Last weekend I was in Blijdorp again for the first time in 4.5 years. There are still so many empty / demolished / hidden unused enclosures throughout the zoo as a result of the crisis years, that it still hurts to walk around some areas. Most notably the European area, Oceanium and the Asian Swamp area. The new developments are a bit mixed. The Gelada enclosure is a triumph for me, with a beautifully restored carnivore house and a modern design around it that imo does not offend the old structure. For the Gelada it is also a great enclosure, with some high quality mock rock (a rarity nowadays). The new nature conservation centre in the Oceanium in the former Sea of Cortez area is a huge failure imo. This was exactly the area where such a development is not wanted and certainly not in its current form. There are plenty of areas that would benefit some new developments, but don't fix what is'nt broken and that part of Oceanium was certainly not broken and I always highly enjoyed that part. It is still very clear however that it has been a former desert zone, as they haven't gotten rid of all the thematization. What is weirdest is however the big square box in the middle with pet shop enclosures (with extremely rare species though). It is just ugly and doesn't live up to the high standard around the zoo. To me this is a big failure, even though I am a fan of the idea behind it. And then we are not even talking about how this and the addition of Ring-tailed lemurs has completely demolished the original theme of the whole building, which is now themeless... The Lion enclosure was not as bad as it looked from the train, it is still not big, but of an ok size for now and well designed. The Okapi enclosure has also aged pretty well, though it is still somewhat small outside. It is however the best forested Okapi enclosure I know. The bird line up is still somewhat disappointing for the space they have, with many species from Drylands (or not from Tropical Africa at all...) and not a large line-up at all. For some reason Okapi enclosures seem somewhat small in most zoos and only Wuppertal, Leipzig, Dublin and Beekse Bergen come to mind where they actually have a larger space (I don't know the enclosures in Beauval or Great Britain, except London)... Blijdorp is still a very good zoo, but could have been so much better and where Burgers' Zoo has mostly kept developing positively, Blijdorp is more stagnant in recent years....
Have to agree here. Blijdorp's new conservation area really feels like a petshop getting rid of a perfectly fine desert area. Their european area is basicly non-existant. It really could use a facelift. But on your asian swamp comment, other than cranes and monkeys, were there any other species over there?
There are currently 2 empty crane exhibit, with the white-naped cranes in the former Brahminy kite aviary and the Demoiselle crane in the big aviary. Then the Small-clawed otter enclosure is completely gone, though you can still find traces of it.. Wit the empty Bat cave that area breathes neglect
Hey now, thats not entirely true. The white-naped crane was undergoing some medical treatment and has since been moved back to the open air enclosure. The Demoiselle cranes are now living in the big aviary because the new male doesn't have clipped wings and frankly it's better for them that way. Both the old otter enclosure enclosure in the swamp and the one in the Europe area have been demolished and repurposed, the latter now being part of a little sitting area. There are plans for the bat cave but you cant just magically create such funds of course, and right now the focus is on the last of the monuments that desperately need some tender love and care. And regarding the new Nature Conservation Centre: Im sad so many people seem to dislike it. The talk I went to ahead of its opening, really brought the idea across to me: some of the best breeding centres don't go overboard with their exhibits. The kind of enclosures you see in the central room don't differ much from what you'd see behind the scènes. I agree the mixture of the new, clean look with the old Cortez stuff could've been executed better, but considering the budget I'm just happy we are finally able to enjoy some cold blooded beauties again
Honestly, it does not fit in with the rest of the oceanium in my opinion. The conservation center is a great idea, but executed so poorly. If you want to have people be excited about saving/helping the animals in need, they need something to see other than a glasscage with a few twigs and a puddle of water. In my opinion having it more decorated in general could've improved it so much!
At Blijdorp a European otter has been born. Don't know where the species is kept because in the old enclosure next to the Riviera Hall I didn't seethe species on my last visits.
The pair there is relatively new and arrived not too long ago, but that enclosure had been empty for quite some time...
A second okapi calf was born at Diergaarde Blijdorp/Rotterdam Zoo earlier this week. Diergaarde Blijdorp Rotterdam on Instagram: “TWEEDE ZELDZAME OKAPI GEBOREN! De verzorgers werden deze week verrast toen ze het verblijf van hoogzwangere okapi M’buti betraden. De…”
Last night a small fire broke out in a technical building housing the heating system for the crocodile house. Apparently something went wrong in a machine burning wood pellets. The fire brigade quickly came to the scene and they were able to put the fire out quickly. No humans or animals were hurt by the fire or exposed to smoke. An investigation will be launched to find out what went wrong and how to prevent a repeat. Privacy settings Brand in krokodillenverblijf Blijdorp
This week a Francois langur was born at Blijdorp. Mother is Nanpi who herself was the first Francois langur to be born at Blijdorp ( and the Netherlands ). She already raised young succesfull before and now the group at Blijdorp contains 5 members.
And the first in Europe Glad they still have 5 animals, I only saw 2 on my last visit and wondered what happened...
They could do with an exchange in order to have 1-2 more unrelated females. On the general state of the zoo: I fully agree the state of affairs in flux and stagnant disrepair. I have serious reservations over the current senior management which is lacking in conservation and innovative zoo design! The loss of interesting species of conservation concern is also a downer and it is fast becoming an ABC zoo under current reign. Mind the former director did not leave for no reasons! Partially the Municipal Council also carries some blame here!
