By Katja Colmenares
Unobstructed view of – or for the king penguins at Zoo Berlin?
This window cleaner is actually a zoo keeper. But in the territory of seals and penguins, wiping windows is just as much part of Hannes Wessing’s area of responsibility as feeding them. Once a week, he or one of his colleagues stand in the middle of the Antarctic cold water basin.
Even if cleaning only takes about 15 to 20 minutes – you can’t do it in swimming trunks. Because the water temperature in the pool is between six and eight degrees at the most, both in winter and in summer. “So it is clear that the animal keepers always wear a thick waterproof suit,” says zoo spokeswoman Svenja Eisenbarth.
Wessing scrubs like crazy. Not just to get warm, but because of course he can’t use cleaners or the birds will get sick! He is not allowed to bring more than rags and squeegees into the enclosure.
And the king penguin is careful not to slip. Because if the pane stays dirty, he can no longer look out to observe people.