Landau, July 17, 2026. It has now become a tradition: Sphenisco’s general meetings consistently take place in high temperatures. For years, we’ve experienced this firsthand in the Landau Zoo School’s meeting room. Our board therefore had every reason to look for a location that might offer some relief from the heat even without air conditioning in midsummer. By choosing the community room at the assisted living facility on the Bethesda Campus in Landau, the board made a good and wise decision, as Werner Knauf had personal experience with the location and therefore highly recommended it.
Activities in Europe
Landau, July 17, 2026.
On August 5 at 4:00 p.m., Dr. Thomas Mattern will give a lecture at the Karlsruhe Zoo on the topic “Humboldt Penguins: A Species with a Future—If We Want It.” The experienced New Zealand penguin researcher will explore the following questions: How are Humboldt penguins faring in the wild? What threats face the species—and what opportunities remain to ensure its survival?
Landau, March 27, 2026. The Humboldt penguin population has been severely reduced in recent years due to factors including the El Niño climate phenomenon, the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, overfishing, bycatch, and disturbances at breeding sites (1). Avian influenza (H5N1) has recently been detected again in Chile. On March 4, 2026, the State Agency for Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) confirmed the presence of wild animals in the Valparaíso region. Meteorologists are predicting a “super El Niño” for the end of the year. (2) As if all this were not threatening enough, President Kast’s new government is also halting the implementation of the “Humboldt Penguin Natural Monument” project. In doing so, those in charge are depriving this species—whose very existence is under serious threat—of potential protection (see “Kast Administration Halts ...” March 19, 2026).
Landau, 12 September 2025. The artist Jacklyn Gratzfeld (1) invites you to the exhibition "eARTh – 20 Years of Art and Nature Conservation Journeys through Four Continents" in the district hall of the Südliche Weinstraße. Around 30 works from the last two decades will be on display, including "Skylight oil paintings, Dance With Nature acrylic paintings, bird and animal portraits in chalk and animal etchings". The works provide insight into the artist's art and nature conservation journeys through Asia, the USA, Africa and the Palatinate region in Germany.
Landau, July 2, 2025. It was not the first time that Sphenisco's annual general meeting
was held in high midsummer temperatures. However, on Saturday, June 28, 2025, temperatures had already exceeded 30 degrees Celsius by the time the event began.
Fans and air conditioning were busy fighting them in the zoo school room. The situation was completely different for our Chilean partners Nancy Duman and Alejandro Simeone, who joined the meeting via video conference. They were freezing in the Chilean winter at chilling 6 degrees.
Landau 27 August 2024 - a perfect anniversary. The best (zoo) weather, lots of political celebrities including Prime Minister Alexander Schweitzer and Lord Mayor Dr. Dominik Geißler and a record-breaking attendance of visitors. They all celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Landau Zoo. The celebration began with a reception, which was musically shaped by the United Concert Band under the direction of Thomas Winter. Zoo director Dr. Jens-Ove Heckel welcomed and thanked everybody, actually everbody of the zoo's long-standing companions, supporters and partners. That was challenging, but clearly demonstrated the zoo's incredibly large and wide network.
Landau 27th March 2024. One year ago, Gabriele Knauf, the founder and long-standing chairwoman of Sphenisco, passed away. She had been campaigning for Humboldt penguins and the protection of their habitat since 1994. Together with her husband, she initiated the association Sphenisco-Schutz des Humboldt-Pinguins e.V. in 2008 and managed the organisation until her death.
WWF and Rostock Zoo draw attention to invisible traps on the seabed
Rostock January 21, 2022.
At Rostock Zoo a new outdoor exhibition was opened together with representatives of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) at and even in the penguin basin. The purpose of the initiative "Ghost Nets - Danger for Animals and Humans is to draw attention to the considerable dangers posed by ghost nets in our oceans. The exhibition, a collaboration project between WWF and Rostock Zoo, is on display until March.
Landau November 7, 2021.
Sphenisco is taking part in the "Make room with heart" campaign. This is a non-profit initiative that supports social projects around the world by reselling old clothes. In the current voting, the 100 non-profit organizations with the most votes will each receive 500 euros.
Sphenisco e.V.
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