Hello everyone! Over the past few weeks I have been working on a walkthrough-style account of my trip to Burgers' Zoo in the Netherlands! I really enjoyed my trip to this zoo and the writing of my walkthrough. Now, I have written stuff like this before, but I have never uploaded it online in the past, so any constructive criticism regarding my writing would be welcome. It is also worth noting that, as the visit I am describing was my first time ever going to Burgers' Zoo, I am by no means the most trustworthy person for discussing it. It is entirely possible (even probable) that some of the facts I stated regarding Burgers' Zoo in this thread were incorrect and misleading. If that is the case, I would really appreciate it if some more knowledgeable members could point them out. As this review is very long, I have split it into 4 parts, with the first discussing the Park, the second discussing the Mangrove and the Rimba, the third discussing the Safari and the Bush and the fourth discussing the Ocean and the Desert. I will release one of the four parts per day. So, without further ado, here is Part 1: Part 1 - A Walk in the Park: I have always been fascinated by the Koninklijke Burger’s Zoo, or as I will refer to it for the remainder of this review, Burgers. So much about this place really stood out, that when my family began their plans for a two week cycle trip around the Netherlands, I did everything in my power to ensure that they made a stop in Arnhem so that I could visit this world-class institution. On the 30th July 2022, my dreams came true as I found myself in the Burgers Zoo. By a lucky coincidence, our airbnb host in Arnhem was about as nice a host as one could ask for, so, after answering our queries about how the zoo's name was pronounced, he offered to walk us to the zoo. This worked out really well, as Google Maps had proposed a 38 minute walk along unappealing main roads, but with his guidance, we turned it into a really pleasant stroll through two local parks, Sonsbeek and Zijpendaal, which only added 2 minutes to our walk! We arrived at 10:00 AM on the dot, an hour after the zoo opened. I would usually consider this complete sacrilege, due to my insistence on punctuality when visiting zoos. But our visit was the first of several days in which the zoo stayed open for an additional two hours after its usual closing time, so this did not hurt our visit and instead gave us more time to appreciate the two parks, which were surprisingly nice. After getting slightly sentimental standing outside the zoo gates, we walked through the ticket booth and entered Burgers' Zoo! Upon entering the zoo, you are greeted by their enclosure for Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus Humboldti). While it is by no means up to the high standards set by the penguin enclosure that I saw at Edinburgh last year, it gets the job done fairly well. An enormous group of these animals enjoy a well-landscaped enclosure with several raised cliff faces, but the pool was too shallow for proper diving to take place. It’s a great enclosure aesthetically, but as far as the penguins themselves are concerned, I don’t believe that this enclosure is any better than average. A small outdoor staircase beside the penguins leads to the zoo’s Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus). The zoo houses two elderly cows who are retired from the breeding programme, and as such are deemed to be surplus stock by the EAZA. The zoo has a crucial role to play in taking care of these animals throughout the remainder of their life, so the enclosure was designed with less mobile individuals in mind. The result is nowhere near as impressive or as spacious as the enclosures that I have seen at, say, Chester or Whipsnade in the UK, but it doesn’t need to be. An additional point worth mentioning is the presence of several mature trees in this paddock, something that I have never seen before for elephants, and that I am certain that this forest-dwelling species is rather grateful for. Directly opposite the elephants is an island for Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) and Black Lemur (Eulemur macaco). This enclosure is not spectacular, but it feels like more effort was put into it than is the case at other lemur enclosures that I have seen. It is well-vegetated and provides good viewing of the animals not by being a walkthrough, but by allowing visitors to completely circle the habitat, passing many sheltered viewing areas along the way. As the lemurs weren’t particularly active, I do not have fond memories of this enclosure, but I recall thinking it was an aesthetic triumph and probably better for the lemurs than most enclosures. My excitement there was somewhat drowned out by the fantastic section that lay around the corner, however. It should go without saying that every zoo visit has its highlights, some predictable, and others very much unexpected. This one falls under the latter. I am referring to the zoo’s enclosure for South American Coati (Nasua nasua) and Peruvian Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis), more specifically, the way in which it allows for this species to exhibit a range of natural behaviours that I have never known them to display before. Coatis are very much an arboreal animal, and yet they are often considered to be a filler species in European zoos, resulting in their love for climbing barely being catered for. I am pleased to announce which that is not the case at Burgers, because in this wonder of an enclosure (if I am not mistaken a former tiger exhibit, but please correct me on that if I am wrong) several mature trees up to twenty metres high encouraged the zoo’s group of coatis (the most individuals that I have seen at once to this date) to leave the ground behind them and reach phenomenal heights. On my visit, that is precisely what I saw. Alas, lens flare prevented me from getting any photos of this very exciting moment, but it was still very fun to watch all the same. The squirrel monkeys, of a subspecies completely absent from the UK, also enjoyed the many trees! Perhaps the most ubiquitous zoo animal, to the frustration of just about every zoo lover, is the Meerkat (Suricata suricatta). The zoo displays their group right besides the coatis, and it was laughably dull by contrast. It is about as standard as these things get, and I am not going to spend any longer talking about it, especially considering what was lurking round the corner. The Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a subspecies that I had always wanted to see, and I was fortunate enough to see some of the greatest leopard activity that I have ever seen in this enclosure. With help from a very generous fellow visitor (with whom I had a brief conversation about Dutch zoos, and he proved to be extremely knowledgeable with regards to them), I managed to locate a very playful cub and its mother and spent a solid ten minutes or so watching them. It is the first time in ages that I have been so excited to watch leopards. As for the enclosure itself - well I thought it was rather impressive. Leopards often get the short end of the stick in zoos, with even highly reputable facilities such as Beauval in France treating them like a filler species, when in reality these beautiful and endangered cats can (as this enclosure rather professionally demonstrates) be just as enjoyable to watch as lions or tigers when displayed well. With a lot of shade, expert landscaping and an abundance of climbing, this enclosure is certainly better than most, although that is only by leopard standards. It reminded me strongly of the very similar enclosure at Marwell, with the caveat that said zoo displays Amur not Sri Lankan. It was at this point that, after a brief walk through a tunnel with interesting signage detailing the zoo’s history, I entered the Mangrove, however, in order to arrange this zoo by eco-display, I will actually be discussing the remaining portions of the Park first. The other end of Park housed the zoo’s Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), in what I think it is fairly safe to deem as the worst enclosure in the zoo. It felt somewhat as though a very large group of them were being crammed into a very small enclosure, completely netted and yet far too small for them to fly. Just opposite them was the decidedly better Bird of Prey Aviary. On my visit, it housed Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), Waldrapp (Geronticus eremita) and Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus), three fairly common species, and yet all ones that I still, for whatever reason, really enjoy seeing when displayed well. It reminds me a lot of the new Europe Aviary at Chester Zoo (I sadly never got to see the old one), with a similar species selection and appealing mix of vegetation, although the viewing was less exciting and