Also... no reservations needed. You will only notice (some) staff with a mask, or behind a plastic barrier/shield. Furthermore there are no restrictions anymore.
Exactly where is this foundation located? Is it where the paddocks on the macaque side used to be, or in the forest area? I guess it is safe to assume that with almost no restrictions, the number of visitors that can be expected on any given day, and their behavior, is pretty much back to what it used to be before Covid?
It was nice weather yesterday, a lot of schools had a day off... and you could buy a -50% discount ticket at the AH supermarkets. Short answer? Yes...
The Vicuna born on the 15th of September is a male and 10 days later a female was born. Source: Instagram of Zoo Planckendael (10/10/2021) https://www.instagram.com/p/CU1zL7XqSeP/
Today I visited Planckendael, on a misty and somewhat cold morning. The park was pretty to very quiet until about 11.30 AM, when our visit concluded (being membercard holders we entered right after 9 AM - membership card holders can enter from 9 AM, regular visitors from 10 AM). So it was pretty normal and very similar to what it was like at Planckendael before Covid on weekend days with decent weather. Also in other respects the park seemed almost entirely back to the pre-Covid days. I don't think I saw any face masks and the Covid signage was gone (aside from a single forgotten sign), as were the barriers placed and the lines drawn on the floor in some places and the hand sanitizer stations. Some updates: As far as I could tell with regards to the recently restarted orangutan project construction/renovation site in and around the Asian greenhouse, it seems to me that they are gutting the existing building. That and the opening date for the orangutan project being put forth on the banners surrounding the construction site as "Summer 2022" suggests that they will be repurposing the existing greenhouse into an orangutan house. I hope that, besides the Asian small-clawed otters and Crested macaques (which as far as I have understood will be returning), there will still be some space left for at least a few other animal species. The water level of the ponds near the playground and the restaurant in the Asian zone has been lowered substantially, perhaps in connection to the construction work. The double-wattled cassowary exhibit on the terrarium house side has been divided into two parts with a new, possibly temporary, fence. Perhaps in preparation for the upcoming renovation of the cassowary exhibits, which was discussed in a newspaper article (mentioned in an earlier post) a while ago. It seems this renovation might be done in two phases. In the empty exhibit in the koala house straw and wicker mats and a wooden shelter have been placed, suggesting perhaps the echidnas or the pademelons will be moved here during the upcoming renovation of the former wombat and echidna exhibits and house, which was also discussed in the aforementioned newspaper article. The road to the giraffe house is still closed for the ongoing renovation of the giraffe house roof and the walkways around it. There is a deviation route (which I am not sure is always used or only used during weekends) via the normally off-show part of the antelope area and through the forested area to the Barbary macaque exhibit. The lower viewing area for the savanna is now temporary a dead end area. Due to the mist I could not see much in terms of progress, but it seemed to me that at least the renovation of the roof of the giraffe house seemed largely finished. A new foundation has been laid where the Slender-horned gazelle paddock used to be (on the normally off-show side of the antelope area/house). I got a decent look at it and to me it seemed that the building that will be constructed here will only be large enough for one or two antelope species, depending on animal and group size. So perhaps the renovation of the antelope area will be done in several phases or with different new structures? The fence of the exhibit next to the bongos had been removed. This exhibit used to house Scimitar-horned oryx and mostly recently housed an addax. I saw the addax in the ostrich exhibit, the ostriches were not on display. To my surprise, given the weather, I saw the last Slender-horned gazelle, which is currently display in the paddock next to the cheetahs, together with an Arabian oryx. A pretty fun moment, but it still makes me sad that this species will soon be totally gone from European zoos. The wapiti/American bison paddock has been temporarily divided into two sections, approximately where the adventurous viewing area is located. According to a sign there are some issues with the species sharing food and they separated them to allow all animals to eat well and have a sufficient fat layer for the winter months. The South American aviary was open today, but barriers and signs present near the exhibit and a cherry picker/boom lift work platform being present near the exhibit suggest the repair work on the aviary netting is not yet done. However as far as I could see the aviary netting was already fully closed again. The Humboldt penguin group was as far as I could see confined to just part of their exhibit. Besides the penguins and flamingos only the Black-necked swans and Magellanic steamer ducks were on show. I am going to try to post a few pictures of some of the construction and updates as soon as possible (meaning in the following days).
