Hi all, I am off on another road trip this time to countries I have never visited before, Denmark & Sweden. I would be very interested to hear the must see zoo's in both these countries. My interest in order of preference is; Gorillas Enclosure designs Significant old enclosures Zoo history. All help appreciated Thank you
I think the only gorillas are in Givskud zoo (Denmark), and Kolmården zoo (Sweden). What other zoos you would want to visit depends on what you enjoy. Denmark: I have been to Denmark several times and my favorites are: Randers regnskov [Rander's tropical zoo], Givskud zoo, Aalborg zoo and Copenhagen zoo. In my opinion, I would prefer larger enclosures in the latter two. Other zoos that I have not visited, but I would are: Ree safari park, Odense zoo and Krokodille zoo [Crocodile zoo]. Krokodille zoo houses ALL the different species of crocodiles, alligators and gharials. Sweden: I have only been to Nordens Ark, and Universeum {which is more of a science based institution with animals, rather than an animal based one}. Both of these are great. I would also go to Kolmården zoo and Borås zoo
As for Denmark: Gorillas: Go to Givskud Zoo! Not only is it the only zoo in Denmark with gorillas, their outdoor enclosure is also top-notch (the indoor enclosure is not bad, but smaller and more basic than the indoor exhibits at for example Leipzig and Rostock). Old enclosures and zoo history: Denmark isn't really the best country for this, since the only really old zoo we have is Copenhagen, and it hasn't preserved as much of its history as some of the other old European city-zoos. There are some historic gems at Copenhagen, though, for examples the cattle house now used for camels, and the sea lion rocks which were (one of the?) the very first elephant exhibits of the zoo. Just too bad for zoo-history nerds that the old elephant house is being demolished to make way for a panda exhibit... Enclosure design: Copenhagen Zoo or Den Blå Planet are the go-to places if you want to see zoos that combine animal enclosures with modern architecture. Odense Zoo also has several innovative exhibits. Givskud Zoo, Ree Park and Skandinavisk Dyrepark for big, naturalistic exhibits. Munkholm Zoo is a tiny, privately-owned zoo near Ree Park that shows how to do nice-looking DYI exhibits on a low budget. Randers Regnskov has its tropical domes which still hold up well. Other Danish zoos that deserve a description, but don't meet your interests to the same degree: - Aalborg Zoo. Very pleasant city zoo with a slightly 90's-like charm. A few quite unique exhibits, though not as many as in Odense and Copenhagen. The collection isn't very interesting, though, and they are focusing more on animatronics than live animals these days. - Knuthenborg Safaripark: A safari park on the island of Lolland. It's worth a visit if you find yourself in that part of the country, but never prioritize it over Givskud. In recent year it has become an amusement park as much as a zoo, spending millions on building rollercoasters and other rides. - Skærup Zoo: Another tiny, privately-owned zoo with a, by Danish standards, absolutely lovely mammal collection. They specifically focus on displaying animals that cannot be seen elsewhere in Danmark, and sometimes some very rare species pop up (they have toque macaques, and a few years ago they had a mountain anoa). - Nordsøen Oceanarium: The biggest Danish aquarium until Den Blå Planet opened. Still a very nice place with interesting fish tanks, even if it has become a bit too kiddie-friendly in recent years (see a pattern here?). It's one of many Danish aquaria that only keep local species of saltwater fish. - Kattegatcentret: Until Den Blå Planet opened, this place had Denmark's only substantial collection of tropical saltwater fish and Denmark's only shark tank. You'll probably not be impressed with the place if you visit Den Blå Planet first, but otherwise it's a fine aquarium and still has a fairly good collection of both tropical and local saltwater fish. - Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet: Only keeps local species, and as an aquarium, it's not as good as Den Blå Planet, Nordsøen Oceanarium and Kattegatcentret, but it has an adjacent museum for fishery with lots of exhibition, so it's worth a visit if you're interested in that. The Wadden Sea aviary has a very unique execution. - Fjord & Bælt: Another local-species aquarium. The fish collection is pretty small, and the tanks are not too inspiring (though they are apparently rebuilding the place completely), but they have some of the few harbor porpoises in captivity and some very interesting exhibitions on aquatic animals. - Nordsjællands Fuglepark: I unfortunately haven't visited, but it's the species-richest bird park of Scandinavia that seems to have a few rarities and neat exhibits. - Terrariet Vissenbjerg: Denmark's largest reptile zoo and generally very well-done, though area-wise pretty small. - Krokodille Zoo: This reptile zoo is - as Smannsaker mentioned - known for keeping all species of crocodilians (a few will be behind the scenes at any given time, though). They also have some other species, most notably clouded leopards and Galapagos tortoises, but you need to love crocodiles to make something out of your visit. Honorary mentions to the following places which are small and much more run-of-the-mill, but nonetheless cosy: - Blåvand Zoo - Glad Zoo - Odsherred Zoo (haven't visited, but that's the impression I get) - Hjortdal Dyrefarm (visitor farm with several exotics) - Frydenlund Fuglepark (bird park) - Jyllandsakvariet (local-species aquarium)
Actually, they do not keep Desert crocodiles which are not regarded as a separate species by most authorities. A few more splits might be recognized but as these are not yet "officially" regarded as separate species, I guess you could say Eskilstrup only lacks 1 species of crocodilians as of now.