it was slightly smaller. That said, I actually preferred it, due mainly to its vintage and charm, no doubt benefitting from the absence of a conspicuous fake rock cliff at the back. Just up the path, were a pair of Blue-Winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii), a species which I have always respected as being a refreshing break from the sea of their more famous Laughing cousins, thanks to their namesake colours and smaller size. That said, they are still fairly commonplace. In this particular instance they were the gateway species to the Bird House, which was remarkably standard and as such, not really worth reviewing in any level of detail. Instead, I will provide a species list: Kea (Nestor nobilis) White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) Grosbeak Starling (Scissirostrum dubium) Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malyanus) Superb Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus Superbus) Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan Satyra) Gouldian Finch (Chloebia Gouldiae) I considered the Bird House to be about as standard as these things get, with mostly small (and in the case of the Kea, arguably even inadequate) enclosures for most of its inhabitants. It does make one wonder why in this, one of the most rapidly developing and overall high-quality zoos in the world, why this house hasn’t been demolished to make way for a more exciting development. Perhaps it is in the hopes that it would serve as a homage of sorts to the zoo’s early history as a Pheasantry, but whatever the reason, it really does feel out-of-place. Barring the Gouldian Finch, who you pass outdoors upon exiting the building, I didn’t check the outdoor areas, as from a distance they appeared to be just as bland as the indoors and there weren’t many exciting species. In retrospect that may have been a bad idea, as my previous viewings of Black Hornbill, one of my favourite birds, at Paignton and Paradise WP were all of a very poor quality, and I could not find the species indoors. It is worth noting that within the bird house was a small aquarium tank (housing three species that I forgot to note down) and a vivarium (housing Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis) and White-lipped Tree Frog (Nyctimystes infrafrenatus) were also present, although neither were particularly noticeable. At the far end of the building stood the indoors for the zoo’s chimpanzees, but due to the summer weather encouraging all the animals to be outside, the indoors was closed to the public. Hardly a problem, however, as it was the outdoors that I was looking forward to. The zoo’s outdoor enclosure for Western Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes Verus) is quite spectacular for several reasons. For starters, it is huge, at 5,000 square metres, making it the largest I have ever seen, if one considers the many Monkey World enclosures to be separate, with the viewing area being in the perfect place to still give you a near-perfect overview of the enclosure without feeling intrusive and hurting the naturalism of it all. The varied habitat is useful as it allows for a large open area that takes into account the size of the group, while also taking into account the need for some levels of privacy among the animals with the denser portion at the back. I feel as though there should have been more climbing opportunities, although that is merely because my fondest memories of the species (at Chester and at Edinburgh) all took place while the animals were above the ground, but their climbing needs were still well catered for. Additionally, I believe that this enclosure was designed specifically with representing the natural habitat of the animals in question in mind. The result is an aesthetically pleasing enclosure, but also one that allows the chimps to exhibit a range of natural behaviours, in turn resulting in fantastic research on the behaviour of these animals being carried out by primatologists at this very zoo. When it opened in 1971 for that precise purpose, it rendered Burgers the first ever zoo to exhibit multiple adult males in the same enclosure, something that was declared over-ambitious and nigh impossible at the time, but from a modern perspective was an indisputably brilliant idea, and one that revolutionised the way that we house chimpanzees in modern zoos. I thought that this outdoor enclosure was the greatest that I have ever seen for chimpanzees, but I will reserve any other judgements until I have seen the complete enclosure. Opposite the chimpanzees were the Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor), in yet another fairly simplistic enclosure, although the landscaping work and the nice shade from the trees above definitely work quite well here. Beyond that is a carbon copy of the chimpanzee enclosure that houses the zoo’s group of Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Both enclosures are of a very similar size, both have moderate amounts of climbing, both find the perfect balance between open spaces and more densely planted ones. While this enclosure lacks the historical context of the chimpanzee enclosure, I think I enjoyed watching the animals here more, in part as a result of the cleverly placed viewing that provides more angles, and also partly due to the fact that the gorillas are not alone. Rather, they share with Golden-bellied Mangabey (Cercocebus chrysogaster). This animal was a lifetick and seemed more than at home alongside the gorillas, making use of the many mature trees and raised logs that were scattered throughout the habitat. They were a joy to watch, and I am glad to have seen great apes that aren’t orangutans share with animals that aren’t gibbons, as it is really interesting and sadly not a particularly common occurrence. I was transfixed by the primates, but after a while of observing some fantastic activity among them, I concluded that it was time to move on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you very much to all who read that! I am not quite comfortable with it - I feel as though it can be improved massively and I am not sure how. Any feedback on it would be very much appreciated and very useful to me. As mentioned above, any responses to any facts regarding the zoo that I may have got wrong would be nice. And thoughts about the zoo in general would be great, as I would love to discuss this incredible institution with my fellow zoo-lovers!
I think you’re a bit too harsh on yourself, I enjoyed reading that! The coatis indeed used to live in the former tiger enclosure, but that has been demolished (along with all the enclosures in that area where they then built 2 new enclosures for the lemurs and the coatis with a new species: the squirrel monkeys)
It fascinates me that you didn't start with visiting the Bush or the Desert, as these are easily the highlights, I thought everyone would start with visiting them. Also, the Bird house is indeed standard and not that glamorous, and although average, the exhibits seemed ok, I don't know what you found inadequate in the Kea exhibit?
I like the review! I do agree that the bird house is okay but is in contrast with the rest of the zoo. My guess is that this area will recieve an upgrade. However, the question is when and how big. Cuz you are right. In some ways it is an homage to the old burgers zoo. The flamingo exhibit suffers a lot from the bird flu. So the net isn't to contain the flamingoes but rather keep other birds out of them. I hope this will change soon, but the decision is understandable.
it is gonna stay for a while. As a bird flu outbreak in Lunteren. A radius of regions has been on the lockdown law. This includes Arnhem-Noord. (Dierziektencrisis | RVO.nl) You can see some info on that site with exact reasoning on why certain areas still are on the lockdown.
Thank you for the kind words! I had a quick browse of the gallery to find the former tiger enclosure, and it seemed very nice, although I certainly prefer the new one. It seems as though Burgers' can't go wrong when it comes to coatis! When visiting new zoos, I like to save the best for last, or else everything I see later on in the day would suffer from comparisons with the zoo's best exhibits. If I ever return to Burgers', I will agree with you, however, as it would give me more chances with spotting the free-ranging birds. The kea enclosure just seemed a bit too small for the number of individuals that it displayed. Unless the outdoors which I made the mistake of not visiting is of a very high quality, then I am indeed of the belief that this Kea enclosure is inadequate. Maybe I am being too harsh, and indeed, I have seen very few other kea enclosures to compare it to. I do hope that the bird house receives an upgrade soon. I was thinking that the flamingo enclosure looked like a temporary display. Thank you for confirming!
