Petting a lion, fretting before the gorilla, greeting an animal as a friend, or feeling a spiritual kinship with strange creatures - that is what makes the fascination of a visit to the zoo so special ever since the 20th century. On the level of cultural history, Nastasja Klothman investigates the different emotions that zoo animals evoke in people. From the general significance of animals in society to the personal relationship of contemporary witnesses of the world wars, she retraces the change in the treatment of wild animals. Together with the Tierpark Hagenbeck, the zoological gardens in Leipzig and Berlin as well as the smaller Nuremberg zoo are at the center of her investigation.