Vogel Gryff Celebration Returns; Mysterious Machines Mushroom in Basel; Lion Dies At Basel Zoo

News For 1 February 2022

After a one year hiatus of Basel's Vogel Gryff festival due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the celebrations returned late last week to the riverbanks.  Tracing its traditions back to the 1500s, the Vogel Gryff event honors three ancient guilds of Kleinbasel by bringing their heraldic symbols: the Gryffin, The Wild Man and the Lion to life.  The procession begins on a raft floating down the Rhein, firing cannons and carrying the Wilde Maa or Wild Man, who sets ashore at the Klingental Museum where he is joined by the Lion and the Gryffin and lead revelers through the streets of Kleinbasel.

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Mysterious mandarine colored boxes have mushroomed all over Basel. They are tied to small poles and cables and have been placed by the IWB Industrial works Basel. The 9000 boxes are not Tesla charging stations nor are they part of the 5 kilometer deep mining project that triggered tremors in 2006. They are geothermal phones used for measuring subsurface vibrations in search of thermal waters. Geothermal energy has been used successfully in Riehen for 27 years, from hot groundwater at a depth of 1,000 to 1,500 meters. By using surface sound measurements, the IWB hopes to reassure people that there is no risk of causing earthquakes.

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Mbali, the oldest male lion at the Basel Zoo died last Friday at the age 20.  Zookeepers found the lion inside his enclosure in the morning with three female members of his pride at his side.  During his life, Mbali had fathered 18 lions in nine litters which are now living in zoos throughout Europe and the United States.