Part 2 - Manatees and Mangabeys The Mangrove has existed at Burgers’ Zoo for quite a long time now, however its original purpose was as nothing more than a test for the roof structure of the Bush. In 2017, in an attempt to promote in-situ conservation projects that the zoo operates in the mangroves of Belize, it was transformed into yet another eco-display. I was extremely excited to enter the mangrove, as it was an ecosystem that I have never before seen represented in zoos, and I was not disappointed. As soon as I opened the doors, I was welcomed by the vibrant colours of at least 20 butterflies circling the same wall of potted plants that served as the marker for the one-way route that the Mangrove had in place. It was a really nice and exciting welcome to this fantastic exhibit. The butterflies, coupled with the excitement of seeing several real mangrove trees in the same building and helped somewhat the heat of the building came together to create an almost surreal effect. It was really hard to take in what was before me. For those who are interested, the signage indicates that the species list of butterflies was the following: Owl Butterfly (Caligo atreus) Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) Grecian Shoemaker (Catonephele numilia) Glasswing (Greta oto) Zebra Mosaic (Colobura dirce) Malachite (Siproeta stelenes) Red Cracker (Hamadryas amphinome) Doris Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius doris) Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius charitonius) King Swallowtail (Heraclides thoas) Tiger-striped Longwing (Heliconius ismenius) Banded Orange Heliconian (Dryadula phaetusa) Sara Longwing (Heliconius sara) Common Postman (Heliconius melpomene) Tiger Longwing (Heliconius hecale) Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea) After passing through the crowd of lepidoptera, I was greeted by the sight of a crystal-clear pool in which a West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) was surfacing and rolling around. I saw the animal get hand-fed, with the leftovers then being dropped into the tank and allowed to scatter. I don’t think any experience with manatees will ever compare to the emotional reaction towards first seeing the species at Vincennes, but enclosure-wise, I feel safe in saying that this is the best of the three that I have seen (pre-Dome Beauval being the third. For starters, it is of decent depth and of outstanding surface area, easily the largest of the three that I have seen, and I will not be surprised if it has one of the largest surface areas of any manatee tank in the world. Additionally, a combination of the mangrove trees, the birds, the butterflies and the lighting made this tank look far nicer than any others that I have seen. One thing that I particularly enjoyed was the large variety of fish sharing the tank with the manatees. As far as I am aware, most zoos mix their sirenians with fish, but of very few species. At Burgers’ there are 11, with the Tropical Gar (Atractosteus tropicus) being a lifetick and one of the building’s personal highlights due to my fondness of gar. The other fish were: Bay Snook (Petenia splendida) Lowland Cichlid (Herichthys carpintis) Salvin’s Cichlid (Trichromis salvini) Redhead Cichlid (Vieja melanura) Firemouth Cichlid (Thorichthys meeki) Blue-eye Cichlid (Cryptoheros spilurus) Pantano Cichlid (Cincelichthys pearsei) Liberty Molly (Poecilia gillii) Green Swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri) Banded Astyanax (Astyanax fasciatus) There were also free-ranging birds of the following species: Blue Ground-Dove (Claravis pretiosa) Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) Violaceous Euphonia (Euphonia violacea) Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) Crested Bobwhite (Colinus cristatus) I thought that was a really nice section. The White-winged Dove, Violaceous Euphonia and Crested Bobwhite were all lifeticks. White-throated Gecko (Gonatodes albogularis) Striped Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) Allison’s Anole (Anolis allisoni) Sadly, I didn’t see any of these. As impressive as this all was, it should go without saying what the real highlight of the building is. The Mudvlakte (Mudflat) is a tidal enclosure, and as such I made a point of visiting it on two separate occasions across my time at the zoo, and I was really able to appreciate how they were each two different worlds! On my first visit, the tide was rather low, and as such the habitat was dominated by West African Fiddler Crab (Uca tangeri) and the Mudflat Fiddler Crab (Uca rapax), two species that I had never seen before, despite their being rather common in zoos. This species is crucial to mangrove ecosystems (I would strongly recommend a read-up for those who don’t know), and as such the chance to watch hundreds of them scurrying along a mudflat and feeding among the mud was an exciting one. The enclosure just felt so alive. When I returned, the water level had risen and most (but not all) of the fiddlers were in their burrows. Their fellow crustaceans, the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus), were, on the other hand, even more showy, along with the selection of fish in the enclosure. These are Blue Tang Surgeonfish (Acanthurus coeruleus), Mangrove Molly (Poecilia orri), Mangrove Rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus) and Yucatan Gambusia (Gambusia yucatana). A large portion was also devoted to Upside-down Jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.). This enclosure was so creative and gave the feeling of an authentic mangrove environment far better than any amount of ethnic and cultural displays could ever do. The Mangrove was brilliant, not because of the species displayed, nor the quality of the enclosures in question, nor the extreme variety of mangrove vegetation, rather the fact that it was all of the above factors, and not an overwhelming abundance of the aforementioned ‘theming’ that made me feel like I had been transported to Central America. It is a very clever display, and I do wonder how long before it encourages other zoos to attempt the same. After Mangrove was Rimba, one of two outdoor eco-displays. It was an area of the zoo that I did not go into with particularly high expectations, and yet one that still blew me away. It commenced with Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus), whose enclosure was absolutely stunning. I believe it was the largest sun bear enclosure that I have ever seen and had the most climbing, something that is very much appreciated for this, the most arboreal of bears. But what really set it apart was the combination of the genius landscaping and the large size of the group. This meant that, as I passed the enclosure shortly after small pieces of food had been scattered across it, there was a lot of great foraging to be observed from a total of five sun bears. The bears share this enclosure with Binturong (Helarctos binturong), although I could not see any within this enormous enclosure. Just behind the indoors for the sun bears is a rather peculiar exhibit. I had heard about it in advance, and was convinced that it was not going to work out. I am very happy to announce that I was wrong. The enclosure is the main mixed paddock in Rimba and it housed the following. Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) Reeve’s Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) Javan Banteng (Bos Javanicus javanicus) Eld’s Deer (Rucervus Eldii thamin) Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) Southern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) I had seen all of these species (barring only the Pig-tailed Macaque) on several occasions in their own enclosures, but I had rarely seen them mixed with other animals, never mind five. The species selection sort of speaks for itself here. The zoo takes six species that would share their habitat in the wild but are rarely ever allowed to do so in zoos due to their very different needs and manages to create an enclosure that provides them all with what they want. The siamang have mature trees and ropes in which to brachiate, the macaques have several logs and an undulating hillside, the deer have plenty of green grass and shade, and the banteng, the largest inhabitants, have half-a-hectare of land to roam. It doesn’t feel like the zoo’s attempts to cater for one species ever drowns out the others. It is a very well-done enclosure. The Rimba then very briefly goes indoors with Common Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) and Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus), both of whom inhabit massive vivariums, although they are somewhat barren and nothing special by any means. There isn’t really much to say about these enclosures, except that at the time of my visit the water monitor was being remarkably active, certainly more so than what I have seen on other occasions. After the reptiles is a lodge in the canopy that provides viewing of the zoo’s enclosure for Golden-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) and Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus). When I first arrived at the enclosure, I merely saw a keeper laying out food, but after lingering in the area for a couple minutes, I returned to witness the entire thing spring to life. 5 gibbons were brachiating along the roof of the enclosure, then separating to forage for their food, all except one who instead chose to land on the windowsill and sit mere centimetres from the faces of its spectators. Whole apples had been scattered across the enclosure, and one particularly dominant gibbon had chosen to take more than their share, grabbing one in its hands, and rather curiously making use of its feet to hold the other. Eventually, it was caught, and after a thankfully rather short-lived fight, gave in, dropping the apple and vanishing into the canopy. I could go on and on listing exciting behaviour that the gibbons were showing off here, but I think it's best that I don’t waste your time with it. It should be noted, however, that this is now my favourite gibbon enclosure. The langurs were exciting as well, as my previous views of them at Howletts weren’t great. The finale to Rimba is the zoo’s Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) enclosure. I had heard a lot of praise for this enclosure, but looking at photos made me unsure as to what it was about. When I saw it in person it made sense. It's huge, which, coupled with the nice use of vegetation, allows the tigers to hide from the sight of the visitors if need be, and yet, if need not be, the viewing area (or more accurately viewing areas) is (are) also huge, which pretty much guarantees some sort of view of them. It's the kind of simple but clever approach to enclosure design that I always thought Whipsnade, my second home zoo, did very well, but I would argue Burgers actually does it better, despite being the (slightly) smaller of the two enclosures. Combine that with incredible landscaping and convincing but entirely native foliage, and you have one of the greatest tiger enclosures of all time. I also have to praise the multiple viewing angles, the predator-prey setup with the deer and banteng in the background, and the minimisation of cross-viewing. A fantastic enclosure! I was so excited about the animals, that I didn’t even realise until after exiting Rimba that it was 1:13 PM, and I was absolutely starving. We made our way round to the other side of the zoo, to the Safari Restaurant, taking a long route past the gorillas in the hopes that we could get some good views on our way to lunch. Indeed, we saw the mangabeys even more active than they were previously, although the great apes were nowhere to be seen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I hope that you enjoyed reading that! Once again, I am not a Burgers' Zoo expert, so any factual corrections are more than welcome. Part 3 will be uploaded tomorrow.
