As everywhere else, fauna and flora in the Rhön have changed drastically in recent decades. This is why the Tanner Nature Museum, which opened in 1983, has included animal and plant species that have become rare and no longer exist in the Rhön in its museum display.

In addition to fox, hare, roe deer, sparrowhawk, mallard duck and partridge, visitors can also see rarities such as capercaillie, black grouse, badger and the red deer, which is rarely seen in the Rhön today.

Life-size replicas of Ice Age people and exhibits of large animals such as bison and elk also give visitors an impression of life in the Rhön from the Ice Age to modern times. A volcano model shows that the Rhön Mountains are of volcanic origin.