In early 1984 I travelled to Europe to see some of the more well-known zoos in that part of the world. Almost a year later I intended to give a slide presentation to zookeepers at the Australasian Society of Zoo Keepers annual conference and wrote a commentary on each of the zoos. This is the review of one of those zoos. At many of the zoos I visited I took notes of the exhibits and the different species I saw – due to Australian laws the zoos in Australia are somewhat limited in the species available for display. The text for each zoo’s review was written several months afterwards and was based upon my notes and from what I could remember. As I said, it was to be delivered to zoo keepers in Australia so there are occasional references or comparisons to Taronga Zoo and its exhibits. In the early 1980’s many zoos around the world were ‘modernising’ their exhibits to look more natural and be more beneficial to the occupants, as opposed to keeping the public happy at the animals expense. Behavioural enrichment was a new concept, too, so there are sometimes frequent references to enclosure design/construction and furnishings. I have copied the text verbatim, and resisted the temptation to correct my grammar, to re-word or rephrase sentences and paragraphs. I was 21 at the time and my writing skills were underdeveloped (by my current standards). However, if for the sake of clarity I feel the need to add words or additional information, I have done so in [brackets]. The scientific names are recorded from labels on exhibits at the time, and I have not updated them to current usage for posterity’s sake. Measurements are all estimates. I have created a thread covering all the zoos on my trip, found here A Look at Some Well-known European Zoos - in 1984 and I’ll be posting the individual reviews in the appropriate forums. Finally, the opinions expressed here are mine and often reflect the views of the day. Some reviews are not complimentary, but I’m hoping that in the intervening 35 years these zoos have improved. ________________________ The Natura Artis Magistra, to give the zoo its full name, is another old zoo. The enclosures look old too, especially the Parrot House and the Primate House. I saw a large graphic beside the Penguin Pool that illustrated the seventeen species of penguin. The bear exhibit displayed two different species in the same enclosure – the Sun Bear and the Sloth Bear. Another interesting double was in the Small Mammal House were they had a species of marmoset in with sloths, and the marmosets were running and jumping on the sloths who didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. The outside cages of the Primate House were simple cages with tiles making up the back walls and reminding me of Town Hall [railway] station in Sydney. Overall, the zoo is pretty good. It is old and the cages are, by no means, the best in the world but the animals are in good health and the enclosures are adequate for them. The impression I got was that the zoo didn’t have enough money to make major changes but they did the best with what they had and the animals came first in everything. _________________________ Vogelhuis Blue Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) Green-headed Sunbird (Nectarinia verticalis) Both species in a large tropical cage with several very large heaters. Glass front, very thickly vegetated. Many specimens of both species. _________________________ Fischer’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) x 15 (approx) Black-masked Lovebird (Agapornis personata) x 3 Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) x 7 All together. Large cage, plenty of perches, no nestbox. Front – wire, roof – glass, sides and back – concrete, floor – concrete with sand. _________________________ The following species were all in cages of their own. Duivenbodes Lory (Chalcopsitta duivenbodei) x 2 Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haemotodus) x 2 Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory) x 2 Purple-capped Lory (Lorius domicellus) x 2 Yellow-streaked Lory (Chalcopsitta sintillata) x 2 Chattering Lory (Lorius garrula) x 2 Chattering Lory (Lorius garrula) x 2 Purple-capped Lory (Lorius domicellus) x 2 Green-naped Lory (Trichosurus haemotodus) x 2 Red Lory (Eos bornea) x 2 Yellow-streaked Lory (Chalcopsitta sintillata) x 2 Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea) x 1 Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (Loriculus galgulus) x 3 Cages all a bit small. Don’t appear to have an outside area. A Green-naped Lory had a bald belly. A Red Lory had a bald neck. The Little Corella has a bald breast, belly and abdomen, mantle and back. Plus it had no box. The Blue-crowned Hanging Lorikeet was not labelled. Apenhuis Cages are large and adequate. Some have access to outside cages. Some cages are interconnecting or have a wall missing. 8 foot long, 10 feet deep, 12 feet high (approx.) Light – natural through roof Floor – concrete Sides – tile, wire or both Roof – glass, wire or both Front – wire (except Orangs: glass) Each cage has a multi-branched tree and metal poles. Patas (Erthyrocebus patas) x 6. Two cages interconnecting. Talapoin (Miopithecus talapoin) x 4 incl. 1 baby. One cage. Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) x 10. Two cages, middle wall out. Dusky Langur (Presbytis obscura) x 2. Two cages, middle wall out. Black Ape (Macaca nigra) x 4 incl. 1 baby. One cage. White-throated Guenon (Cercopithecus albogularis) x 3. One cage. De Brazza Guenon (Cercopithecus neglectus) x 2. One cage. Black Spider Monkey (Ateles paniscus) x 3. Two cages, middle wall out. Owl-faced Monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni) x 4. Two cages, middle wall out. White-whiskered Spider Monkey(Ateles belzebuth) x 2. One cage. Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) x 2. One cage. Brown Capuchin (Cebus apella) x 4 incl. 1 baby. One cage. White-throated Guenon (Cercopithecus albogularis) x 1. One cage. _________________________ Orangutan Glass Front. Wire bars for roof. All else concrete. One or two things to entertain themselves. 1st Cage: Orangutan x 1.0 2nd Cage: Orangutan x 1.1 3rd Cage: Orangutan x 0.1.1
Very interesting to read all your reports! Did you took by any chance notes of the collection of the Small Mammal House?
I follow your 1984-reports with interest too. One question: Did you noticed the saiga(s), that Artis had during that time (I was then there too and was even able to take a picture, although I did not scan it yet).
Thank you very much for this very intresting piece of history Hix ! At that time I also visited Artis on a regular base and by reading your notes a lot of memories come back ! Althrough the zoo had a very massive and intresing collection, housing was not always their strongest point ! Now, more then 30 years later the collection is much smaller but the housing has so much improved - for example both Bird-house and Monkey-house won't be recognized by you anymore, that for sure !
All my notes are in the original post above. It's possible the Small Mammal House was closed that day, as I found this to be the case in some zoos during my visit. I have no pictures of Saiga from Artis, or any recollection seeing them there, although I did see them in Koln. Hix