Part 3 - My Idea of Paradise When we arrived at the Safari Restaurant, the views were indeed quite impressive. I was greeted by a very large group of Great White Pelican (Pelicanus onocrotalus) floating on the sunlit, reflective moat that marked the outskirts of the zoo’s savannah exhibit. In the background were several exciting species of ungulate, but I chose to postpone admiring them until after getting lunch. I often complain about the low quality of zoo food, particularly how most of the options contain environmentally harmful products, such as beef and non-sustainable seafood, which seems to contradict the goal of the modern zoo - raising awareness about, and participating in, conservation. Not at Burgers’. At Burger’s, several vegetarian options are promoted, and it (at least what I tried) was of a decent quality. Combine that with great views of the pelicans and ungulates below from the outdoor seating, and I would say that the Safari Restaurant provided one of my favourite zoo dining experiences yet. I accidentally did the Safari in reverse order, which worked out rather well as I had already got some views of the main savannah from the restaurant. The savannah is split into two halves by what I have heard other zoos describe as a ‘rhino gate’ (I am not sure if that is a universal term, but I will go with it), which, as you could probably infer from the name, is designed so that one particular inhabitant is confined to one particular half, while the other species can roam freely, a useful feature if said inhabitant is living up to its reputation of aggressiveness. The first half was (on my visit) where the majority of the ungulates were spending their time. It was considerably spacious and an aesthetic success (owing that to the moat and the shade), so I spent quite a while admiring the smaller ungulates, which were as follows: Rothschild’s Giraffe (Giraffe camalopardalis rothschildi) Grant’s Zebra (Equus quagga boehmi) Ellipsen Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus ellipsiprymnus) Roan Antelope (Hippotragus equinus) Beisa Oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) A fairly standard selection of species, with a few exceptions. The Beisa Oryx were the first of these, as my previous view of them at Beauval was of poor quality. There was one lifetick on the savannah that I had really hoped to see, but sadly there was no evidence of them. However a bit further along the boardwalk viewing I found what I was looking for. The zoo’s herd of Eastern White-bearded Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus) stood in a separation enclosure of sorts, and after a few seconds of pondering over why this could be, I found the answer. A calf, no more than 19 days old, if I am not mistaken, could be seen among the herd. It made this already exciting encounter even more so. Enclosure-wise, the savannah was, however, at its best on the other side of the rhino gate. A crash of eight Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum), the largest group that I have seen of the species to date, could be seen in the distance. It’s a shame that so few zoos attempt to display true crashes (seven or more, I believe), as when displayed well such as in this savannah, they look wonderful and very much at home. If my area calculator tool is truthful, then they have around 2.2 hectares to roam here, with the background line of trees and the foreground watering hole creating one of the most picturesque sights in any zoo. Sadly, the inevitable electricity pylon had to ruin the utter perfection that otherwise would be this savannah. The zoo’s pride of non-subspecific Lion (Panthera leo) was just around the corner. Half of me adored this enclosure - it is a spacious, beautifully designed enclosure, with plenty of shade and open areas alike, providing the zoo’s very large pride with everything they need. On the other hand, it feels like cheating, as it achieved said brilliance by doing nothing more than fencing off a large chunk of woodland, adding some basic enrichment and creating a nice glass-fronted viewing area. It may well be the greatest lion enclosure that I have ever seen, but it’s also the simplest and perhaps the least creative in its design. But I digress. It is unfair to criticise an enclosure for not being creative enough when it provides such a near-perfect home for its inhabitants. South African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) roam a nearly identical habitat immediately next door. Once again, it is just a large portion of land that has been fenced off and slightly adjusted for big cats, but I feel as though it works better here. The cheetahs feel at home in the dappled light of the forest, with their camouflage being put on full display, but the trees are sparse enough that the animals can still run around as frequently and with as much energy as they would in the wild. I could only locate one individual, but they were more active than any of the lions, and seemed very much at home. For whatever reason, the grass also covered the entirety of this enclosure, while the lion habitat was full of barren patches. On that note, we had finished Safari. All three enclosures were great, on par with the best that I have seen for all the species in question, and yet for whatever reason, I felt unmoved. Mangrove, Rimba and certain parts of Park were, as far as my zoo-visiting journey goes, fairly life-changing. Safari was not. Perhaps because in all three cases, it is only a cut above the other enclosures I have seen (Marwell and Beauval for the savannah, London and Beauval for the lions, Wild Place, Chester, Whipsnade and Beauval for the cheetahs). Or perhaps it was the fact that the dark, shaded pathways and small viewing areas could not handle the ridiculously large crowds that this area of the zoo brings in. But whatever the reason, it made Safari the most forgettable area of the zoo, and sort of lowered my expectations for what was to come. Then I entered Bush... Wow. The sensation that one experiences upon entering Bush is really rather difficult to describe. You start off on a raised balcony and begin sloping down into the walkthrough itself. From the balcony you can see the sheer size of it. At 1.3 hectares this opened as the largest rainforest house in the world. It has since been surpassed twice, but Bush is still different from the rest because once you are down the slope, you are no longer on a set pathway, rather, you are on countless beaten dirt tracks through the jungle, at different elevation, with different plants, with little to no cross-viewing. I would be surprised if this is not the most immersive tropical house in the world. From the entrance balcony you *can* get a decent overview of the building, but even that doesn’t let you see to its far end. The excitement of seeing a new species of free-ranging bird, the stunning botanical collection, the lack of a set pathway, the denseness of the canopy. It all comes together to create the most beautiful and immersive exhibit that I have ever seen at a zoo, and words cannot really summarise just how much fun it was to explore. The list of species that are free-ranging in the building are: Birds (35 species): Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove (Gallicolumba luzonica) more Common Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) Asian Fairy-Bluebird (Irena puella) Chestnut-bellied Seed-finch (Sporophila angolensis) Chestnut-backed Thrush (Geokichla dohertyi) Red Fody (Foudia madagascariensis) Montserrat Oriole (Icterus oberi) Red-rumped Cacique (Cacicus haemorrhous) Wrinkled Hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus) Pinon Imperial-pigeon (Ducula pinon) Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus) Rose-bellied Bunting (Passerina rositae) Purple Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) Chaco Chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) Green Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula aenea paulina) Orange-fronted Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus aurantiifrons) Red-crested Turaco (Tauraco erythrolophus) Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans) more White-rumped Shama (Copsychus maiabarycus) Crested Quail-dove (Geotrygon versicolor) Spangled Cotinga (Cotinga