Trentham in Staffordshire (England). Currently (as of 2021), there are three primate groups on Monkey Mountain with nearly 200 animals. Barbary macaques live in well-organized social groups of 60 to 80 animals; they are in constant communication with each other, emitting a wide variety of sounds or using expressive facial expressions. The original home of Barbary macaques is Morocco and Algeria, where they live in mountains up to 2000 meters above sea level. The animals also feel comfortable at Lake Constance, as the climate there is very similar to that of their native country. Barbary macaques are threatened with extinction. Worldwide, about 10,000 animals still exist. According to experts, a population can only survive if at least 150 specimens belong to it. For this reason, the Salem Monkey Mountain forms an important reserve population. The Salem Monkey Mountain is home to a free-flying breeding colony of white storks with around 90 individuals. Storks are migratory birds, each spring they return to the same eyrie to breed. Since the white stork was already extinct in many areas of Baden-Württemberg in the mid-1970s, reintroduction projects were started. In 1978, the Affenberg founded the Stork Station, which contributes to the protection of storks in Baden-Württemberg. Through the reintroduction of some breeding pairs at the Affenberg Salem, a free-flying colony was established there. In the extensive fallow deer enclosure, too, people move freely among the animals. A capital fallow deer lives there with about twenty hinds and young animals. --------------------------------------­----------------------------------- Equipment I Use ►Camera: https://amzn.to/49b7RTf ►Gimbal Stabilizer: https://amzn.to/45QX25N ►Microphone: https://amzn.to/3sl7IMw ►Action Cam: https://amzn.to/3QyEhQa ►Extension Rod: https://amzn.to/3MlxAOY ►Memory Card https://amzn.to/3QOTZHj ►Drone: https://amzn.to/3SffEJL ►Laptop: https://amzn.to/3FGYP2C ►External Hard Drive: https://amzn.to/40kQQ51 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapters 00:00 In the entrance area of the Affenberg Salem with lots of storks and their nests 01:47 In the animal park 02:49 At the first viewpoint at the lake in the park with a lot of geese 04:37 At the second viewpoint at the pond 05:42 At the gates to the monkey enclosure 06:05 In the monkey enclosure 20:44 Walking the complete treewalk on the monkey mountain 38:14 End of the treewalk and further through the monkey enclosure 38:35 First professional monkey feeding by a park employee 46:49 More exploration of the monkey enclosure 54:12 Second professional monkey feeding by a park employee 1:08:00 Last stage in the monkey enclosure 1:08:51 Back at the lake 1:09:51 Walk across the lake on a wooden footbridge and watch storks, ducks and fishes 1:14:46 In the deer enclosure 1:16:38 Observation of stork nests 1:16:54 Back at the lake with storks taking off English title: Visit of the amazing Affenberg Salem | Famous Monkey Mountain near Lake Constance, Germany 2023 #affenberg #salem #monkeymountain