AquaZoo Leeuwarden Aqua zoo news

I would suggest transfer of a good portion to North American zoos.

Invasive species they are not quite frankly, I have not heard of large scale deliberate or accidental releases,. The Canadian beaver is an invasive in southernmost Fireland Chile-Argentina where they are damaging the tree line and submerging habitats.

 

Dewas et al (2012), to asses the beaver populations in France, reviewed the occurrence of C. canadensis in western Europe, and they list introductions in Switzerland, Poland and France which likely have been eradicated or died out by know. However, they also note that C. canadensis was found in beaver populations in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany - and at least 19 individuals were caught, at least six of which were released again after sterilization. To fully support further recolonisation of beaver in Europe, it remains important to be vigilant about C. canadensis popping up, especially as the source of the recently caught beavers is not fully understood (e.g. there is a possibility that C. canadensis were among the source populations used for reintroduction).

Whether you can call that invasive or not is a matter of opinion, but Canadian beaver can certainly survive and reproduce in the wild in Europe and thereby complicate beaver conservation here. Given that Canadian beavers are not particularly popular zoo animals, there is no conservation value in keeping them here, and the European species is extremely similar to it's North American counterpart, I'm all for phasing out the species. However, with an eye on animal welfare, I think it would be better to sterilize all remaining animals and just let them live out their lives here.

Reference:
Dewas, M., Herr, J., Schley, L., Angst, C., Manet, B., Landry, P., & Catusse, M. (2012). Recovery and status of native and introduced beavers Castor fiber and Castor canadensis in France and neighbouring countries. Mammal Review, 42(2), 144-165.

 

Thanks for posting this paper. I will go and read up if it is open access.

 

Canadian beavers have two advantages for zoos.

First - they are less nocturnal in their activity. European beavers are useless for public display, you won´t see them as a normal visitor during public hours, only at special night trips. Canadians get active at least on rainy days or in shorter daylight periods and at down and dusk.

Second - they have north-american origin and can fill north-american areals that appear and get increasingly popular in european zoos. European zoos have a shortage of suitable species for this.

Outside of Finland that deliberately released Canadians into their nature, the rest of (short-lived) mini populations in rest of Europe is more a result of grubby job done by some idiotic rewilding initiatives, often half- or full illegal. Phase-out by zoos won´t change anything. With our freedom of movement, anybody can go to Finland and catch a few Canadians (they are not protected species) and release them anywhere in Europe, in night and fog action. Eradication in Finland is impossible.

In my country, European beavers from several releases of mixed subspecies status (in Bavaria, Austria, Morava, Poland) plus pureblood Labe individuals are very busy to recolonise their long lost grounds. Latest in 5-10 years they will occupy all remaining suitable habitat and reach full saturation. Any possible escape of a few Canadian beavers won´t have any chance to survive here longterm.

 

The snowy owls are back. The owls from ZooParc Overloon have moved to AquaZoo.

Source: Dutch zoo podcast 'ZooInside'.

 

Amur Tigers are coming to AquaZoo

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Four North American beavers were born recently.

Source: Seen them myself

 

A new zoo map can be found on the AquaZoo website, here: Zoo map. Here are some of the news items you can see on the map:

- The Hermann's tortoises are no longer mentioned in the indoor area. However, I did see them on my last visit.
- From mid-September onwards, the ring-tailed lemurs will be joined by white-belted black-and-white ruffed lemurs.
- The white-faced sakis and cotton-top tamarins are no longer mentioned in the outdoor area of the giant otters. I guess this means that they are not going to try to house these species together anymore.
- According to the map, the new tiger enclosure will be ready in mid-2022. Earlier news reports mentioned it being ready at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022.
- In the Asia aviary (pelican aviary), the cormorants are no longer mentioned. I also didn't see them on my last visit either, and the sign was also gone.
- The Magellanic flightless steamer ducks which are planned to join the humboldt penguins are not mentioned yet. I heard that they are not in the park yet, but are expected soon.

 

New species: the white-belted black-and-white ruffed lemur.

Two males recently arrived at AquaZoo. Their names are Babakao and Aramis. After a short time behind the scenes, they are now also discovering their outdoor enclosure, which they share with the ring-tailed lemurs.