cayana) more Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) Brazilian Tanager (Ramphocelus bresilius) White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides) Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria) White-winged Duck (Asarcornis scutulata) Turquoise Tanager (Tangara mexicana) Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) Green-naped Pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis nobilis) Vietnam Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) Crested Partridge (Rollulus rouloul) Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) Madagascar Crested Ibis (Lophotibis cristata) Reptiles (3 species): Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) Green Basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) Leopard Anole (Anolis marmoratus) Mammals (2 species): Rodrigues Flying Fox (Pteropus rodricensis) Seba’s Short-tailed Bat (Carollia perspicillata) Needless to say, some species in here (Nicobar Pigeons, Scarlet Ibis, Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove) are fairly common in zoos and as such did not conjure much excitement. But any species, however common, can be made memorable by being displayed well. For example, I have seen enough Rodrigues Flying Fox to last a lifetime, but having one fly directly over your head, then straight upwards towards the rooftop before spreading out its wingspan, showing off its golden patches of fur, almost iridescent in the light, to each and every spectator, then vanishing into a trees is still a memorable experience no matter how many times you have seen the species in question. Sort of similarly, I love hornbills, and as such, was eager to see the zoo’s Wrinkled Hornbill, which would be my first time in a walkthrough with my favourite birds. As such, it was very rewarding when not one, but two massive hornbills swooped down from the canopy and were mere centimetres away from flying into my face. It was both the most terrifying and exciting experience that I have had at a zoo in quite a while. It was also fun, when walking along the low-hanging bridge, to look up and be surprised to see a Green Basilisk staring right back at me, or to spontaneously decide to analyse a leaf, and spot an unexpected Leopard Anole right besides me. As for lifeticks, the Pinon Imperial-Pigeon, which are only held here and at Walsrode, were definitely seen at least once, running right in front of us across an open pathway. Rose-bellied Bunting are a truly beautiful bird housed only at Burgers, and as such I was hoping to spot some in the Bush, but was uncertain as I wasn’t sure how many individuals they held. Luckily, a breeding success just under a month before my visit allowed me to see several of these exciting creatures. Orange-fronted Fruit-Dove was another very exciting sighting, as they are among my favourite doves and I am truly grateful to have finally seen one in person. As far as Europe goes, only Zoo Berlin and Koln display them. The Leopard Anoles were also a lifetick. But I did not see everything that I had hoped to see. Chestnut-bellied Seed-finch is housed nowhere else in Europe, and the Red-rumped Cacique only here and at Zlin. In both cases I had possible sightings, but they were far too brief and my ID far too poor for me to be certain. I was really hoping to see a Spangled Cotinga, one of the most beautiful birds in the building, but alas, I missed out. Similar things can be said about the White-eared Catbird. Perhaps the most painful loss, however, was the Screaming Piha. This creature has one of my favourite calls out of any bird, and it was the most frequent and recognisable noise in the Bush. I spent at least 10 minutes of my hour in the rainforest solely searching for the source of this call, as this is the only zoo in Europe where the animal in question is displayed, but I left the Bush without having seen one. I need to learn better how to trace calls! It reminds me of all the time I have spent at nature reserves in the UK searching for Bitterns, almost always hearing their distinct booming but never actually locating one. The difference of course being that while I can see a Bittern at just about any European nature reserve with a bit of luck and commitment, and am thus likely to eventually spot one in the wild, however long it takes, I can only really find Screaming Piha at Burgers. That is, unless I find myself in the Amazon or Pantanal any time soon. However, I cannot criticise Burgers for not guaranteeing animal sightings. Rather the opposite. It did indeed remind me of looking for Bitterns, and if the experience of searching for animals in zoos is comparable to searching for them in the wild, then you know that the zoo in question did a good job! Bush is not the best tropical house that I have been to because of its size alone, but rather the combination of size, innovation, and the abundance of free-roamers that transcends what zoos should be able to achieve. It's a great exhibit, surely one of the best zoo buildings of all time. It isn’t just free roamers however. There are five enclosed exhibits here. The first is for Asian Short-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinerea), which actually does a fairly good job at blending into the scenery. I am somewhat critical of the idea of enclosed exhibits in here, as they are somewhat immersion-breaking, but the Bush is so thickly planted that, with a bit of landscaping work, the barriers can be completely disguised and any impression that the creatures are not free-ranging barring only the signage is hidden. Similarly, the Yellow-spotted River Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) enclosure is just a pond with a large land area attached, with nothing indicating it not being enclosed at a glance, but once you know it is enclosed the barriers are quite easy to see. The turtles are a great choice, and fit the pool very well, yet if I am right, this used to be home to Capybara, and before that the zoo’s manatees resided here prior to moving to the Mangrove! Perhaps my favourite of the enclosed habitats is the one for unspecific Leafcutter Ant (?). Around 300,000 individuals are housed here, in a very typical style, where leafcutter ants harvest leaves, then climb towards some sort of nest to store them, but I have never seen it attempted on such a large scale. The ants collect leaves from islands on the turtle pool, then climb up a wooden pillar that is at least six metres tall, then across a series of ropes into a small lodge. It truly is very exciting to watch, and just as exciting, is the fact that it was only nine days old when I visited. I like to think which that makes me one of the first zoo-lovers to see it, but almost definitely not *the* first. Then there is the Broad-snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris) enclosure, which is quite nice, although I got more enjoyment out of admiring the interesting plants in their corner of the building, and I would argue that the underwater viewing is far too murky. There is a waterfall in their tank, the source of which is a small pool where an unsigned fish (I believe it to be a zebra cichlid) could be found. This is a very common design feature in zoos, and one that I am quite fond of. The only enclosed section that I genuinely dislike is the enclosure for Aardvark (Orycteropus afer), which is a bit on the smaller side, has rather poor landscaping (by Burgers’ standards), and terribly disguised fences (which wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t in Bush). Considering that Burgers’ are rather well-known for their aardvark, I was hoping they could do better. Overall, Bush is amazing, and after I left, I concluded that it was my favourite ever zoo exhibit. It could not hold on to that title for very long however, because at the back of the Bush was a small tunnel inviting you to another of the two remaining eco-displays. As if Bush wasn’t amazing enough, the next exhibit was Ocean... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is Part 3, the penultimate part of my walkthrough! Part 4, the final part, will be uploaded tomorrow and cover the remaining two eco-displays, the Ocean and the Desert. I hope you all enjoyed reading that, and once again any corrections regarding facts about the zoo or its species are welcome where necessary!
