Facts about the history of the Antwerp Zoo

It might’ve been covered before, but is there any info on Antwerp’s manatees? I believe both African and West Indian were held, with there being a few pictures of the African specimens on the platform.

 

As mentioned by @Randomname0183 , there were indeed 2 species of manatees kept at the Antwerp Zoo: (West) African manatees and West Indian manatees. I chose not to use the term West Indian manatee for this post, as only 1 specific subspecies was kept: the Antillean manatee.
The manatees lived in 2 different places in the park: in the crocodile basin of the Reptile Building and in a pavilion-like building built for manatees, located at the far end of the Pig Building. I would like to make a brief summary description of these 2 enclosures:
The first enclosure, which was the original crocodile pool of the Reptile Building, was originally designed for crocodiles, but housed a single (West) African manatee. The raised basin contained a small island in the middle and could be viewed by visitors from all sides. The basin was demolished during the rebuilding works of the Reptile Building from 1971 to 1973.
Here is a photo of the basin when it was used for manatees: African Manatee or Lamantin - ZooChat
The 2nd enclosure, specially built for manatees, housed both manatee species kept in the Antwerp Zoo. The more or less oval-shaped basin, later converted into a slightly more bean-shaped form, was probably shallower than the crocodile basin and thus was not really any better. Visitors could admire the manatees behind glass windows (an improvement over the previously mentioned crocodile pool) from three sides. Plants were arranged along the edges of the building's interior. After the death of the last manatees in 1984, the little building served for a while as an enclosure for congo peafowls, before later being used as a shop. For this purpose, the building was first thoroughly renovated, for instance, the building was covered with wood, the glass windows were removed and the interior was logically complety changed. The shape, however, was retained. The little building last appeared on a park map in 2017 and was probably demolished when this part of the zoo was renovated around that time.
Here is a photo of the building from 1984: Manatee enclosure - 1984 - ZooChat
But now for the most interesting part for many - the one about the manatees themselves. As with my previous post on dolphins, I am also dividing this post into a separate section for each species, although there are some similarities between the species, for example both species were not bred. About the first manatee, however, I am not sure which species it is was, although it was most likely a West African manetee:
On 30 June 1935, a manatee was embarked for a transport to the Antwerp Zoo. However, that the manatee survived the journey is unlikely.
(West) African manatees (Trichechus senegalensis):
The history of West African manatees at the Antwerp Zoo goes all the way back to the year 1922. On 7 October of that year, a (West) African manatee arrived from the Belgian colony of Belgian Congo. The animal was caught in the Bas-Congo region, located in the far west of the colony. Amazingly for the time, the animal survived the long sea voyage. However, the animal survived less than six months on Belgian soil, as the manatee died on 19 March 1923 from acute gastroenteritis, a severe stomach flu. Its skull and skeleton were sent to the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Brussels.
In 1929, a specimen was acquired for the second time; however, the animal died that same year.
On 19 or 20 September 1948, another manatee, an adult female African manatee named Zooke, arrived. The animal was a gift from Mr. A. Van den Acker. She was housed in the manatee pool and created a lot of interest there, resulting in queues. Zooke received daily skin care and was fed lettuce as food.
On 30 April or June 1951 (most likely 30 June 1951), Zooke was moved to the original crocodile basin of the Reptile Building under the watchful eye of veterinarian and zoologist Agatha Gijzen, probably to make room for another manatee. Zooke was removed from her basin for this transport using a sail, after which she was placed in a wooden crate. This wooden crate was placed on a cart. However, later photos of this transport show staff members carrying the crate. It seems most logical to me that they did this because they had to go up a hill (on which the staff members were located while they were carrying the crate on their shoulders). Zooke died in 1952; her autopsy took place on 9 December 1952.
I was able to find a list of remains of manatees preserved at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Brussels. Indeed, there is a skull and skeleton kept there, obtained on 8 December 1952, of a female manatee. So it seems likely to me that these are the remains of Zooke, which went to the museum after autopsy. It is mentioned that the animal originated from Boma.
On an unknown date, probably in 1949, Swiss professor and physicist Auguste Piccard visited the Antwerp Zoo. Together with then director Walter Van den Bergh, he also visited the manatees in the manatee building. If this visit indeed took place in 1949, it was manatee Zooke who was honoured with a visit from the professor. However, I doubt that this visit was in 1949, as the pool looked as it did when it was closed, while when the next manatee arrived in 1953 (next paragraph) it still had its original look. The visit to the manatee was all but certain before 1962, as Piccard died that year.
On 25 August 1953, African manatee Goliath arrived by boat at the port of Antwerp. There, the crate containing the animal was loaded from the ship 'Froebel Monica' using a crane, after which the manatee was taken to the zoo. There the animal was removed from its transport tank using a sail and carried to the manatee basin. This event created great public interest. On 27 August 1953, the animal was checked for any injuries it may have sustained during its journey to the zoo. Goliath, like predecessor Zooke, was also given daily skin care. Goliath died somewhere in the spring of 1953 and received an autopsy on 5 March of that same year.
On 29 October 1954, (West) African manatee Hukunga arrived. The animal was a male. Like its predecessor Goliath, Hukunga was removed from its transport tank with the help of a sail and then placed in the basin of the manatee building. In 1968, a dive time of 2.7 minutes at inactivity was recorded at Hukunga. However, this dive time shortened to 1.8 minutes during his daily activities. Hukunga died in 1970, meaning the animal lived at the Antwerp Zoo for no less than 16 years.
The 1967 book 'Animal Gardens' mentions a manatee in the manatee building, which, according to then veterinarian Agatha Gijzen, had lived at the zoo for 10 years, or since 1957. However, I can't find anything about a manatee arriving in 1957, and so my suspicion is that Gijzen abbreviated this time (although odd for someone who was so structured in her work and followed up on every animal), which would mean it was manatee Hukunga.
Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus):
Antillean manatees were first reported in the Antwerp Zoo's animal collection in 1973. It concerned 1 female specimen. Also in 1978, a female Antillean manatee turned up in the animal collection, in all likelihood the same specimen.
In 1981, Europe's first captive-born West Indian manatee arrived at the Antwerp Zoo from Artis, where it came to live with the female already present in the manatee building. The gender of the animal is unknown (does anyone have any more information on this?), but since the species wasn't bred at the Antwerp Zoo, it is more likely that it was a female.
Both animals died (or possibly left, although less likely) in 1984 and thus became Zoo Antwerp's last manatees so far, although there is hope that manatees may be seen at the zoo again in the future, this time, however, in the Aquaforum.

