Pairi Daiza have made a press release stating the new additions for 2019. New species for 2019 include European brown bear, American black bear, Steller's sea lion, Puma, Elk/Moose, Grey wolves, Timber wolves, beavers, Scimitar-horned oryx, multiple species of Aracari and Hornbills, Brush turkey. In addition two new garden areas are being created. New individuals are expected for the Giraffes, Cape buffalo, Gorilla and Snow leopard. Additionally multiple Asian elephants births are expected, as well as a White rhino birth. A new map has also been pre-published: Pairi Daiza - Nouveautés 2019 - uMap The Polar bears, Walruses and King penguins are "only" to be expected in 2020...
Pairi Daiza continues to amaze and the new North American area will likely be themed with Native American artifacts and various other ethnographical material. The zoo is fascinating because some enthusiasts are not a fan of the 'over-the-top' elements, but on the other hand when one looks at photos in the ZooChat gallery, or reads the astonishing reviews from visitors on TripAdvisor, or looks at the amazing animal collection, or is shocked by the huge attendance numbers, or is stunned at the non-stop future developments...surely Pairi Daiza is one of the top zoos of the world. I can't wait to visit this summer and I'm going to need a full day to see everything.
When we first went in 2014 we just about squeezed it into a very long, intense day. We went again last year and it's now one of the few zoos out there where I think the thought of seeing the whole place in one day now would terrify me! And that's just to walk past all the enclosures once - it doesn't include if you want to watch the (rather good) bird of prey show, or the elephant bath, or take the very interesting train ride (operated by genuine restored narrow-gauge steam engines, of course, not a little diesel thing with a fibreglass funnel stuck on). It also doesn't include returns for no-shows, time to spot things in the larger bird walkthroughs, or, frankly, time to eat, drink, pee or sit down! The two days we allocated this year were both filled from beginning to end with very little spare time. And, being Pairi Daiza and it being nearly six months since I've visited, the zoo is (or will be by summer) even larger now with a whole new expansion section. So - my advice is either to allow two days, or to be prepared to be very selective and do your research before you go so you can ensure you hit your main targets in the time you have.
I have plans for a visit in June. Those additions make it quite challenging to have a decent visit and not to rush in a day trip visit! My main goal is seeing the rarities like bear cuscus, birds-of-paradise and some birds of prey, so if I haven't enough to time look at gorillas, elephants and ringtail lemurs, so be it.
How would you rank it in relation to the amount of time needed there compared to say, Chester. i.e. how much time would you need to see all of Chester properly these days?
If you have the stamina, I think it is open until 10pm some evenings in the summer actually, 11pm! Pairi Daiza
Thanks very much @Maguari with your response (excellent, as always!) but I'm not too worried about the hours needed at Pairi Daiza due to the fact that I'll be there in the final week of July. The zoo opens at 10:00 and stays open until 9:00 at night, and even 11:00 at night on Fridays and Saturdays during July and August. I'll have the option to spend at least 11 hours in the park and that should be enough time. I'll have to watch the bird show for sure! In the spring 2014 edition of Zoo Grapevine magazine, my good friend and future zoo book co-author Tim Brown wrote this at the very end of his 5-page review: "Pairi Daiza is absolutely unique, I can think of no other zoo like it at all. Somehow I can't escape the thought that it is today's equivalent of the Hagenbeck's of a century ago. The dinosaurs, the tribes of native peoples, may not be there - but somehow they have a modern parallel in this Belgian establishment. And the whole spectacle provides a full day out, that's for certain. I took an hour's lunch (and this is a zoo that supplies a true and proper eating experience in numerous locations) but, that apart, seven hours was scarcely sufficient to see it all - a full day zoo. By that criterion, if no other, then Pairi Daiza now plays in the very top league." That was published exactly 5 years ago, and now of course Pairi Daiza has elevated itself to world-class status. I received an email from a zoo nerd friend this morning and he thinks that Pairi Daiza has now become one of the Top 10 zoos on the planet, and it is incredible that the zoo continues to expand with new exhibits. How is all of the progress funded?