I haven't been to that area of Europe, but in Sweden there are two zoos that are a must imo if you have so much time: Nordens Ark and Boras Zoo. Both are not huge in terms of size, but Nordens Ark has some of the best cat enclosures in the world (check the pictures in the gallery). And Boras is also not big in terms of species numbers (and no gorilla), but they have one of the most interesting savanna enclosures in Europe, with a breeding herd of African elephant mixed in with the usual Giraffes, Buffalo, Zebra and Antelope.... The other enclosures in this zoo can also just be described as big going from pictures....
Nordens Ark Boras Zoo Munkolm zoo thank you for such a detailed response, compiling a 1st draft of must do visits, interested to hear your thoughts>
So far with the brilliant help from above this is my 1st draft. Any thoughts appreciated. Copenhagen Nat Aquarium Odense Givskud Ree Park Safari Scandinavisk Dyrepark Munkholm Zoo Randers Aalborg Sweden Scandinavia's Ark Boras Parker Skansen Kolmarden
Your draft looks pretty good. A couple of comments: - Don't go out of your way to visit Munkholm Zoo. As I mentioned, it's very nice for a tiny, privately-owned zoo, but tiny is tiny, and the collection is not too interesting. You shouldn't devote an entire day to it, but you could probably visit it on the same day as either Skandinavisk Dyrepark or Ree Park - those two may be big, but due to their sole focus on big mammals they have very few species (Munkholm's collection is twice as big as Ree Park's which as twice as big as Skandinavisk's), so you don't have to spend an entire day in either unless you linger. - Are you going to sail from Frederikshavn to Gothenburg? In that case, I'd recommend trying to fit Nordsøen Oceanarium (an hour's drive away from Aalborg and Frederikshavn) into your itinerary unless fish really aren't your thing. It's a bit smaller than Den Blå Planet, but when it comes to exhibiting native Danish sealife it blows Den Blå Planet out of the water. Also, consider Universeum when coming to Gothenburg. I haven't been there, but I've heard that it's a quite nice place.
Yes very comfortable in doing more than 1 zoo in a day, fish are not really my thing. I will definitely try to make time for Universum it looks amazing, a zoochatter recommended CosmoCaixa in Barcelona and I spent a entire day there with kids a few years back, loved it.
I have actually been at Orsa Björnpark which I really enjoyed. They have a great spacious enclosures with mostly cats and bears worth a visit but certainly no great apes there ;-) And it is a little off the main roads.... It is most beautiful around the time of blueberrys in August! Or during wintertime off course....