This request reminded me of a question asked earlier in this thread by @Nix , which I could not immediately find an answer to at the time. However, I said I would post it here I could find a picture of a West Indian manatee in the Antwerp Zoo, and I am therefore happy to report that I have probably found one, this on KMDA's own Image Bank.
Unfortunately, a direct link to the photo is not possible. But if you go to the website (Historische Beeldbank) and search 'bezoekers bij de zeekoe de standaard' you will find a picture of a manatee in a dry pool, with visitors behind the glass of the enclosure. I say 'probably' because I cannot find the article from which the photo originates, so it may have been taken before. However, the fact that the photo appeared in the article in 1978 and no African manatees had been in the collection since 1970 makes this less likely.
To conclude, I would like to make some additions to my previous post on dolphins. That post was meant to be an update to another post, but ironically now needs an update itself. It concerns an update on Guiana tuxuci dolphins:

I discovered that a 3rd guiana tuxuci arrived at the Antwerp Zoo in 1977. The tuxuci was a male and, like the 2 other Guiana tuxucis, was caught in the coastal waters of Colombia. As it was also a male it was probably tuxuci Eddie, and this removes my doubt that more tuxucis were kept.
I also discovered that the 2 dolphin species were initially kept together. From the arrival of the 3 tuxucis, the species were gradually kept together longer and longer. For instance, the 2 species were initially held together for half an hour, eventually this became a whole night. However, during the mating season of 1980, a Guiana tuxuci was seriously injured by a male bottlenose dolphin, since then the species were physically separated. Once a day, ranging from about 60 to 90 minutes long, the 2 species were kept together in the same basin behind the scenes, this however separated from each other by a net. Cautious attempts to reintegrate the 2 dolphin species started in 1982, on a limited and carefully controlled basis. The 2 dolphin species were left together for no longer than 45 to 90 minutes.
For those interested in learning more about the presentation of the 2 dolphin species to each other and the interaction between them, here is a 1983 study/article that addresses this: https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Zeitschrift-Saeugetierkunde_49_0290-0299.pdf
Definitely post it if you can fill in the gaps in my posts, it is very much appreciated. Additional information or personal ruminations are always useful, as they can contain a treasure of (missing) information hidden in them.

