Rotterdam Zoos Future Plans... » Rotterdam Zoo

21-11-2007

Well, i've not decided yet...

21-11-2007

I have seen 67 zoos in Europe, and Blijdorp is so far my favourite. Their Oceanium and Asia-theme is amazing

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I am Toddy, the zoo-enthusiast from Denmark!
Different zoos visited: 77
Favourite animals: Aardvarks and manatees.
Website: www.zoos.dk

21-11-2007

Ok thanks. With wandaloo, she is fine. The're not bothering to take it away.

@ Toddy: And asia isnt even finished There are planns to give the rhino's a new indoorenclosure under the hymalyan-moutain, and expand the outdoorenclosure. Also there thinking of getiing urangutans back. (and of course the hymalyan section still has to be updated

21-11-2007

Its now got the widest dry moat and highest wall I've ever seen in a Gorilla enclosure. Bokito may need a rope ladder for his next attempt...

21-11-2007

It is ideed impressive. But as bokito is still growing i'm not 100% convinced I think it would be best if they would aslo put some electrical wire around the edges.
(They are now installing windows in the lookout-post of the outdoorenclosure. After that i think its completely done)

To be honest i like the new enclosure better than the old one And also very important, it is gonna be a combination from now on with the whitenosed monkeys (Cercopithecus nictitans nictitans). Blijdorp has very few mixed species exhibits unfortunately, so i'm enthousiastic about evey new mix

21-11-2007

Why? I like the current Asia house with rhinos, elephants, tapirs and the others. But i like the idea of getting the orangs back.

__________________
I am Toddy, the zoo-enthusiast from Denmark!
Different zoos visited: 77
Favourite animals: Aardvarks and manatees.
Website: www.zoos.dk

22-11-2007

That house (Taman Indah) is gonna stay. But the rhinos are probabaly moving out in the future. The inside display site for rhinos is rather small and a lot of people who don't realize there is a whole lot more space behind the scenes think its sad for the animals. The outside enclosure is probably going to cover the whole side between taman indah and the hymalyan mountain. (so the sikadeerenclosure has to go. It is an option that the deer are going to be kept in the same enclosure as the rhinos. Now there are 2 outdoor enclosures and i think they want to make that 3, so they can keep 1,2 breeding rhinos instead of 1,1. (the orangs is very long term planning i'm afraid...)

22-11-2007

What will they do with the Himalaya mountain, and nore importantly, what species will live there?

__________________
I am Toddy, the zoo-enthusiast from Denmark!
Different zoos visited: 77
Favourite animals: Aardvarks and manatees.
Website: www.zoos.dk

22-11-2007

The mountain itself is pretty old, but for the time being its ok, so renovation will be one of the last building projects in blijdorp.
Now there is still 1 sechuan takin (a male called Benny). He lives together with some rhesus macaques. The future collection is still very vague but the will probably keep takins (if they can't get a female sechuan they might go back to mishmi). And surely the red pandas will be part of the hymalayan exhibit. There are probably some bird now on other places in the zoo that fit the hymalayan theme like imperial pheasants etc.
Other species are not certain. Once i heared snowleapards, and of course the chinese snubnosed monkeys (Small chance that will even happen but we can't loose hope )

22-11-2007

[quote=Trebaruna;27275]It is ideed impressive. But as bokito is still growing i'm not 100% convinced I think it would be best if they would aslo put some electrical wire around the edges. be honest i like the new enclosure better than the old one And also very important, it is gonna be a combination from now on with the whitenosed monkeys [(/QUOTE]

I think when Bokito escaped previously in Berlin Zoo(twice?) it was by climbing a wall- so even this very big one may not be beyond him. It could prove very difficult to stop this habit.

I think its certainly better than with the watermoat- less dangerous for the animals and they have a larger area to use. Good that they are adding monkeys too.

22-11-2007

The rhinos moving into the Himalaya exhibit is - I think - a long while off (it will be the last Asian themed exhibit I believe in 2009/2010). Talk of new orangs remains persistant and if I am correct they are seriously thinking of Tamah Indah as their future residence, though this is previewed for not earlier than after 2010 (previously ideas were put forward to site it next to the Sumatran tiger exhibit across from the bridge, but I guess that has fallen on deaf ears with cultural heritage people).

It is also interesting to learn what will happen with the giraffe part of the Riviera Hall. I still bet on the okapis, bongos and bush pigs moving over from their present location to complete the rainforest exhibit (already in place with gorillas, white-nosed cercopithecines and pygmy hippo). The lion enclosure is to go up somewhere behind the Henri Martin House (though they are still fretting themselves over whether they will retain Asians or go back into an African purebred subspecies (as originally was the case with West African lions).

22-11-2007

thats right. They wanted to make a structure with a lot of high poles for the orangs to climb, but that was (of course) not approved by the heritage-thingy. (once there were also plans to put the tapirs on that spot, so that they could swim through the whole pond )
But as i said, orangs, hymalaya & rhinos is long term planning.

From what i've heared lions will not come on the giraffe-site (lions where the other option next to okapis) because for lions they would have to build some sort of a cage-like structure and that is not allowed, because the Rivierahall is (again) a monument. (for the lions i've heared another option and that is that they would go where the okapis are now. that way the border between africa and asia can shift a little and they can still keep the asian lions)
So for now i seems that okapis will move to this spot. (allthough i'm wondering how they will divide that outdoor enclosure to provide space for at least 1,3 adults...
Bongo's would have to move where the addax are now (addax would have to go somewhere where the okapi's and bushpigs are now.) etc

So there are a lot of options We'll probably have to wait and see what happens when the giraffes have moved.

22-11-2007

I think it is well confirmed that the okapis should replace the giraffes when they move to the Savannah House. They coupled with bongo and bush pig should make up the new Central African rainforest theme at Blijdorp. I guess that the bongo and bush pig will occupy the current exhibit of the mhorr gazelles and that somehow the addax enclosure will become available for thingies ....

Where the addax will go .. I do not know at present (suggestions as you said on the present bongo/okapi landings .. but not sure). I am definite though that Blijdorp does not intend to go out of addax (a shame that some continental zoos seem to be content with just as we now have a real chance to resurrect the wild populations of addax by augmentation from the world's reknowned zoos).

22-11-2007

correct, but they want to try to have the exhibit ready before there comes a new male Rhino.
And because the female is pregnant, that can take some time.

22-11-2007

The plan was to get a species of waterbuck on the mhorrgazelle+greaterkudu site. That would be "visualy linked" to the zebra encosure and teh giraffe-enclosure to make some sort of a savanna. (kudus would move to the current bongo-enclosure. Next to that there is already a snack-thingy named after kudus).

Anyway i'm curious of what it will turn out to be. Cause in my opinion the "congo-theme" hasn't got the space for all those species (okapi, bongo, riverhog, hippo... would have to fit in the space of the current addax, giraffe, hippo, warthog...)