Polar bear is doing well. Here an update-video : https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=767752866930511
The boy's first swim https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2139525792793216 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=297518800942361
The modern, sleek new zoo map now includes a Giant Panda image: https://www.zoo.dk/files/kort-over-zoo-210x297.pdf
Appropriate given that the Panda's arrived in Copenhagen arrived this evening. They are expected to be on display from mid April
The panda's are now on display, since April 11th. I saw them yesterday, the female only briefly, but the male sat around for a long time, doing what panda's do, eating and being photogenic at the same time. Panda by annebn posted 29 Apr 2019 at 11:31 PM
It has been quite some time since I have seen a zoo where what is aspires to be and what it can actually be are so far apart. This zoo is only 11 hectares big but it manages to cram Lions, Tigers, Leopards, 3 species of Bear, Wolves, Seals + Sea lions, Giraffe, Okapi, Common hippo, White rhino, Chimpanzee, Tapir, Asian elephant and more on this small site. Whereas many city zoos are downsizing their collections the newest enclosures in Copenhagen are for Polar bear and Giant panda. Future plans seem to involve bringing Orangutans back, though I haven't seen a confirmation of that, without any larger mammal departing.... The downside of this approach is that bar the Savannah area most large mammals range from smallish to too small. It must be said though that the Bull elephant enclosure was much larger than in many other zoos and also the main Elephant enclosure was relatively spacious for a city zoo. The new Polar bear enclosure is far from satisfying and though it should have been built to last, it more inspires debate as to whether small city zoos should want to keep Polar bears at all. The Arctic ring basically consists of one Polar bear enclosure with a large water part and a small land part, a smallish aviary with Puffins and Guillemots and long and winding paths to get anywhere. As only one new Polar bear enclosure was built, it means that most of the time one of the two (currently 3 as there is a cub) bears spends its time in a tiny grotto. And even though the new enclosure is nicely landscaped, it is just very small, especially when you see the new developments in Yorkshire, CERZA and HWP... For a species that has an urge to move so much, The Arctic ring is just a big disappointment. It is also worrying that the zoo did not part with their Brown bears either, but it keeps two large Bear species in inadequate enclosures next to each other instead of giving one species the room it needs. It is also a shame that the zoo has a wonderful group of Western chimpanzees with many youngsters that have no access to any outdoor enclosure and the indoor enclosure is just fine as an indoor enclosure, but also nothing spectacular. Instead of giving them access to the outside, the zoo has first decided to make a multimillion euro investment for Giant panda in an enclosure that looks like a yin-yang symbol from above. That seems to me as if they have their priorities wrong... With all their big cat species in enclosures that are actually too small (Tiger & Leopard) or at least not very spacious (Lion), I was surprised that the only animal for which they have (yet?) created elevated pathways to move around in (aka Zoo 360) were Red panda. This was the last animal for which I would have thought of doing that, but within a minute of skeptically looking at it one of the Pandas started actively using the extra space... Overall I am quite critical of this zoo, but that doesn't mean it is all bad, the Savannah area is pretty good and the new enclosures for Tasmanian devil are also very nice. Overall this was a somewhat disappointing zoo though, that aspires to be a comprehensive ABC collection on an area where that just isn't possible. In that sense it is a bit reminiscent of Budapest, but then without all the beautiful architecture and the excuse of living in a country still catching up from communism. I have uploaded a series of picture here, but note that they are all with a wide-angle lens, so things appear larger than they are in reality: https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/categories/zoo-kobenhavn.599/
I think you're being a bit harsh there Lintworm, and although subjective I enjoyed Copenhagen, on the whole. Artic Ring is small, I agree, and I never really linger around chimps, but elsewhere I particularly enjoyed the Nordic section, beyond the Arctic Ring. Did you get up there? It was winter when I went which gave that zone something 'extra', but definitely a highlight. There was character in abundance in the place. Again, its subjective, but I liked Copenhagen.
It is funny, but I didn't find much character in Copenhagen. It won't have helped that it was pretty busy in the zoo. But what I normally enjoy in city zoos are beautiful old buildings and pretty horticultural displays, which both were surprisingly lacking. It was pretty much cramped with enclosures and food stalls. I can imagine that one a quiet winter day it would be a somewhat different atmosphere, but even then I don't think I would rate it much higher. I did get to the Nordic section and the Wolf, Musk ox, Reindeer and Seal enclosure were nice, although on the small side. But the Brown bear enclosure just destroyed that experience for me. I can imagine this area being especially nice in winter though.
Elephant cow Thi Ha Phyu, her daughter Maha Kumari and grandson Jung Bul Kne will soon move from Cologne to Copenhagen. The local elephant group will therefore be larger and space will be vacated in Cologne because their equipment is very crowded with elephants.
The zoo's adult male Rhino has been put down, due to an aggressive skin disease. Der findes to afrikanske næsehornsarter i Afrika - det hvide og det sorte. Det hvide næsehorn har korte ben og en meget bred nakke. Få mere information her. | Zoologisk Have
Three elephants arrived! Thi Ha Phyu (39), Maha Kumari (12) and Jung Bul Kne (2) are getting used to the new environment.
Along with the arrival of new elephants, one sad news was also announced. Only one of the two previous elephant cows is able to give birth to a live calf. This means that Surin is unable to produce calves. Why I don't know. Probably some pathological changes or problems with childbirth (like Zola in Colchester). Only Kungrao and Maha Kumari are breeding cows. Thi Ha Phyu are given an anti-pregnancy medication due to the worsening deformity of the forelimbs and therefore also has movement problems (moving limited and very difficult).
The zoo has just announced on their facebook page that elephant Surin is 10 months pregnant. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=695518750947075
This is great news !!! She had two calves in 2013 and 2015, none survived. I hope it will be healthy this time. I thought she wouldn't get pregnant again. Great news.
Zoologisk Have Unfortunately, elephant cow Thi Ha Phyu died. She was 39 years old, had 3 offspring and had chronic problems with her front legs. RIP Thi Ha Phyu.