 

Hello, my fist post here, And I just had to make sure I got everything right, are you saying that the big impressive male currently at Antwerpen is a West African lion? I know this was posted a few years ago, and maybe the West African male been replaced by this now massive looking male? Just had to ask since West African Lions are usually significantly smaller than the reported sizes of barbary Lions as well as other African Lions. He would be truly a special individual.
best regards.

 

Welcome to the forum @Lion76
That Nestor (the male lion at Zoo Antwerpen) is a West African lion is a little bit of a moot point. As mentioned in my post that you quoted, the West African lion is often no longer considered as a subspecies, but rather a population of the lion subspecies 'Northern lion'.
The Antwerp Zoo always claims that Nestor is a West African lion, which is why I also added Zoo Antwerp(en) on Zootierliste as a current holder of the West African lion.
Also, genetic research is said to have revealed that Nestor is indeed a West African lion, although this doesn't matter much anymore if the new classification of lions is to be believed.

 

Thank you very much for the reply. I’m in awe of your knowledge about this topic, very much appriciated.
He must be the most impressive looking West African lion I have seen, both is general and mane size.
I agree that West, Barbary and Asiatic Lions are very similar, but also different. I hope this dosen’t lead to them breeding Asiatic Lions with the other two populations, for the Asiatic lion project. The Asiatic Lions are so pure that they need to be preserved as such, even in «Southern Lions» you can see physical differences between Lions from Kenya and Lions from Namibia etc when you have watched and studied them for as long as I have.
I do However see Asiatic and West African Lions as possible «helpers» for the survival of Barbary Lions if there are Asiatic Lions and/or West-African they don’t need the genes from they can breed with Barbary Lions and then take the F1,F2’s and so on to breed with other Barabary Lions and hopefully one day we can have a big pool of 90-99% pure Barbary Lions, they might even be reintroducef back into the wild if there are great efforts made to make that happen.
Again Thank you very much.

 

Hi! I've been making a recreation of the Antwerp Zoo in the simulator game Planet Zoo for my YouTube video and in each episode I try to include some of the history of the buildings/enclosures I'm building. I was wondering where you get most of your information, because most of my info comes from this old study from an architectural bureau so it's a bit biased towards the history of the buildings and doesn't say much about the animals. Your help will be much appreciated!

 

