Future projects (2009 - 2010) » Antwerp Zoo

Future projects (2009 - 2010)
27-08-2008

The Antwerp Zoo has introduced some of their future projects:


2009
The monumental 'Small Mammal Building' becomes the 'Congo Peafowl Building' combining a section for the public and a modern breeding centre.


2009
The okapis get more space and the babirusas and anoas will have a new place near the okapis.




2009
The giraffes will also have more space. From 644 m² to 1500 m².




2010
In 2009 the zoo will start with the construction of a new enclosure for lions, meerkats ans yellow mongoose at the current 'Grand Enclosure' for camels and donkeys. It will be ready in 2010




Future
The lions move to the big landscape enclosure. The other cat species get a whole new enclosure with much more space and habitat variation.

28-08-2008

Promising plans for the Zoo, and very soon already. This is something we "must" follow

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brebart.be, Planckendael & Zoo Antwerp fansite (Dutch-Nederlands)
Laafsekikkers.be, "Friends of the Zoo" forum (Dutch-Nederlands)

28-08-2008

Great! Antwerp Zoo realy is a example for other zoo's. It's changes and invest continuous! New impressions seems very nice!

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www.zooantwerpen.be & www.planckendael.be
www.zoocrew.eu

28-08-2008

But it is only a shame (according to me) that the original plans are changed into this at the moment. I would very much liked a big tower to watch on the Okapi's there in Antwerp...

But these plans are then more exiting due the animals the will held there near the Okapi's. A difficult choice, is it good or bad? I don"t know, but i am very excited now, that's for sure!

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brebart.be, Planckendael & Zoo Antwerp fansite (Dutch-Nederlands)
Laafsekikkers.be, "Friends of the Zoo" forum (Dutch-Nederlands)

29-08-2008

I can`t see that Antwerp`s plan are an example for other zoos - in fact, I hope not. The current giraffe enclosure is dysmal but enlarging it to just 1.500 m² is not that great at all. It`s more space then before, but it`s still small. The same for an okapi enclosure of barely 500 m².... I guess there will be serveral outdoor enclosures, but Antwerp has many okapis too, and that`s not much space. It will all be better then before but not "good". antwerp just doesn`t have the space to keep so many large mammals. They should drastically reduce the numbers of large mammals, but I see this is not going to happen, instead they are spending a lot of money on small improvements.

29-08-2008

The larger mammals move to another Zoo? Not a bad idea, but Antwerp will not do that i think. Therefor there is to much pride in Zoo with their collection...

But you can already see that the breedingprojects of larger mammals are moving to Planckendael... Only they still keep the mammals that are not in this kind of programs...

Just keep in mind that it is a Cityzoo, they can never be a "great" Zoo for larger Mammals, but every Zoo wants to keep them

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brebart.be, Planckendael & Zoo Antwerp fansite (Dutch-Nederlands)
Laafsekikkers.be, "Friends of the Zoo" forum (Dutch-Nederlands)

29-08-2008

I know it is like that, and that`s the mistake. Animal welfare should come first. Many city zoos have reduced their number of large mammals. London Zoo is a great example for this. If Antwerp has other priorities then the welfare of their animals, well, I can`t change that, but I feel they will run into big trouble with animal right groups down the road, and I won`t feel sorry for that.

29-08-2008

What is this building? One with monkeys?

Like Yassa, I feel that animals will have too little space. Perhaps without babirusas and anoas, okapi would be better.

29-08-2008

First, I would say that Antwerp is a small zoo, only 10 hectare this days and after the new spaces are used, 11,5 hectare. I think that Antwerp is the smallest zoo with such a famous career. Artis (Amsterdam) and London Zoo are almost 14 hectare, Vienna Zoo is 17 hectare and Berlin Zoo 35 hectare. OK, Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris is 5,5 hectare and they don't keep elephants and giraffes anymore.

And can Antwerp without elephants, giraffes, gorilla's, etc.? I Think not, because this animals are today or in the future at up-comming zoos like Planckendael and Parc Paradisio. London and Paris can do it without elephants because they were build in world cities from around 10 million people. Cities like them have millions of tourists every year.
Antwerp is just a small city with only a population of 470.000 and 1,7 million in the province Antwerp.

And Antwerp wouldn't have any breeding groups of the most big species anymore. They go to Planckendael like the giraffes now and the elephants in the future.


With all the changes, they are clear with the Belgium law. No troubles anymore.
And you must know that these project aren't the enclosures for many years. No, the real enclosures at the expantion will be only ready in 2017. so, it will be more better then.
Zoos are companies like others. What's the diffrent between for example Coca-Cola and an zoo? Nothing, just that the Coca-Cola Company have a function as "make soft drinks" and zoos "care about the nature" in big lines. All the rest is the same, all companies must make profit. And for zoos are big animals the top attractions.
I totaly agree that animal welfare must be the first prioritie, but I know that it's more than that. Zoos must survive and make frofit too.


