Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel had her hands full as she made a flying visit to a bird park. A group of Australian lorikeet parrots provided the perfect photo opportunity on the campaign trail.
The chancellor proved a hit with the bird park's rainbow lorikeetsImage: Georg Wendt/dpa/picture alliance
A flock of Australian rainbow lorikeets was on hand — literally — as Angela Merkel took a trip to Vogelpark Marlow bird park, near Rostock in northeastern Germany.
When they weren't pecking at her fingers, the chancellor grabbed more smiling shots with her feathered friendsImage: Georg Wendt/dpa/picture alliance
The birds fluttered around the German leader and ate from a small paper cup filled with "lori nectar," made from dried flower pollen, fruit sugar, cereal and water.
Merkel — who has been chancellor for almost 16 years — was on a farewell tour of her home constituency in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Angela Merkel's animal encounters — in pictures
A photo of Angela Merkel overwhelmed by parrots went viral, but the German chancellor has a long track record of animal encounters.
Image: Georg Wendt/dpa/picture alliance
A lemur love story
The chancellor had a photogenic moment with this lemur at the Marlow Bird Park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2015, when she attended a ceremony to open the park's new grounds.
Image: Jens Büttner/dpa/picture alliance
Panda diplomacy
Merkel's tenure oversaw the loaning of two pandas to the Berlin zoo. She celebrated their arrival in a visit to the zoo with China's President Xi Jinping in 2017. Xi said the two pandas served as "new ambassadors of our friendship."
Image: Axel Schmidt/POOL Reuters/dpa/picture alliance
Testing times in Russia
One of the most famous photos of Merkel with an animal was taken during her meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007, when he conspicuously brought his dog with him. It is widely known that Merkel does not like dogs.
Image: ITAR-TASS/imago images
Merkel at the farm
Agriculture is a major industry in Germany and as such, Merkel has many photos with farm animals. In this photo, she visited an industrial farm in Schleswig-Holstein, the home of the iconic black and white spotted Holstein cows (pictured).
Image: Carsten Rehder/dpa/picture alliance
Feeding time
Merkel has also had to feed a lot of animals. In this photo she meets a penguin with then Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during the Baltic Sea States Council summit of 2012.
Image: Jens Koehler/AFP/Getty Images
Dates down under with kiwis ...
Merkel has met animals from far away corners of the world. In 2014, she was introduced to this kiwi during a visit to the Motutapu Island of New Zealand.
Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance
... and koalas
Merkel was also introduced to this cuddly koala by then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. It was on the same trip that she met the kiwi — a diplomatic tour of exotic animals!
Image: Andrew Taylor/Handout/picture alliance
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A warm welcome was also waiting in the wings from the park's budgies, who happily ate millet from the chancellor's palm.
Merkel was less keen to take hold of an altogether larger feathered friend — the European eagle owl — the DPA news agency reported.
"No, no. I did fine with the parakeets," she said.
Merkel has been Germany's chancellor since November 2005Image: Georg Wendt/dpa/picture alliance
Instead, Merkel left the photo opportunity to 33-year-old Georg Günther, her successor as Christian Democrat (CDU) candidate in the Vorpommern-Rügen — Vorpommern Greifswald I constituency.
Merkel is set to step down in the wake of Sunday's election, once a new chancellor is chosen.