Good question.
Just as an aside but I'm also currently working on the recreation of the Antwerp Zoo but then as it was in 1984/1985, your videos are a great source of inspiration in this, so keep up the good work.
But back to your question: 1 study is of course not really always that useful, so I actually use a mix of all kinds of information sources. I will give a whole bunch of them here some of which you can consult, if you have a lot of time maybe all of them. Taking into account that you want to know the history of the buildings and enclosures (and a little bit about their inhabitants), I think these are the most important sources:
- Perhaps the most important source of information I use is the Image Bank of the KMDA, here is a link: Historische Beeldbank A single search will reveil a lot of information. However, the Image Bank is not always that reliable, and if you find other information from another source, best believe that information.
- Books and park guides are also an important source of information. Highly recommended in terms of books is The Chant of Paradise by Roland Baetens. You don't have to necessarily have to buy this book, as there is a PDF downloadable from the Image Bank. It is also very useful if you want to learn a little more about the animals.
- It may sound simple, but another important source of information about the buildings and their inhabitants is Wikipedia. Both the Dutch and English versions give a good overview of all the buildings, although the Dutch version is significantly better.
- I have a suspicion that you referred to this with "old study from an architectural firm" but if not, a very important source is a 2010 study. Just search in Google for 'marieke jaenen tuin- en bouwhistorisch onderzoek' and the first link (actually PDF) that pops up should be the one I mean.
- A source for finding out which animal species lived in a particular building or enclosure is Les Zoos dans le Monde, where many different park maps from throughout the history of the Antwerp Zoo are available, here is a link: Les Zoos dans le Monde - Zoo Antwerpen
Other forums such as the Dutch-language Laafsekikkers or of course ZooChat itself are also very useful and I think it is safe to say that I have learned as much from these as I have from the Image Bank. Again, the search function here is the fastest way to get specific information. Also, this thread may provide you with some information as well.
- Another useful tool is Google Scholar, where you can search on e.g. a particular building at the zoo and you will be presented with, in the best scenario, a lot of (scholarly) publications.
- The zoo's website also provides a good overview. Here is a link: Gebouwen - ZOO Antwerpen
- YouTube is also an important source of information. You can find a lot of intriguing footages from the Antwerp Zoo from the past. Also from your YouTube channel I have already learned one thing and another.
- I also highly recommend the private Facebook group 'Geschiedenis der dierentuinen'. Here you will find out very much about just about every building of the Antwerp Zoo and other parks with a simple search.
- As for animals, studbooks (found on researchgate.net and yumpu.com, among others) are very useful, they will list all specimens of a particular species in Antwerps history.
Analyzing even just a portion of these sources is of course time consuming and not easy, but remember that I often spend days or weeks trying to figure out a particular thing, it took me years to build up my current knowledge and especially with building my Antwerp Zoo 1984/1985 creation in Planet Zoo I realize that I know anything but everything, and this in my opinion is exactly what makes it fun, as new information will always come to light that you didn't know of before.
If you still can't find enough (clear) information you can always ask me, and I will try to help as quick as possible.

 

Thank you so much! The study I was referring to is indeed that one, but it can get very dry on the details about buildings, architects, materials etc. I already used the VRT documentary and the accompanying book 'Leve de Zoo!' mostly for anecdotal info, but I'm hoping the other book has some more background info on plans, ideas and historical visions on the zoo, especially as I'm entering the part of the zoo that was most clearly inspired by Hagenbeck's vision on exhibiting animals.

 

That book is indeed perfect for that and exactly what you need, I can hardly imagine a better book for that kind of information. Have fun reading it already and I look forward to when you incorporate it into your videos.
'Leve de Zoo' is indeed also a very good source of information, but it is of course rather limited.

 

Having recently found some more information about thylacines at the Antwerp Zoo, I would also like to update my post about Tasmanian tigers in this thread. However, it gets a little bit confusing this way, since I posted about Tasmanian tigers even before I posted about dolphins (my last updated post) but unfortunately I can't change the fact that with time, new information is also added, which I would like to share with interested people on this forum. Therefore, an updated post about thyalcines. My original post about thylacines was a request from @thylacine1936 so perhaps this person might also be interested in this updated version.
First, however, I would like to correct an error from my post on manatees. My post(s) was/are already confusing enough because of all the dates and peripheral information but 1 sentence makes everything even more difficult to understand:

Of course, it is impossible that Goliath died in the spring of 1953 if the animal didn't arrive until August of that year. Instead, Goliath died in the spring of 1954 and, after his death, underwent an autopsy on March 5, 1954.