The fact that the owner is one of the wealthiest people in Belgium helps (re the new exhibits) though I wouldn't be surprised if the day-to-day running costs are more than covered than visitor receipts. When we visited on consecutive weekdays in September 2018 the place was extremely busy, both days, and entrance charges aren't cheap.
Do not confuse big with good..... Pairi Daiza is unique and mind boggling but this place has so many flaws I don't know anyone who rates it as rhe best zoo they know... Pairi Daiza had an annual revenue of 58 million euros in 2017, which is over twice as high as other big zoos in the area and funds all these projects.
Oops, I meant that Pairi Daiza can self-fund all their own projects, not those of other zoos. What also helps is that Pairi Daiza has the backing of some very rich investors...
Chester's a full day for me. On my own I can get around everything once in 4 hours or so if I were pushed for time - generally I take the full opening hours over it. To see Pairi Daiza properly definitely needs more time than any British zoo. Only the Berlins really compare. And actually, I'd much rather do the Berlins in a day each than attempt PD. PD has both lots and lots of animals and lots of space/gardens/walking to see them - probably more a Tierpark Berlin than a Zoo Berlin - but it's even more of a maze, it's not as well signed and there is constant visual stimulus and distraction everywhere ("Hey, that 8ft tall massive sculpture just sat by the wall has been done to look like it's real jade! Oh, it is real jade..." "What's that rock propped up on old bit of farm kit there for? Oh, apparently it's the world's largest opal..." "What's in there?" "A real, giant seaplane"). On our most recent trip we did most of the zoo the first day, with the exceptions of the Chinese gardens area, birds of prey and the then-small North America section. We did these on the second day, plus the elephant bath, train, bird show and repeating some of the more interesting sections. Both the Aquarium and the Reptile House Boat Thing are deceptively large. And in both places there are also enclosures in the gents to watch for! It's a two-day zoo to see it fully for pretty much anyone with a zoo nerd's interest levels now. If you want to do it in actual relaxed manner it'd probably need three. That makes it pricey - €35 a day plus food etc adds up - but there is genuinely nowhere like it. I still don't know exactly how much I'd say I really like it - for its scale it ought to be popping up in top 10s and things but it doesn't quite feel like it sits among the 'normal' zoos in that way. But it's something every zoo nerd able to should see!
If you like "constant visual stimulus" at Pairi Daiza, you can try counting how many fallen airplanes, sculptures of elephants/elephant-headed Ganesh and human skulls/skeletons are in the theming. My estimate was three fallen airplanes, 100 human skeletons/skulls and 300 elephant/Ganesh sculptures, but I may be long way off. Precise numbers are welcome (I was truly curious, in a morbid kind of way). Who can provide? They might require a full day, and perhaps taking photos to be sure you did not omit or count twice any Deadite.
There's a section of elephant carvings, I think near one of the Orang enclosures (near some naked people carvings), that about blew my mind with it's over-the- top-ness -I gave up at hundreds, though it may run to thousands. I then walked into the other Orang exhibit to see that all the walls (visitor and animal interior) seemed to be covered in marble carvings. The horror, the horror. Zoopocalypse now!
The bear cuscus has been reported to be easy to see by some visitors, but for me was a no-show the two times that I passed by its enclosure. It's in the Oasys sharing enclosure with chevrotains. The birds of paradise are quite easy, they're in the free-flight dense forest aviary but in enclosures inside the aviary. Shameful, almost all the rare birds of prey are behind the scenes and they don't show it in the raptor flight show nor let nobody to see them after asking, either by email or direcly here just after the raptor show. Some silhouettes of the behind-the-scenes raptors can be seen through the green mesh by side of the Abbey, but this mesh is extremely dense so you can't really see them, much less take pictures - however I managed to recognize a Chimango caracara through the green mesh.
Hello, who knows what animals will be in the Arctic exhibit, it would be fantastic polar bears, belugas, walruses, and seals.
2020 new animals at Pairi Daiza. A shipment of birds for export were stucked at Liege Airport and Pairi Daiza was asked to help to house the canaries and parakeets. Now its tried to find a solution what should be done with this large number of birds.