 

From 18 September to 31 October, it's Dino Weeks in AquaZoo Leeuwarden. During these weeks, 20 lifelike dinosaurs can be found in the park, including a T-rex, a Mosasaurus and a Therizinosaurus. In the weekends, the park also opens an hour earlier.

 

Visited AquaZoo yesterday, some news:

- Again some azara's agouti have been born, I have seen two.

- I have seen several penguins of both species on the nest.

- The hamerkop have started to make a nest.

- The emus have left the zoo.

- The first work on the new tiger enclosure has started. It's not much yet, a part of a path and also some planting has been removed.

- New species in the humboldt penguin enclosure: a pair of Magellanic flightless steamer ducks.

 

The construction of the new tiger enclosure in AquaZoo Leeuwarden has now really started. The Leeuwarder Courant (a newspaper in the region) has an article on the new enclosure, including an interview with the designer and the park manager.

The enclosure will be approximately 5000 square metres in size and is divided into two enclosures. Because of the loss of income through corona, but also because of the increasing fuel prices, not everything can be realised immediately. For example, a roof over a number of footpaths has been cancelled for the time being, and a lookout hut will also not be built at first. The focus will now first be on landscape, safety and experience. The enclosure will cost approximately €800,000, and if the costs of education are included, it will be about one million euros. This makes it the biggest investment ever for AquaZoo. The enclosure will not be a barren plain field, of course, but rather a challenging landscape with hills, vegetation, rocks, caves, running water and hiding places.

It is now known which two tigers will come to AquaZoo. They are the female Aïda from the Beekse Bergen, and the male Vadim from Sosto Zoo.

In the area where the enclosure is to be built, there has always been a lot of water. Now part of it will be turned into land. If everything goes according to plan, the enclosure will be ready in March next year, and from then on tigers can be seen in AquaZoo Leeuwarden.

 

Some news from the Dutch zoo magazine "De Harpij":

- The harbour seal that was born last summer did not learn to eat fish properly. Therefore he was put behind the scenes to learn how to eat fish. This is going well now and he may return to the group soon.
- An autopsy revealed that fur seal 'Tunanta', who died last year, probably started eating pebbles as a result of pain caused by a uterine infection. A combination of the infection and the stones were fatal to her.
- For the second year in a row, the red pandas did not manage to raise a young. A few days after the birth, keepers found the young dead on the ground.

 

Four penguin chicks have recently hatched. They are doing well. Two of them are African penguins and the other two are Humboldt penguins.

Source: Facebook AquaZoo Leeuwarden

 

AquaZoo Leeuwarden welcomed around 136,000 visitors in 2021. This is an increase of 36% compared to the previous year (100,000 visitors in 2020). The 'normal' number of visitors of AquaZoo (before COVID-19) is around 150,000, with a record number of 155,000 visitors in 2017.

Note that in the Netherlands, zoos were open about 50 days less in 2021 than in 2020.

 

Last Saturday was the first birth of the year for AquaZoo Leeuwarden. A white-faced saki was born. The youngster is doing well. This brings the number of sakis in AquaZoo to four. They are father, mother, older sister and youngster. The older sister will soon leave for another zoo.

 

Great news, one of my favourite primate species (at the moment)!

 

Some news from the Dutch zoo magazine "De Harpij":

- The pair of Magellanic flightless steamer ducks that have been on display at AquaZoo since the end of last year come from England.
- The 1.0 young harbour seal that was born in the zoo last summer has moved to Safaripark Beekse Bergen.
- The two female emus moved to Italy. The species will not return. In the spring of 2022, a new species will be housed at their former enclosure.
- In the enclosure of the blue vampire crabs, a large number of young crabs were seen.

 

A big part of the new tiger enclosure is already in place. The stables are finished, and a large part of the fence is also in place. In the coming period, they will mainly be working on the layout of the landscape. Opposite of the tiger enclosure, where the emus and black swans used to live, a new enclosure is being built for another new species. Which specie(s) has not yet been officially announced.

Source

Construction updates

 

Takin, goral or markhor / ibex?