But now back to the thylacine:
I came across an interesting document of a scientific paper explaining how Zoo Antwerp(en) got its first thylacine (which would eventually never arrive at the zoo), although it does contain a suspicious number of errors. But let's get started; at a meeting of the council of the RMZAS (does anyone know what this is?) in 1902, a letter was read from the director of the Antwerp Zoo. This does not sound illogical until you read the director's name: F. Krueger. In the first place, the Antwerp Zoo never had a director with this name, nor can I find anything about an 'F. Krueger'. The director at the time was François L'Hoëst. So the only explanation I can find is that perhaps the name L'Hoëst was misspelled as 'Krueger'. Anyway, the director wanted to buy certain Australian animals at a generous price. The then director of the Melbourne Zoo, (William Henry) Dudley Le Souef, responded with: "as we have none to spare and they are difficult to procure, I would suggest ... that I go to Tasmania tomorrow for about a fortnight and visit the various centres where these animals are found, and propose taking my magic lantern with me, so as to interest the people 1 visit in our Gardens and requirements and we should make a good profit ... I anticipate the total expenses will be under fifteen pounds". The RMZAS council agreed to this proposal.
Le Souef travelled through the area where Tasmanian tigers and devils were found. He also advertised widely for the zoos involved. He also gave 2 public lectures in Launceston so that if 1 of the aforementioned species was caught, they will go to Melbourne or Antwerp. The director was eventually able to obtain the following: a pair of Tasmanian devils, 2 black opossums (another thing impossible unless they were captive animals, otherwise they are possums) and most important of all: a Tasmanian tiger. This male Tasmanian tiger was caught in its lair (den) in the Tasmanian Avoca district, where Le Souef was staying on the estate of family friends, the Franks family. The station hands involved (for those who do not know what these are; it are people hired to help on a farm) were paid £7 for their effort. Le Souef returned to Melbourne with his captured animals on 24 December 1902 and wrote F. Krueger (who is therefore probably F. L'Hoëst) a letter on 1 January 1903 offering the requested animals, including "one Wolf (Tasmanian) . . . price twenty pounds". Among others, the marsupial wolf was sent to Antwerp that same month (January), but here also comes the contradiction, as the document states that the thylacine did arrive in Antwerp, while most sources report the death of the animal on the way to Antwerp in Februari 1903. Beyond that the animal was adult, there is nothing additional to be found.
On 6 February 1912, a Tasmanian tiger arrived, probably the first living thylacine at Zoo Antwerp(en) ever. It is stated that the animal's capture site was 'Dip/Arthur rivers'. What exactly is meant by this is unclear, as these are 2 different locations, so it may not be certain at which of the 2 sites the animal was caught, but in any case, the animal came from Tasmania and was caught by C. Knighton and B. Barrett. The scientific article states that a thylacine from Beaumaris Zoo arrived at Antwerp Zoo in 1913, while other sources state that the animal that arrived in 1912 went to Launceston's City Park Zoo, only to go to Melbourne Zoo, which sent the thylacine to Antwerp Zoo. Therefore, there is the possibility that these are 2 separate animals, although I consider that probability rather low. Anyway, the 1912 thylacine was a male and died on 13 February 1914, after only 2 years on Belgian soil. However, if the animal hadn't died on that date it tragically wouldn't have lived long anyway, as it would almost certainly have been shot as a result of the outbreak of World War I later that year (which I wrote about in more detail a few pages back), when all dangerous animals were shot to prevent worse.
Furthermore, the document states something completely new to me, I quote: "[...] and Moeller also notes, in reference to the Royal Society (of Antwerp I presume) and Regent's Park Zoo (London Zoo), that 'Antwerp . . . received several Tasmanian wolves, via London". On further investigation, many thylacines were sent from London Zoo to various unknown places, which the Antwerp Zoo may thus also belong to according to this source.
The 1 or more thylacines were housed in the Small Predator House. This building, opened in 1900, was located next to the larger and also older Predator Building with lions, tigers, leopards, etc. Besides thylacines, the Small Predator House also housed grey wolves, Tasmanian devils (who may have arrived together with the Tasmanian tigers. I need to do more research on this), hyenas, foxes and a side-striped jackal, to name a few. How all these animals fitted in the building is a mystery to me. So that you can see what I mean, and of course where the thylacine(s) lived, here is a link to the zoo's Image Bank. Search the search bar for 'Kleine-roofdierengebouw' (Dutch for Small Predator House) and you will normally see a series of pictures of the building. Here the link: Historische Beeldbank Just like the larger Predator Building (which was also known by its slightly fancier name Lion Palace), the building was demolished in 1967 to make place for the grand Jubilee Complex (Jubileumcomplex, which itself is currently being renovated. Not much is left of the thylacines at the Antwerp Zoo. I was unable to find any footage, but I did find a picture of the sign that for years confirmed the presence of the thylacine(s); the information sign: "This is the original plate that... - The Bartlett Society
Here is a link to the scientific article I used for this post and which I referred to so often:
https://www.nature.com/articles/360215a0.pdf
If you can add to, improve or correct this post I would encourage you to do so, new information is always useful. The next post will again be an updated post about Eastern lowland gorillas in Antwerp.