Before the review starts, it is worth noting that, sadly, this part has a lot of species that are repeated, so when the word 'more' is used in species lists, it indicates that the adjacent species has already been displayed elsewhere in the zoo, so that I know not to count it when seeing how many species the zoo has, if I ever get round to that. On that note, here is part 4! Part 4 - A Zoo within a Zoo The Ocean was constructed in the year 2000, with the goal of transporting visitors through the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific. At 8 million litres, it is the largest aquarium in Europe away from the sea, and the largest in the Netherlands, both of which are very impressive claims considering that this aquarium is within a zoo. It is known for good breeding record for a variety of cartilaginous fish and in particular its fantastic work with coral. The opening tank is a peculiar one in that its depth various massively across the display. When you first walk in, it is very shallow, not unlike many touch pool exhibits. However by the time that you get to the main viewing area, the panel is floor-to-ceiling and it feels like an entirely different tank. Because of this, there are no less than four different angles (arguably more depending on how you define an 'angle') to view the tank from, and yet the rocks are so perfectly placed and the lighting so perfectly done that there is no cross-viewing, further enforcing the belief that they are different enclosures. While circling the tank and admiring its clever design, I was greeted by not one, not two, but three exciting species of cartilaginous fish! First, there was the Japanese Wobbegong (Orectolobus japonicus). This species was seen resting on top of a coral reef, and it was so well camouflaged that I nearly missed it at first. It was not until I stepped back that this fascinating animal was revealed. I had not seen wobbegongs for 7 years, and feared that they were gradually becoming rarer in zoos, so having yet another sighting with one, of a species housed at only one other European collection, no less, was very exciting indeed! Blackchin Guitarfish (Glaucostegus cemiculus) and Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) were also very nice animals that I had not seen in a couple years, and ones that I always enjoy admiring. The other species housed in the tank are as follows: Bluespotted Stingray (Neotrygon kuhlii) Spotted Unicornfish (Naso brevirostris) Map Puffer (Arothron mappa) Sailfin Tang (Zebrasoma veliferum) Foxface (Sigarius vulpinus) Bignose Unicornfish (Naso vlamingii) Longspined Porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus) Palette Surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus) Virgate Rabbitfish (Siganus virgatus) Barred Flagtail (Kuhlia mugil) Yellowbanded Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus lineatus) Slingjaw Wrasse (Epibulus insidiator) Scribbled Leatherjacket Filefish (Aluterus scriptus) Striated Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus striatus) Black-tipped Fusilier (Pterocaesio digramma) Orbicular Batfish (Platax orbicularis) Humpback Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum) Bluering Angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis) Peacock Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) Shorttail Nurse Shark (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum) Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus) Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier (Caesio cuning) Lunar Fusilier (Caesio lunaris) Lesson’s Thicklip (Plectorhinchus lessonii) Threadfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon auriga) Keyhole Angelfish (Centropyge tibicen) Yellowface Angelfish (Pomacanthus xanthometopon) Clown Coris (Coris aygula) Sling-jaw Wrasse (Epibulus insidiator) Brown-spotted Spinefoot (Siganus stellatus) Barhead Spinefoot (Siganus virgatus) Yellowfin Surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus) Which gives us an impressive total of 39 species in this tank alone! It really set the standard for what was to come in the Ocean, in particular how well-designed it is, with several alternative viewing points provided without it hindering the immersion. Opposite the main viewing panel, I found two reef tanks. The first of these held the following 15 species of fish: Pinecone Soldierfish (Myripristis murdjan) Humpback Grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) Miniatus Grouper (Cephalopholis miniata) Bluelined Grouper (Cephalopholis formosa) Moontail Bullseye (Priacanthus hamrur) Paeony Bullseye (Priacanthus blochii) Common Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira) more Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus) Bluestreak Damselfish (Neoglyphidodon oxyodon) more Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) Yellowtail Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum) Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus) Harlequin Tuskfish (Choerodon fasciatus) Orange-lined Triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus) Red-toothed Triggerfish (Odonus niger) And the second held the following 30: Oriental Bluespotted Maskray (Neotrygon orientalis) Orange Fairy Basslet (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) Spotted Gill Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus chrysopomus) Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) Blue Blanquillo (Malacanthus latovittatus) Dark-banded Fusilier (Pterocaesio tile) Pyramid Butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys polylepis) Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula) Blackstriped Angelfish (Genicanthus lamarck) Regal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus) Fire Anemonefish (Amphiprion melanopus) Blue Green Damselfish (Chromis viridis) Azure Demoiselle (Chrysiptera hemicyanea) Blacktail Humbug (Dascyllus melanurus) Reticulated Dascyllus (Dascyllus reticulatus) Lemon Damselfish (Pomacentrus moluccensis) Spiny Chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) more Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) more Foxface (Sigarius vulpinus) Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) more Palette Surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus) Whitecheek Surgeonfish (Acanthurus nigricans) Orangespot Surgeonfish (Acanthurus olivaceus) Powderblue Surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucosternon) more Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus) Lieutenant Surgeonfish (Acanthurus tennenti) Spotted Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus strigosus) Twospot Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus binotatus) Both tanks are fairly interesting in their own right. The first is by far the smaller of the two, but I have to appreciate its depth, while the second is stunningly large and with a variety of interesting viewing angles. But what really sets them both apart, and makes them among my favourite aquarium displays of all time, is the presence of living coral. I have lost count of how many times, in aquariums and zoos alike, fake coral has been used to represent the real thing. Of course, this sort of thing gets overlooked by the average visitor, but once one has seen live coral it becomes increasingly sad to see fakes. I am very fortunate to have grown up near to the Horniman Museum, a very interesting place who does have a large aquarium for live corals, but I have never seen it attempted on as large a scale as the second reef tank at Burgers'. A labyrinth of cilia so vast that it can partially manage its own water quality, with a volume of 750,000 litres. This display is hypnotic, and I could genuinely spend hours watching it if I was not aware about how rapidly we were losing time. Next is a smaller tank for Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris), where I saw them interact with anemones far better than I have anywhere else. Then Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans), in about as standard an enclosure as you could get for this species. But then, to compensate for the monotony, is yet another reef tank, this time with a focus on Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa). They are among my favourite corals, so different to the rest, making their interactions with the tank's other inhabitants even more entertaining. This reef tank is the smallest of the three (not particularly surprising when one considers its focus on one species), but has a very interesting species list: More Spotted Gill Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus chrysopomus) Red Pencil Urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus) Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia globulus) Jewelled Blenny (Salarias fasciatus) Unspecific Brittle Star (Ophiothrix sp. ) more Foxface (Sigarius vulpinus) Small Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima) more Powderblue Surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucosternon) Banded Coral Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) Elegant Hermit (Calcinus elegans) Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) Sadly, I am not sure how rare many of those invertebrates are, but several stood out. The two urchin species were fascinating, and 'Small Giant Clam' is surely one of the best names in the animal kingdom by virtue of contradicting itself. This whole room was fairly modest when compared to the rest of the Ocean, and certainly when compared to what comes next! Just about everyone who entered the next room of the Ocean made an audible exclamation of excitement, and those who don’t are most likely regulars. In this room was the Burgers' shark tank, with one of the largest viewing panels from which I have ever admired these animals. When the tank was first constructed in the year 2000, its viewing panel, 20 metres wide and 5 metres tall, was the largest in the world, and despite having been surpassed many times, it is still the largest in the Netherlands. The tank itself is probably the second largest that I have seen (Nausicaa's wasn't open on my visit, but Plymouth's is certainly bigger), but what really matters was that if I didn't know the size of it, I could have easily thought that it was the biggest. The display owes this to the genius lighting, which gives the impression of the animals fading into nothing when they swim a certain distance away from the panel, and it is impossible to judge where the tank ends. There is also a newfound suspense to watching a shark emerge from the oblivion, swimming towards the front and conjuring the gaps of its every spectator. This tank is a very impressive sight, and was probably one of the highlights of my visit to Burgers' Zoo. The species list is as follows: Giant Shovelnose Ray (Glaucostegus typus) Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) Zebra Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) Giant Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus