https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed A train driver in Germany found a parcel left in the passenger area of a train that contained 20 live tarantulas. The large, hairy spiders did not disrupt rail traffic, police said. https://www.thelocal.de/20260417/german-train-driver-finds-20-tarantulas-left-aboard Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:09:38 +0200 german-train-driver-finds-20-tarantulas-left-aboard After a remarkable wolf attack in Hamburg kicked off a series of sensational headlines in the tabloids, The Local editor Paul Krantz reflects on what he learned when reporting on the animals in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20260411/inside-germany-whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:08:48 +0200 inside-germany-whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-wolf A humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20260327/beached-whale-frees-itself-from-german-coast Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:59:10 +0100 beached-whale-frees-itself-from-german-coast From Deutsche Bahn's Youtube miniseries to conservative leaders' misguided approach to defeating the far-right to a different (winged) type of migration, here's what we're talking about at The Local this week. https://www.thelocal.de/20251018/inside-germany-deutsche-bahns-new-show-a-rightward-political-shift-and-so-many-cranes Sat, 18 Oct 2025 13:09:54 +0200 inside-germany-deutsche-bahns-new-show-a-rightward-political-shift-and-so-many-cranes Compulsory microchips as well as bans on ear-cropping and tail-docking are among a set of new rules to protect cats and dogs that have been approved by European lawmakers. https://www.thelocal.de/20250619/mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:08:09 +0200 mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules Germany's Christmas tree farms are always left with a few unsold trees at the end of the season. In Berlin, they can donate them to the elephants. https://www.thelocal.de/20250103/in-photos-animals-at-berlin-zoo-get-a-belated-christmas-present Fri, 03 Jan 2025 17:46:37 +0100 in-photos-animals-at-berlin-zoo-get-a-belated-christmas-present Berlin Zoo visitors will from Wednesday be able to catch their first glimpse of two rabbit-sized panda cubs born almost eight weeks ago. https://www.thelocal.de/20241015/in-pictures-twin-panda-cubs-to-make-public-debut-at-berlin-zoo Tue, 15 Oct 2024 19:27:22 +0200 in-pictures-twin-panda-cubs-to-make-public-debut-at-berlin-zoo Berlin Zoo said Friday its resident panda Meng Meng had delivered twins for the second time, hailing the rare births as a boost to the endangered creatures. https://www.thelocal.de/20240823/berlin-zoo-panda-gives-birth-to-twins-for-second-time Fri, 23 Aug 2024 16:23:43 +0200 berlin-zoo-panda-gives-birth-to-twins-for-second-time After months of debate over how to manage its pigeon population, a small town in Hesse has held a referendum with a controversial outcome. https://www.thelocal.de/20240611/how-do-german-cities-manage-urban-pigeon-populations Tue, 11 Jun 2024 18:52:53 +0200 how-do-german-cities-manage-urban-pigeon-populations A swan mourning the death of its companion on a German railway track held up 23 trains for almost an hour and had to be removed by firefighters using special equipment, police said. https://www.thelocal.de/20201229/swan-late-mourning-bird-holds-up-german-trains Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:13:05 +0100 swan-late-mourning-bird-holds-up-german-trains How stinky is a billy goat allowed to be? It's been the subject of a debate between neighbours in a Bavarian village for years. Now a court has come to some decisions. https://www.thelocal.de/20200911/kicking-up-a-stink-bavaria-goat-owner-faces-250000-fine-if-animal-smells-too-bad Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:44:13 +0200 kicking-up-a-stink-bavaria-goat-owner-faces-250000-fine-if-animal-smells-too-bad The Agriculture Ministry confirmed on Thursday that the corpse of a wild boar found in Brandenburg was infected with African swine fever, making it the first known case in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20200910/first-case-of-african-swine-fever-confirmed-in-germany Thu, 10 Sep 2020 13:16:26 +0200 first-case-of-african-swine-fever-confirmed-in-germany Along a river in central Germany, something scaly has been scaring horses and confusing fishermen. https://www.thelocal.de/20200907/crocodile-search-continues-to-captivate-central-germany Mon, 07 Sep 2020 11:57:55 +0200 crocodile-search-continues-to-captivate-central-germany Berliners are protesting - online and in person - against the possible culling of a peaceful pig dubbed Elsa who gained worldwide fame for stealing a nudist's laptop bag as a chase ensued. https://www.thelocal.de/20200818/save-the-cheeky-but-peaceful-sow-berliners-protest-culling-of-boar-who-stole-nudists-bag Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:53:23 +0200 save-the-cheeky-but-peaceful-sow-berliners-protest-culling-of-boar-who-stole-nudists-bag A wild boar that went viral after stealing a nudist's laptop by a lake in German capital Berlin last week could be caught up in a local cull, an official said Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20200814/boar-that-stole-german-nudists-laptop-may-be-culled Fri, 14 Aug 2020 17:43:55 +0200 boar-that-stole-german-nudists-laptop-may-be-culled A brewery in the German state of Bavaria has been forced to suspend beer production after a family of storks made themselves at home in one of its chimneys. https://www.thelocal.de/20200731/german-brewery-runs-dry-after-storks-build-nest-in-chimney Fri, 31 Jul 2020 13:01:45 +0200 german-brewery-runs-dry-after-storks-build-nest-in-chimney Germany is to join forces with France to end mass shredding of male chicks at the EU level by the end of 2021, agriculture ministers Julia Klöckner and Didier Guillaume have said. https://www.thelocal.de/20200114/germany-and-france-to-push-eu-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks Tue, 14 Jan 2020 10:18:21 +0100 germany-and-france-to-push-eu-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks The cuteness level at Berlin Zoo doubled on Monday when a pair of twin panda cubs made their public debut, with the zoo revealing the cuddly bundles of fur were both boys. https://www.thelocal.de/20191209/boy-oh-boy-two-male-pandas-charm-berlin-zoo Mon, 09 Dec 2019 13:34:46 +0100 boy-oh-boy-two-male-pandas-charm-berlin-zoo For the second time in a week, a kangaroo has escaped a private enclosure in Untertraubenbach, a small village in Bavaria. https://www.thelocal.de/20191204/bavarian-village-searches-for-second-escaped-kangaroo Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:17:20 +0100 bavarian-village-searches-for-second-escaped-kangaroo A sloth living in Germany was just named as the world's oldest. We take a look at Paula and the very literal German name for her species. https://www.thelocal.de/20191016/german-word-of-the-day-das-faultier Wed, 16 Oct 2019 18:50:11 +0200 german-word-of-the-day-das-faultier