 

RMZAS is an abbreviation of
Royal Melbourne Zoological & Acclimatisation Society.

 

Thanks for the clarification @Tim May . I couldn't immediately find it online.

 

London Zoo had twenty thylacines between 1850 and 1931.

I know that one went to Berlin Zoo, one to New York (Bronx) Zoo and two to Paris (Jardin des Plantes Menagerie). I'm not aware of London Zoo sending any of its other thylacines overseas. Do you know when these "many thylacines" were sent to "various unknown places" ?

 

Thank you for the link.

 

Thanks for the clarifications

I'm sorry, I am wrong.
I used the website naturalworlds.org for this information (the one you rightly doubt). The site often uses N/A in the sold/exchanged category in the list of thylacines at the London Zoo. I was confused that this would mean 'unknown'. I don't know why, but it probably has to do with English not being my mother tongue, and it has once again shown that there is still a lot of room for improvement for me as far as this language is concerned.
I guess this once again shows how important corrections to my posts are.

 

In this context, "N/A" stands for "not applicable". For example, the column "Date of Departure" contains "N/A" for thylacines that died at London Zoo because this date is irrelevant since they were never sent elsewhere.

I've never said I doubt this website.

Your English is very good; I wish I could write in your language as well as you do in English.

 

I was referring to the information and not the website, but I understand the confusion very well

 

Here is an updated version about Eastern lowland gorillas at the Antwerp Zoo.
First, however, I would like to make some additions/corrections to my post about manatees at Zoo Antwerp:

I found out that the Manatee Building was originally built for cockatoos in 1938, which disproves my earlier statement that the building was built specifically for manatees.

I would also like to make an addition to my post about Tasmanian tigers. On facebook, I found a picture of a thylacine information sign from Zoo Antwerp(en). The remarkable thing is that the nameplate dates from 1907. At that time, according to what I can find, there were no thylacine in the Antwerp Zoo, unless it is one or more specimens from London Zoo, as I noted in the same post, or of course that the information sign is wrongly dated of course.

And now on to the Eastern lowland gorillas:
The Eastern lowland gorilla, like so many other animals, is inextricably linked to the Antwerp Zoo. It would therefore not be a true thread about the history of this zoo if I didn't write about the Eastern lowland gorilla. And for one of those few times, this is a 'story' that also takes place in the present, as the Antwerp Zoo is currently the only zoo in the world with Eastern lowland gorillas.
An example to show how hard this zoo is linked to Eastern lowland gorillas is the record that Zoo Antwerp holds to its name as the only zoo ever to breed with this species. Zoo Antwerp was always able to come into possession of these impressive animals partly because of the Belgian colony in Congo, which allowed for a constant influx of Congolese animals such as gorillas.
While, as just mentioned, it is necessary to mention Eastern lowland gorillas, it is at the same time difficult to write specifically about Eastern lowland gorillas, as some Eastern lowland gorillas were labelled as mountain gorillas by the taxonomy of the time.
As with my previous post about manatees, I will therefore also equip this post with a separate section on animals of an unknown (sub)species, which may have been Eastern lowland gorillas. But enough introduction so on this one:
In 1879 there was the very first mention of a gorilla in the Antwerp Zoo. I cannot find more information about this and so this is new to me. With the manatees, it was still somewhat predictable what species it was, since most of the animals of African origin usually came from the Belgian Congo, but this is excluded for this particular animal, since the colony was only established in 1885. In any case, the animal only lived in Antwerp for a very short time.
And now the gorillas of which it is a little more certain to which (sub)species they belonged:
In December 1923, a female gorilla arrived named Quahali, also spelt Quahalie. The animal was a gift from American explorer and hunter Ben Burbridge, who personally delivered the animal. The most interesting point is that the animal was captured in the Virunga Mountains. According to the book 'The Chant of Paradise', the animal is said to have come from modern-day Virunga National Park (called Albert National Park when it opened), however, this park was only established in 1925. However, this origin does not yet clarify which subspecies of eastern gorilla the animal belonged to, as both subspecies live in this region, so opinions are divided. The gorilla most likely lived in the Monkey House, opened in 1883. The animal died in 1924, after only a year in captivity.
Ben Burbridge would again donate a gorilla from (Belgian) Congo to the Antwerp Zoo in 1925. He only received permission from the Belgian authorities to capture gorillas if he gave 1 specimen to Antwerp Zoo. This time it was a male gorilla named Marzo. Again, it is unknown whether this is a mountain gorilla or an Eastern lowland gorilla, as this animal also came from the Virunga Mountains. Opinions are also divided on this one, Zootierliste, for example, classifies the animal as a mountain gorilla. The gorilla lived in the Monkey House.
Marzo died after only a few months on Belgian soil. After his death, the animal was sent to the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, where it was also labelled as a mountain gorilla.