obscurus) Potato Grouper (Epinephelus itajara) Yellowtail Angelfish (Apolemichthys xanthurus) more Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula) Lyretail Hogfish (Bodianus anthioides) more Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) more Spotted Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus strigosus) more Lieutenant Surgeonfish (Acanthurus tennenti) more Red-toothed Triggerfish (Odonus niger) more Spiny Chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) more Lemon Damselfish (Pomacentrus moluccensis) Threespot Dascyllus (Dascyllus trimaculatus) Now the above list does, admittedly, bring up a slight weakness of the Ocean, that being the number of species that are repeated. However, if we are able to ignore that, it is a very exciting list, that includes the only Giant Sweetlips in Europe and one of only two Blacktip Sharks. Of course, both of these, but also the Potato Grouper, Giant Shovelnose Ray and Yellow Angelfish, were lifeticks for me, and I really enjoyed watching them in this amazing tank. After a while, I somehow managed to bring myself away from the shark tank, into a fairly dark room, giving me the impression that the theme of the Ocean (slowly heading further away from land and into the Indo-Pacific Ocean) was still continuing as we entered deeper waters. It was then when I saw one of three unexpected surprise species of the Ocean, the Splitfin Flashlightfish (Anomalops katoptron), in a fantastic display. You stare at a dark tank clueless as to why you are there, until these strange lights start to appear, with the vague outline of a fish visible behind them. Not only was the flashlightfish a very exciting lifetick for me, but I also think that this is the best possible place to see them. I had no idea that they were present in captivity, so I began researching after seeing them, and noticed that most aquariums show them in lit conditions. I am aware that the animals live at depths in which light levels vary, so these tanks are by no means unrealistic, but you cannot admire their namesake adaptation at any of the (very few, only 7) other European zoos to display this species. I have heard some people argue that a curtain of sorts is needed to block off the external lighting, or else the glass becomes too reflective, but the wall of excited spectators wondering what on earth they were looking at functioned as a curtain in its own right, and nearly entirely blocked out the light. This is a really nice display. Just around the corner is the zoo’s Schooling Fish display. I really enjoyed this tank, mainly as it provided a lifetick species that I had wanted to see for about as long as I can remember, the Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda). They share with Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (the fifth tank at the aquarium to display them), the Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier, the Zebra Shark and the Golden Trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus). This tank is dedicated to schooling fish, and I feel as though the trevally in particular were meant to carry the team, but alas, every fish in the tank was avoiding the others. Although this tank sadly did fail at what it set out to do, and is probably one of the weaker displays in the Ocean, the barracuda more than made up for it, personally speaking. The finale of the Ocean is the Tunnel Tank. It is a large tunnel that reminded me of what many a sea life centre attempts to create, but this time, a much nicer selection of species is present. Yet again, a few highlights and lifeticks were included here. The species in the tank are: Ocellated Eagle Ray (Aetobatus ocellatus) Mangrove Whipray (Urogymnus granulatus) Australian Whipray (Himantura uarnak) Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus blochii) Southern Pompano (Trachinotus africanus) Sailfin Snapper (Symphorichthys spilurus) more Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus) more Yellowbanded Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus lineatus) more Lesson’s Thicklip (Plectorhinchus lessonii) Two-striped Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus albovittatus) Silver Moony (Monodactylus argenteus) more Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) more Orbicular Batfish (Platax orbicularis) Although nearly half of the tank's eleven species are whiprays, I must praise the presence of such rarities as Mangrove Whipray, and the excitement as an Eagle Ray appears out of the unknown both make this tank quite the spectacle and a fitting finale to the amazing exhibit that is Burgers Ocean. It is also worth noting that the zoo is really famous for its work with Eagle Rays, and of the 12 other European zoos (excluding Russia) that display the species, 8 had their individuals come from Burgers', with 9 having received individuals from there at some point. I thought that Ocean was incredible, and in all honesty, I think I preferred it to any of my local aquariums, which is quite impressive for a zoo aquarium! After Ocean, we returned to Bush and briefly walked through it on our way to the Desert, the final eco-display of the zoo. Half the fun of the Desert, for me at least, was not the desert itself, rather the ominous series of stone pathways leading up to it. There was a very interesting display of geological and archeological finds that I believe were found when digging up the area for the Desert, and were of such interesting value that they were chosen to be preserved. But they also included several animals, such as Seba’s Short-tailed Bat, an animal that was free-ranging in the Bush, but I had no luck finding them prior to entering this cave. The sight of many bats flying in by in such a space was an interesting and memorable one, although one that would be drastically improved if made into a walkthrough a la Chester. It reminded me of the old Seba’s bat enclosure in London, which is now the potto and jumping rat enclosure. There was a small pool in the corner of this corridor that I thought was a missed opportunity for a Blind Cave Fish pool. I then turned the corner to see a stalactite cave, with an even larger pool for none other than Omani Blind Cave Fish (Garra barreimiae), my first time seeing this species in quite a while. Around the corner from here was the first lifetick of the Desert, the Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami), my first encounter with any member of the subfamily Dipodomynae, and a very nice species. Meanwhile, the terrarium nextdoor displayed the decidedly less exciting Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum). Next were Colorado River Toad (Incilius alvarius), another first for me, although slightly more common in European zoos. Following this were two invertebrates, Red-kneed Tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) and Giant Hairy Scorpion (Hadrurus arizonensis). Then you catch your first glimpses of sunlight, drifting in from the background of the most spacious terrarium yet, this time housing Red Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber), another lifetick, and Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum). Then the Desert begins. I am very sorry to state that I do not have any photos of the Desert. That should be harmless enough, as there are already more than enough photos of the exhibit out there. But the issue is that I use photos as a means to note the species lists. So this only includes species that I can remember seeing and, with a few exceptions, overlooks species that I did not see. I will start by praising the Desert as a whole. One has to remember that it was opened in the hopes of achieving a similar effect to Bush in the sense that only the clear glass ceiling is preventing this from feeling like an authentic desert. One of the main ways that Bush achieved this was the minimisation of cross-viewing, so that you only see what the zoo wants you to see, and not all the alternative viewing points. In a rainforest this is a challenge, but at least the trees and such are there to help you. In a desert, meanwhile, it is much harder. You have to obscure any and all traces of the other viewing areas in a completely open setting. The solution that Burgers found was the best use of landscaping that I think I have ever seen, with the different levels, separated by equally clever rockwork that blends in to the environment, and a much heavier than usual focus on desert plants, means that there are several viewpoints and panoramas in which the impression of you being in a zoo is completely hidden. Such an ambitious landscaping project would be a challenge for any zoo even before one considers that it is being done here on a scale of 0.75 hectares (indeed making this the largest indoor desert in the world). With all that considered, it is hard to deny that the Burgers' Desert is one of the greatest zoo exhibits of all time. As for my personal experience of the place? Well, I loved it. It was indeed far more immersive than I had thought possible for such an ecosystem, and it was an honest joy to explore. There was, however, one slight issue - the temperature. In the Bush, the heat was part of the immersion, and yet in the Desert, it was just as cold (if not colder!) than it was outside. Why is this? Now for some more positive statements. If having a hornbill fly barely above my head in the Bush wasn’t exciting enough, here the same thing happened with an even larger animal, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). The White-winged Dove from the Mangrove made a return here, giving me yet another encounter with this rather rare species. Mexican House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) were the most common sighting in the Desert for me. By contrast, Burgers, along with Walsrode, is one of only two European zoos to display Gambel’s Quail (Callipepla gambelii), and as such they were a very exciting lifetick. The main rarity of this building, however, was by far the Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae), a striking quail species that is housed at no other European collection. I had heard that they are a rather shy animal, but similar to the various species in the Bush, the opposite seemed to be true at Burgers. That said, I still had a hard time locating them due to their incredible camouflage and the lack of a distinctive call, but it more than paid off, as they are some of the most beautiful animals in the entire zoo. Another two bird species here that cannot be found anywhere else in Europe are the Lawrence Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei) and the Yellow Grosbeak (Pheucticus chrysopeplus). There are far less free-ranging species in the the Desert than there were in the Bush, and yet there were far *more* lifeticks and rarities. I