Antwerp will never have the biggest enclosure for an animal, that's more than normal. 1.500 m² isn't that big, but a nice expanding for them. The enclosure will be used by 3 or 4 giraffe females who don't participate in the EEP.



Current, there are 3 encclosures of +/- 1370 m² together. With the new enclosure of 462 m² there is an outdoor space of +/- 1830 m².
Antwerp hasn't many okapis today. Only 4 (1.3). 10 stables are available.


No, with current the babirussas, blue duikers and African Brush-tailed Porcupines. The first ones go to the new enclosures on the plan, the blue duikers will be together with the okapis and the African Brush-tailed Porcupines go to the red pandas.

29-08-2008

So much difference there isn"t between there visitors anymore. So you can Planckendael barely call a Up-comming Zoo... They are there already But that is offtopic i think



But you are right Hippo,
due that Paradisio is becoming a real Zoo instead of a bird park alone, there is more competition for the Zoo's in Belgium. The Olmense Zoo and Monde Sauvage are no competition against the Zoo and Planckendael, but Paradisio can be that in the future... Certain when they get there elephants and etc. (only that last is a little bit unfortunately within the Zoo-world, because it would be wild elephants, but the visitors won"t see that )

Because the Zoo and Planckendael are from one company there isn"t much competion between those two according to me. No more competion that between the Zodiac Zoos of Holland for example. Only some of the Older people within the organisation are sometimes cleary "pro Antwerp" againt Planckendael...

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brebart.be, Planckendael & Zoo Antwerp fansite (Dutch-Nederlands)
Laafsekikkers.be, "Friends of the Zoo" forum (Dutch-Nederlands)

30-08-2008

Something I have forgotten to say: Antwerp have already leave some very popular animals like their white rhinoceros (2001), polar bears (2004), kodiak bears (2002 I think), red forest buffalos (2004), bantengs (a few years ago), orangutans (2007), bottlenose dolphins (1999), etc.
Visitors are still searching this animals in Antwerp and can't find them...
So, Antwerp get more animal welfare for the other animals.

31-08-2008

If London is seriously being suggested as having shown the route which others, such as Antwerp, might follow then I am a banana. A few recent improvements aside, there is very little to see at London, and as a zoo bereft of so many 'big' animals it just isn't such a wonderful place as it might be. Antwerp, on the other hand, is a zoo where animals lurk around every corner. Sure, some of the enclosures are on the small side, but I haven't seen too many unhealthy animals who are suffering there. On the contrary, I see a superb collection, well looked-after, really thriving. Much of the zoo is absolutely Premier-league - the reptile house and the nocturnal house stand out. If the okapis are so porrly housed, then they seem to be doing pretty well on it. If Antwerp (and other such 'old school' zoos) is Londonised, then the zoo world will be a poorer place.

01-09-2008

@ hippo: If you were correct and Antwerp needed to keep elephants, giraffes, okapis, gorillas, chimps and more large mammals in cramped conditions to survive economically, I have to say that it would be best to close the zoo and concentrate all efforts on Plankendahl. The need to make money does not justify to keep large mammals in substandard enclosures.

@ sooty mangabey: It all depends what you want to see in a zoo. For me, animal welfare is top priority, and from that point of view, hardly anything in Antwerp is "premier-legue". The new enclosures for spectacled bears/coatis and for hippos are acceptable, actually pretty good if you compare it with the rest of the zoo; same for cape buffals and zebras. But the rest...

I do not suggest that no large animals shall be kept in Antwerp; definately not. With hippos, bears, zebras, buffelo they already have some good enclosures. Now there are plans to move the lions - if they get all the space where the donkeys and camles live now, fantastic. I like this part of the plan. When the elephants have been moved to Plankendahl, they could use the current elephant enclosure to further expand the giraffe area. That would be a really good enclosure. Or they could use the current elephant enclosure for non-breeding rhinos (infertile bulls like Hannover`s Kifaru for example), in a mixed species exhibit with baboons for example. I am totally against the idea to keep a non-breeding group of elephants in Antwerp; be it in the current enclosure or in the expansion area. There is absolutely no space for that. And they urgently need to do something with the remaining great apes AND with all the monkeys in the monkey house - not having any acess to outdoor enclosures is totally unacceptable. Going out of orang utans was a step in the right decision but it`s far from enough. At least from my point of view.

01-09-2008

Can't really bother to argue at the moment, but i disagree. The larger animals are housed in okay enclosures and they will be kept even better once the expansion comes through. Size definately isn't everything when it comes down to animal welfare.

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My Zoo-Photo's (soon more to be added): http://jwer.fotopic.net

01-09-2008

Agree wholly with Mr / Ms jwer. Yes, it will be good when the monkeys have outdoor space, and yes, the cats are in quite small enclosures, and yes, the elpehant enclosure is not massive. But these animals are not suffering to my mind - far from it - and each year many hundreds of thousands of people are having the opportunity to see incredible species in beautiful surroundings. I envy those for whom Antwerp is their local zoo!