First of all, how nice that you are planning to visit Sweden and Denmark! As for Swedish zoos, I can write about the most known zoos here and their star attractions if that's any help for you: Kolmården Zoo & Tropicarium The biggest and most extensive collection of species in Sweden. The park is located outside the city of Norrköping, and it is possible to arrive here by train and bus. Trip from Stockholm, the capital, takes about 2 hours. Famous animals here are the Gorillas, the Snow leopards, the Safari ride (cable car where you can see lions, giraffes, zebras, ibex, moose, bears and wolf) and the Dolphinarium, home to a group of Bottlenose Dolphins. Don't miss the seal pool, housing three species in a very deep pool. Other animals that you can see are tapirs, red pandas, rhinos, chimpanzee, camels, meerkats, tigers and takins among others. Whether you like it or not, this park is also home to the biggest wooden roller-coaster in the world; Wildfire. After visiting the zoo, don't forget to see the Tropicarium next door. Here you can see a very impressive collection of snakes, alligators, lizards, turtles, fish, sharks, birds and smaller monkeys. Kolmården is a must see for you if you are coming to Sweden! Parken Zoo Eskilstuna Another famous zoo, close to Stockholm, is the Parken Zoo in the city of Eskilstuna. This zoo is most famous for showcasing many rare species to the Swedish zoo visitors (they did have giant pandas once). They have the only Giant otters, jaguars, clouded leopards, drills, sand cats, fishing cats and Visayan warty pigs in Sweden and is well worth a visit! New this year is a enlarged children's zoo, including goats, pig, alpacas and also camels as a new species. The walkthrough for lemurs is very good too! Borås Djurpark My clear favourite of Swedish zoos, Borås Djurpark is also a must see. They are specializing in African fauna and has a very good collection of that. Their savannah featuring African elephants, giraffe, zebras, antelope and also buffalo is stunning. Also their mixed enclosure for White rhinos and cheetahs is a must. Lions, hyenas and African wild dogs complete the African carnivore lineup, and you can't miss the Scandinavian wilderness with brown bears, wolves, lynx, wolverine and moose when you are here! The monkey house keeps small groups of Chimpanzees, orangutans, Sulawesi Crested macaques and white-handed gibbons. Other species include bongo, red panda, Amur tiger, European bison, penguins and a children's zoo! To come here, take a bus or train from Gothenburg Central Station, will take you about one hour! Nordens Ark I haven't visited this zoo in many years, but if you are in the area, I recommend you to visit! My fondest memories from last time visiting here are the Snow leopards, the Amur leopards, the maned wolves and the Wetlands house. They also keep Amur tigers now, which is a must see! Skansen/Skansen Aquarium The zoo/open-air museum of the capital Stockholm is also a must see for you. You can see the Swedish fauna like bears, wolf, lynx, wolverine, moose, European bison, otter, owls and more, while also visiting old Swedish houses to learn about our history. The Aquarium is inside the park, it does have a separate admission, but is very worth visiting. During the years, many rarities has been calling the building their home (koalas, echidnas, tarsiers, slow loris etc). The highlights nowadays have to be the Sacred baboons, meerkats, ring-tailed lemurs, dwarf mongoose, feathertail gliders, sloths and the small monkey species (bolivian titi monkey, golden lion tamarin, pygmy marmoset, cotton-top tamarin and white-faced saki). Also outside the aquarium, easily missed, is the enclosure for a small group of Colobus monkeys. There are also some smaller parks, which you might want to visit, it's all up to you and what you want to see. Furuvik While not the biggest zoo in the country, Furuvik is a nice little park outside of the city Gävle, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Stockholm. The big highlights are the enclosures for Chimpanzee and Sumatran orangutans (which recently had a baby, the first one ever in Scandinavia for that species). The small rainforest house is ok, not a huge collection, but quite good for a smaller zoo. Camels, grey kangaroos, barbary sheep, alpacas and saki monkeys are also animals you can find here. Universeum It's not really a zoo, more like a museum/science centre with animals. If you are visiting Gothenburg, you might want to visit this place. They have a large indoor rainforest featuring tamarins, sloths, many toucan species, ibises, caimans, anaconda and many other species. The large ocean tank featuring sharks is also nice, and also the Way of the Water exhibition is nice, showcasing the Swedish nature and also some smaller reptile and bird species can be found here. / Swedish Zoo Fan
One zoo which hasn't been mentioned so far is Orsa Bjornpark, which focuses of predators. If I ever do a Sweden trip it'd be right at the top of my list (although it's location seems tricky). If you want to see the Harbour Porpoises, Fjord&Baelt is on the same island, Fynn, as Odense and could easily be done as an extra on that day. I wish I'd had the chance to visit Givskud and Scandinavisk Dyrepark last summer, but just ran out of time.