Eastern gorillas arrived again in 1957. Of 2 gorillas, it is just about certain that they were indeed Eastern lowland gorillas. First, some background information about these 2 gorillas: Both gorillas were obtained through Charles Cordier and were both captured near Walikale (Congo), which makes them almost certainly Eastern lowland gorillas, as there are no mountain gorillas in that region. Below is a list of Eastern gorillas that arrived in 1957:
- Kaisi was the first Eastern lowland gorilla to arrive in 1957, on 25 September 1957. Kaisi was a male and was born in the wild around September 1955. Here is a photo of him: Eastern lowland - Mountain gorilla ? - ZooChat
- On 21 November 1957, a 2nd male gorilla arrived, named Kisubi. The animal was born in the wild around November 1955. Here is a photo of him: Eastern lowland - Mountain gorilla ? - ZooChat
According to Zootierliste, a third male Eastern lowland gorilla arrived at the Antwerp Zoo that year, but this is far from certain, and nothing can be found about it in the studbook. If the animal existed at all, it lived for a very short time, otherwise there would be more information about it.
And now to the gorillas whose Eastern gorilla subspecies is unclear. They are all listed in the studbook as mountain gorillas, but at the time Eastern lowland gorillas were also classified as this. Little is known about all these gorillas, as they only were kept in Antwerp for a short time:
- Lado or Lando arrived on 15 September 1957 (according to the studbook). The animal, which was male, was born in the wild around 1953. The animal died as early as 14 November 1959, more than a year after its arrival.
- Simultaneously with Eastern lowland gorilla Kaisi, male Eastern gorilla Kambuti arrived. The animal was born in the wild. That he arrived at the same time as Kaisi (on 25 September 1957) gives a chance that he came from the region around Walikale, where only Eastern lowland gorillas live. Kambuti died as early as 5 November of the same year.
- Over a month later (on 30 October 1958), Laili arrived, a female gorilla also born in the wild. She died as early as 16 December of the same year.
Where all these animals were housed until the completion of the Great Ape Building (opened in 1958) is unclear, although one of the most likely options is the Monkey Building, which already housed some Western lowland gorillas.
On this Great Ape Building, I would like to elaborate a little further, as it is the only building where with certainty Eastern lowland gorillas lived/lived. The Great Apes Building was designed by architect René Grosemans in 1958 and opened a year later. For its time, the building was very modern. It housed the great apes, which were previously housed in small enclosures in the Monkey Building. Here, the monkeys no longer lived in enclosed outdoor enclosures but on an 'island', separated from visitors by a wide moat. The building was built on half of a lawn in front of the then more than 100-year-old Birds of Prey aviaries. This was not an easy decision, however, as this was still 1 of the original lawns. However, there was no other option, as the building had to be oriented to take advantage of the sunlight. The building was made as unobtrusive and sober as possible, for example, appropriate planting was installed. The indoor cages were insulated with adjustable ventilation, heating and humidity. For the glass, they followed the example of the Brookfield Zoo and chose two-layered glass with high resistance to shield the animals from cold and noise. The visitor area was equipped with didactic showcases. On the side of the Bird of Prey aviaries, a shallow bird cage was built, housing mainly cockatoos. Here is a plan of the building, numbers 6 were the outdoor enclosures. The inside still looks more or less the same today: Plan Ape-house - ZooChat
The building had long been planned. A similar building was already inscribed on the 1937 park map. According to those plans, the outdoor enclosures for the gorillas were meant to be much larger and also divided in two parts. For this, the right wing of the Birds of Prey building would have to be demolished; ironically, it was precisely the left wing that would later disappear.
But back to the Eastern (lowland) gorillas:
On 30 October 1958, Eastern gorillas of an unknown subspecies arrived again, both female. Here an overview:
- Louli was born in the wild around 1954. She died on 13 April 1960.
- Simultaneously with Louli arrived Laili, also spelt as Layla. She was born in the wild, her year of birth is unknown. She died as early as 16 December the same year.
In 1962, 2 more female gorillas came to enrich the group. Below is a summary with a brief description of the 2 gorillas.
- Pega was captured near Walikale, which most likely makes her an Eastern lowland gorilla. There is some ambiguity about Pega's arrival date. According to the studbook, the animal arrived on 12 July, while according to the Image Bank of the KMDA it was 17 December, but it is certain that she arrived at the Antwerp Zoo in 1962.
- Less is known about Pilipili and she therefore only stayed at the Antwerp zoo for barely a year. According to the studbook, she arrived on 12 July 1962. Little is also known about her origin, although the most likely option is that, like Pega, she came from Walikale, where she would have been born around 1957.
The 2 gorillas were housed together with the other (male) Eastern lowland gorillas in the still brand new Great Apes building.