think this is mostly due to the fact that the Desert focuses on North American biomes, thus representing wildlife from a continent that is often overlooked in European zoos. As European and North American wildlife are so similar, each continent usually only focuses on their own, so when something of this scale is constructed focusing on the other, the result is often quite exciting indeed. A species that I have always wanted to see is the Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), and after it evaded me on all three of my visits to Paignton, I was eager to have another chance at a different zoo, where they may be more visible. I was disappointed to see that they were not free-roamers, rather, housed in a separate aviary against the wall (although it was a massive aviary). With a bit of luck, I actually managed to see one. I was surprised as to how big they were in person;certainly far larger than I had expected. I was really happy to have seen one. If I remember correctly, they shared their aviary with another animal, however I have completely forgotten what they were. Another long-overdue lifetick that I was hoping this exhibit could provide was the Bobcat (Lynx rufus), but no matter how hard I tried, I could not locate the zoo’s animals within their well-landscaped, if somewhat small, enclosure. Collared Peccary (Peccary tajacu) inhabit a fantastically designed enclosure right next to the exhibit’s entrance. I was looking forward to seeing the zoo’s Bighorn Sheep in their huge enclosure, which covers a considerable portion of the Desert, and thus was somewhat disappointed to see that the sheep had departed the zoo, and their enclosure was now occupied by North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) and Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus). It wasn’t the end of the world, as it did give me a third chance for a good view of a New World porcupine, after they refused to show themselves at Exmoor and provided only a brief view at Longleat. I did get my desired view, but they did not suit their enclosure well. It almost seemed *too* big for them. And I could not help but admire the fantastic landscaping and wonder how much more exciting it would have been to see some sort of caprine in that same enclosure. On that note, I began to exit the Desert, but on my way out, I passed yet another side-aviary, but this time, it was a walkthrough. The only animal that I can clearly recall being in here was a Socorro Dove (Zenaida graysoni), an animal which I had seen plenty of times at many UK zoos and even in France. But they are desert birds, and clearly looked at home here, so it was nice to see them in a more authentic than usual setting. Then, on your way out, is yet another network of tunnels for nocturnal species. The star here is of course the zoo’s Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus), surely among the most beautiful of the small carnivores. They are also proof that the rarity factor of North American species applies to far more than just birds, as until 2018, when Exmoor in the UK imported some from the United States, they were the only ones of their kind in Europe! As I had already observed the species very well on previous visits to Exmoor, I did not spend too long searching for the animal, but got lucky and managed to spot them anyways. They are a truly fascinating mammal, and are always a joy to watch. It was fun seeing them in a nocturnal setting, and the enclosure was certainly far better than what Exmoor had provided them with. The nocturnal zone, and by extension the Desert, and by extension Burgers' Zoo, finishes with two (there may have been more species, but I do not recall them) more rodent lifeticks - the Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and the Cactus Mouse (Peromyscus eremicus). Conclusion: In most regards, Burgers is very much a modern zoo. The quality and style of enclosures feels at home when compared with much more recently established zoos. And yet Burger's is not particularly recently established, being over a century-old, and having, across that century, made many revolutionary developments that have defined the zoo world of today. It has a vast collection packed with rarities, and also a geographically organised premise, where the quality of enclosures is prioritised over anything else. Exhibits like the Mangrove exemplify this perfectly. It focuses on one biome (the mangrove) in one country (Belize) and places it in one building, within which it displays rare species (Tropical Gar and White-winged Dove among others) while still maintaining a consistent standard of exhibitry. It also maintains crowd-pleasers (manatees), which are also displayed fantastically. That same description could be applied to the entirety of the zoo, in many ways. And as such, I am willing to state that Burgers' is the closest that I have ever seen to what I consider to be the perfect example of a modern-zoo. That does not mean it is without flaws, because that would be false. But it does mean that Burgers' rather comfortably overtakes Chester as my favourite zoo, and I imagine that it will take a lot for anywhere to take that title away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to everyone who has read this review! It was a lot of fun to write and knowing that some people enjoyed reading it truly means a lot. Yet again, corrections would be appreciated if necessary! I am not sure what zoo I will visit next, but I certainly intend to do something like this again many times in the future!
Interesting to read a review from a zoo that I grew up with. It is easy to take all these exhibits for granted, even when they are so unique . It sometimes takes an outsider to appreciate what you've got (or a visit to Ouwehands for that matter ). Some general comments from your review: You would be the first to see them on the ground, the pinon imperial pigeons stick to the canopy all the time. I assume you will have seen crested quail doves. Plymouth should be 2.5 million litres of water, meaning the open ocean tank in Burgers' is actually larger at 3 million litres. The focus is on displaying different types of corals and invertebrates (shrimps and urchins mainly), that are otherwise overlooked. It used to be a nocturnal tank, but that was reversed a few years ago. The smaller one, with the snappers, does actually have fake corals only These species lists, taken straight from the signage, are rather incomplete. This tank houses an additional 15 species for example Given it is a N-American desert these fish are Astyanax jordani. Having roadrunners as free-rangers would be the death of the small passerines, roadrunners are no vegetarians
question: did you spot the Fat-headed Minnows in the desert too? They are kept in the oasis and BZ seems to be a sole-holder for this species too!
Sadly not. I made the mistake of thinking that the oasis was purely decorative and did not spot any minnows in there. I will certainly remember to look for them in there if I return to Burgers'! However, ZTL lists three holders of the species. As well as Burger's there is Basel and Sea Life Koenigswinter in North-Rhine Westphalia. It may not be accurate, however. Thank you for all the corrections lintworm! As I mentioned, any such corrections are always appreciated as I do very often make mistakes! It is a shame, however, that I did not see the imperial-pigeons. Quail-doves are still a lifetick, but admittedly not quite as rare as the imperial-pigeons.
You're going to be a great addition to these forums, @Kalaw , if you keep this up. You're persuading me that I actually need to get myself together and book for Burgers and Ouwehands over a weekend.
I don't think this could be called a former exhibit of anything. As the Hagenbeck rocks were removed to make space for these two enclosures. The former Hagenbeck complex included warthogs, bongos, duikers and pygmy hippos. As well as the coatis and lemurs that are still present. I do have to note that this is because of bird flu. Usually they have access to the full grassy area that surrounds the temporary aviary. This still definitely isn't regarded as one of the best flamingo enclosures in the Netherlands, but it's still better than what it's currently like I'm actually really enjoying this review of my local zoo!
These would actually be Blind Cave Tetra (Astyanax jordani), not Omani Blind Cave Fish. Because the Desert is able to freeze over in the winter, Burgers' zoo displays this ecosystem with Dutch temperatures. I believe it's also partially because the Desert has very little shadow and a lot of rocks, meaning that if the greenhouse was completely closed off (Like Bush and Mangrove), it would heat up too much without any chance of looking for cover. Now that's interesting, as these species are usually more difficult to see. For me it's always the doves and quails that are seen most The original plan actually was to have them free-roaming in the hall. I believe the side aviary was build in later because the Roadrunners were eating the quail eggs These would be burrowing owls, the Gambel's quail were also held in here for a little while, but I don't know if that's currently still the case. These are joined by Ultramarine Grosbeak, another avian rarity of the Desert. Either you're not saying it in order, or you took a very strange route . The entrance tunnels from the Bush hold Short-tailed bats, Cave tetra, Kangaroo rats, Sinaloan milk snakes, Hispid cotton rats, Colorado river toads, Mexican redknee tarantula, African cave crickets and Arizona bark scorpion. A short, second cave holds Red diamondback rattlesnake and Gila monster. The cave after that (the second cave after the roadrunners) hold Ringtail, Cactus deermouse, Gila monster and the separated aviary. And a final cave, behind the porcupine enclosure, holds more Ringtails. As you mentioned not having the Desert's species list, here's my Species and rarity list: (I say "less that 5 holders", this term is actually incorrect, it means there are between 2 and 10 holders of this species in Europe)
That makes a lot of sense regarding the cover. And yes, now that you mention it, I do believe that the other aviaries did house Burrowing Owl and Ultramarine Grosbeak. The grosbeak are quite rare, although I took them for granted as they are housed at London Zoo, my local collection. I'm not sure how I got the order wrong; I suppose I just misremembered due to not having a species list. Speaking of which, thanks for providing one! It's very useful and interesting!
For future reference, Burgers is by no means the only holder of Painted bunting, Gambel's quail or Fathead minnow. Otherwise, very useful, thanks a lot . This thread is, however, as others have stated, brilliant, keep it up @Kalaw.
My apologies, the rarity status have gone a bit outdated since I made them in 2020. I'll have to check my other guides then, too