Hello Orsa Bjornpark,, just a little far north for me. Fjord&Baelt maybe but so many zoo' to visit now may not make it.
Perhaps worth saying that Denmark is tiny in area. Disregarding offshore islands, you can literally drive from the furthest points in just above 5 hours. Not so in much larger Sweden. Anyway, this also means that northern Germany is within easy reach of Denmark, e.g. Danish Fredericia (a city you'd pass when driving between Funen and Jutland) to German Hamburg (Tierparks Hagenbeck: orangutans, history) is about 3 hours, and Danish Falster (the place of Crocodile Zoo) to German Rostock (Rostock Zoo: gorillas) is a 1 hour 45 min ferry trip (via Gedser, several each day) ... and from there 3 hours in car to Berlin or 2 hours to Hamburg. In other words: with a bit of planning one could start in the morning in Copenhagen, drive to Crocodile Zoo (1.5 hour) and spend a couple hours there (sufficient, unless very interested in crocs), get on the ferry at 13.00, have a few hours in Rostock Zoo (fast but doable, especially if knowing the main areas of interest), drive to Hamburg in the evening (2 hours), get up next day for almost a full day in Hagenbeck Zoo, and be back in Denmark via Jutland in the late evening (e.g. Hamburg-Billund c. 3.5 hours, or Hamburg-Randers c. 4.5 hours). Billund has Givskud Zoo (Gorillas) and the original Legoland if that's your thing. Randers has Randers Regnskov and both Ree Park and Skandinavisk Dyrepark are within easy reach (1 hour by car). I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but it is possible to see both Ree and Skandinavisk in one long day as they only are c. 20 km apart. They're both well worth a visit. In any case Billund to Randers is about 1.5 hours by car, or 2 hours if taking the longer route (see below). This may all be a bit too much, but shows how connected it is. Regarding Danish aquariums: unless particularly interested in this, there are 2 that IMO should be considered primary: Blue Planet (in Copenhagen) and Nordsøen Oceanarium (restricted to local marine animals, mostly fish, but arguably the best aquarium in the world for Northeast Atlantic species -- it's a bit out of the way and if not caring much about fish, you can skip it). Others are nice, but arguably secondary: Kattegatcentret (somewhat like Blue Planet, but smaller), Fisheries and Maritime Museum (somewhat like Nordsøen Oceanarium, but smaller), Fjord & Bælt (somewhat like Nordsøen Oceanarium, but smaller; however it is unique in having porpoise) and Øresundsakvariet (small, although they often have a few unique species, either fish or inverts, that very rarely are exhibited anywhere). An outlier is AQUA Silkeborg (almost exactly between Billund and Randers if taking the longer 2 hour route instead of the direct 1.5 hour route), which is an excellent overview of Danish freshwater species and can be done in a couple of hours.
Damn, how could I forget Aqua? Also a very nice and professional little place. I know you mentioned you aren't too much of a fish enthusiast, @zooman, but fish only make up around half of Aqua's collection - the rest is Danish mammals, waterfowl, reptiles and amphibians. They often display species that are rare in captivity - on my last visit a few years ago, they had a least weasel and hazel dormice, though I'm not sure if these are around anymore. The exhibitry standards are very high, and logistically it can easily be squeezed in between Givskud and the Djursland zoos on your itinerary.
Day 1 Odense Zoo, Highlights, Tiger exhibit & Walk through indoor manatee exhibit with roaming pigmy marmoset, sloth, golden headed tamarin and White faced saki. All very active. Interesting that the pigmy marmosets are still highly fearful of threats, as they have probably not experienced a real threat for maybe 20 generations at least! Brand new Giraffe mixed zebra exhibit small and plenty of money spent on new grass that only Zebra can access and will destroy in weeks. Huge rat problem throughout zoo and Denmark apparently however have only noticed rats here and have been to 3 zoo’s so far. The zoo lost government funding as the standard of public education was not up to scratch. An old zoo with many old exhibits. Worth a visit but completed in 2 hours.