On 25 April 1963, another female gorilla arrived, named Quivu. Like most Eastern lowland gorillas at the Antwerp Zoo, Quivu was also captured near Walikale, where she was born between 1959 and 1961. Quivu was kept at Zoo Hannover for 1 day before she went to Antwerps Great Ape Building. That Quivu was called an Eastern lowland gorilla even by the Antwerp Zoo itself, and not a mountain gorilla, only makes it more plausible that she was indeed an Eastern lowland gorilla.
On 15 May of that same year, Pilipili, who arrived a year earlier, left for the Bronx Zoo, where she died 8 years later as the penultimate living Eastern lowland gorilla in the Americas.

According to the 1979 gorilla studbook, a gorilla was born on 7 September 1967. The young animal's parents were mother Pega and father Kisubi. For both animals, this was their first young. However, the little animal was born too early and thus died almost immediately. According to the same studbook, the young animal was a mountain gorilla, but there is no evidence for this as both parents came from the region around Walikale, where there are no mountain gorillas. Strangely, this prematurely born gorilla was not mentioned in the 2014 stubook.

In 1968, Visoke arrived, a female caught in the wild of Rwanda. Her name may indicate that she was captured on or near the Visoke volcano in Rwanda, not far from the Congo border. According to 1 source, the animal was a male, but this seems rather erroneous. The exact arrival date is again unknown, the KMDA Image Bank gives 12 February, the studbook 27 February 1968. In March 1968, she would have been 20 months old, which would mean she should have been born around July 1966. Visoke died on 3 March 1969, more than a year after her arrival. The interesting point about Visoke is that the only reason she is mentioned in this post about Eastern lowland gorillas is the studbook, where she is referred to as being of this species, however, all other clues point to her being a mountain gorilla, as the Antwerp Zoo itself referred to her. The fact that she was caught in Rwanda, where only mountain gorillas are found, is actually proof enough that she belonged to the latter species, and this does not give all the evidence for being of this subspecies. If you can refute or add to these claims, I would greatly appreciate it, as this is quite remarkable.

I will post the next part of this post as soon as possible, but not all information fits into 1 post.

 

Interesting to see Pilipili mentioned. I remember reading in ‘Animals’ magazine (now long since morphed into the anodyne ‘BBC Wildlife’), around 1963, about the impending arrival of MALE ‘Mountain’ Gorilla of that name at the Bronx. In preparation for this, their ‘Mountain’ female Sumaili (another of Cordier’s Eastern Lowlands) was separated from male Western Lowland Mambo, with whom she had grown up. Mambo was then successfully introduced to the older Western female Oka, who had lived alone since her same aged male companion Makoko drowned some years earlier. Clearly there was some confusion over Pilipili’s gender, as with some other young Gorillas of that era. Basel’s Achilla and Jersey’s N’Pongo, both subsequently very successful breeding females, were initially sexed as male.