Burgers' Zoo Burgers' Zoo News 2022

A new year, a new thread for Burgers' Zoo.

At midnight they posted a video on Facebook regarding the manatee calf.
It is already drinking well at their mom. Guides are keeping an eye on the calf to study its development.

Burgers' Zoo - De allerbeste wensen voor 2022 vanuit Koninklijke Burgers' Zoo! | Facebook

 

The zoo started a new series on their website that is a series of blogs that show the life behind the scenes of the zoo. The first blog+video is about giraffe transport.

Bijzonder transport: giraffe

 

To add onto the news of today (sorry for double post)
A roan antelope was born this morning. (https://twitter.com/burgerszoo/status/1478356524712054785)

 

A few interesting pieces from the zoo's magazine:
- The most recently born eagle-ray has been sired by the new male that came from Poland a while back, which is good news as he was brought in to start a new blood-line.
- One of the male Wrinkled Hornbills in the Bush has moved to Avifauna to accompany a female there. Two males still reside in the Bush.
- The fish tank in the Fazanterie now houses Pantano Cichlids (the cichlids that used to be there before have moved to the Mangrove). The zoo hopes to breed the species there, as they have not been successful with this species before.

 

A Superb fruit-dove has left the nest :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=890943558170692

 

Good news! Earlier it was thought that the young manatee would be a male, but now it turns out to be a female.

 

Some notes from a busy zoo visit:

- The Montezuma quail are now signed in the bird canyon, but this area is still closed, so I did not see any.
- The Victoria crowned pigeon is on the nest again near the Livingstone bridge
- In the Ocean some of the first fish one can see now are nosestripe anemonefish (Amphiprion akallopisos; 8 other holders in Europe + 2 in Russia). A group of about 10 fish lives in the rocky part of the Lagune





- In the Pheasantry there is a young superb fruit dove, but the Sumatran laughingthrush have left (on recent visits I only saw 1 individual of the pair they received a year ago), a second pair of superb fruit doves lives there now.

- The first renovations on the former bighorn sheep enclosure have started. But no official news yet as to what will live there next.

 

Do we perhaps have any pictures? What things have changed so far? Maybe we can do some speculating

 

I saw this picture posted earlier this week, but it doesn't say all that much.

Log into Facebook

 

Very interesting

Though its a shame they blocked it off, since we now can't see the (second) Ringtail enclosure or the town

 

You can, the path between the restaurant and the peccary is open again.

 

Very early burgers zoo update

The separation "flaps" of the caiman corner in the bush are back. The caiman is still in Rimba, according to a keeper, but is to be returned to the bush very soon!

The Argus pheasant can be seen in the pheasantry again. I didn't see the female, so it might just be the male.
They are held in the former trumpeter bird enclosure

 

Other small updates: The signage for the Gambel's quails has been removed, though I wasn't able to ask anyone about it

As @lintworm said; the Montezuma quail are signed in the Canyon aviary, though I'm fairly certain they're still behind the scenes

I saw Stef (Burgers' zoo enclosure designer) at the bighorn sheep enclosure and asked him about the enclosure, but it's still being kept a secret. However:

The wall near the path has been completely removed

I also noticed some markings on the rocks (which I highlighted with red). I don't want to go into speculation too much but it looks like we might be getting some climbing structures

 

There are at least 1.2 Gambels quails in the roadrunner aviary.

 

I don't know since when or if it's been mentioned yet, but for the collectors you can get the old ocean animals signs in the souvenir shop for €15.

 

Behind the scenes Burgers'is breeding with the Allison's anole - Anolis allisoni and 2021 was quite succesfull, 16 young being raised. Plan is to release them in the Mangrove hal and for spring 2022 15 animals are planned to be set-free :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=614216373190373

 

I had my first zoo visit of the year this weekend to Burgers' Zoo. The bighorn sheep enclosure is under construction, and a significant area round it is therefore now closed off, so a visit to the Desert has become rather limited.

Highlights in the bush were good views of a Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch and a great display of the hornbills flying around. In the Mangrove, the Red-legged Honeycreepers were the main attraction. I saw a male displaying for a female at the mudflat and I also saw a small party in the dry forest part, along with a group of seven (I think) Crested Bobwhites. (And yes, I also saw the young manatee, but that's not a bird so by definition less interesting than the honeycreepers! )

The bird house (Fazanterie) really starts to feel a bit unloved at the moment. To me, it seems like the zoo itself does not see a future for this exhibit, even in the medium-long run. Species that leave are not replaced. Formerly separate aviaries are connected by just removing the wire between them, without much further renovation. It currently houses only 13 bird species, three of which can also be seen in the Bush. I won't be surprised if the whole thing is gone or changed unrecognizably within the next few years.

Here's the full species list at this moment. Would be interesting to see it compared to what it was a decade ago, or even what it housed at the time of the opening of the new Mangrove.

Spoiler: Fazanterie species list

Inner row (from apes to Mangrove)
1. Gouldian Finch
2. Superb Fruit Dove, Chestnut-backed Thrush, White-rumped Shama (signed not seen)
3. Connected to 2
4. Silent forest display (no living animals)
5. White-Lipped Tree Frog, Green Tree Python
6. Pantano Cichlid, Blue Guianacara, Ancistrus dolichopterus, Corydoras longipennis (singed not seen)

Outer row (apes to Mangrove)
1. Satyr Tragopan, Superb Fruit Dove
2. Galah, Blue-winged Kookaburra
3. Kea
4. Black Hornbill
5. Common Emerald Dove, Grosbeak Starling, White-rumped Shama
6. Inca Jay, Great Argus

 

You're about to make a whole new list of enemies

 

The rendeer have left the zoo. They moved to Han-sur-Lesse. I wonder what will come in their place. I hope this part of the zoo will get some more love and a cool new species.

 

That's a very shocking and sudden change. I really hope they're planning on doing something new here. The reindeer enclosure was the weakest enclosure in the zoo for a WHILE