Here are some images to go with my updates. I apologize if some of the photos are perhaps a bit unclear due to the mist. Orangutan project construction site Orangutan project construction site in and around the Asian greenhouse, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:01 PM Orangutan project construction site in and around the Asian greenhouse, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:01 PM Banners on orangutan project construction site fencing, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:01 PM Orangutan project construction site in and around the Asian greenhouse, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:01 PM Orangutan project construction site in and around the Asian greenhouse, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:01 PM Orangutan project construction site in and around the Asian greenhouse, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:07 PM Antelope area renovation construction site - new foundation Antelope area renovation - Foundation for new building in former Slender-horned gazelle paddock, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:07 PM Antelope area renovation construction site - Paddock with removed fencing and ground works Antelope area renovation - Former Addax/Oryx/Wildebeest paddock with removed fencing and ground work, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:07 PM Australian area updates - Cassowary exhibit and koala house exhibit Double-wattled cassowary exhibit, with new dividing fence, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:16 PM Empty exhibit in the koala house, with straw/branch mats and wooden shelter, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:16 PM Empty exhibit in the koala house, with straw/branch mats and wooden shelter, 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:16 PM As a little extra, one of my pictures of the last Slender-horned gazelle. Slender-horned gazelle (Gazella leptoceros), 2021-10-10 by KevinB posted 12 Oct 2021 at 12:40 PM
Female Bactrian camels Vera and Victoria will move to Gisvskud Zoo soon. Source: Instagram of Zoo Planckendael (13/10/2021) https://www.instagram.com/p/CU8OM-pAOBO/
Starting tomorrow, October 29th, as a result of recent government decisions, face masks will again be mandatory in all indoor areas and buildings at Zoo Planckendael and Zoo Antwerpen. They will also be asking the corona pass, or Covid Safe Ticket as it is called in Belgium, which proves that you are fully vaccinated, recently tested negative or have recovered from Covid, to enter and eat in their restaurants. Reservations will not be required again. Planckendael ZOO Antwerp
I visited Planckendael again today. Here are some updates: In terms of Covid there was of course a little more to see than last time. The hand disinfection stations near the entrance have returned, the ones elsewhere in the park have not. At the entrances to the buildings and the lemur area new signs indicating face masks being required indoors have been put up. This time however they are smaller and light green in color instead of the earlier orange. Personally I would have liked them to be a little more striking. I did see face masks being worn well indoors. Besides that people did seem to be a little more careful, but social distancing remains an issue for too many people, and some groups and families should really think about the behavior of and supervision of their children and about the space they use on pathways. Luckily it was quiet to very quiet in the park until about 11 AM. There is now clearly work and construction for the orangutan project ongoing both in and around the Asian greenhouse. On the restaurant side formwork and concrete elements have been put up, it is not entirely clear to me exactly what they are for. The pond between the restaurant and the greenhouse has been drained entirely. Next to the tree-top walk structure and the existing road, a new road has been constructed. It seems plausible to me that the existing road is used as a construction side road on week days, in any case there were construction equipment tracks visible on this road. In the European aviary two Eurasian wigeons (Mareca penelope) and two Northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata) have been added. The wigeons seemed to be a pair to me, the shovelers two females. Signs for the duck had not yet been added. Nice to see some extra (native) duck species at Planckendael again. For the first time in years I again saw a Visayan warty pig in the rhinoceros bull paddock, I also noticed this species was signed again at this location. I saw the muntjacs in the female rhinoceros paddock. It is not clear to me whether the warty pigs and muntjacs are mixed (but this does not seem like the best idea to me, although the space is large and the animals could possibly avoid each other). The renovation of the giraffe house and savanna viewing area and the surrounding walkways have been finished and this area has been reopened. The pathways, the roof and fencing have been renovated and the giraffe house has had wood-encased gutters added, so the water draining from the roof no longer drains onto the walkway as was the case earlier. Two of the giraffes were separated from the others in the separation paddock, which was closed off from the main exhibit. There is good progress on the new antelope building. A new building is being constructed, it seems with prefabricated concrete elements, in the area of the the former slender-horned gazelle paddock, on the earlier discussed foundation. The building actually seems larger than the foundation and also looks to be fairly tall. On the former wildebeest/oryx paddock an access route was constructed with trench plates. According to a banner on a construction fence the renovated antelope area should be finished by spring 2022. In the South American aviary the Inca terns and black-bellied whistling ducks have returned. I especially enjoyed the return of the Inca terns, they really add something nice to this aviary. The Black-necked stilts were also signed to have returned, but I did not see them. The wooden viewing area in the aviary was however closed off. The ibises are still in the former macaw aviary. I saw a lot of common chaffinches in the park, especially in the Asian and Australian areas. I also saw a feral Indian ring-necked parakeet in the trees near the Barbary macaques. I am going to try to post some pictures in the gallery soon in addition to these updates.
This afternoon I visited a pleasantly quiet Planckendael again. So here is another series of updates: The construction of the DinoLights festival light sculptures has progressed pretty far and is still ongoing. Personally I think most of the sculptures are very gaudy and too brightly colored and don't really fit in the park at all, but some of them were also at least somewhat nice. Although I am not personally at all interested in the lights festivals and will not attend them, I really hope they will be able to take place in some form, given the current circumstances. It seems to me that should, even now, be possible with a bunch of necessary safety measures and some limits. These festivals are not on the same scale as some other events and they are outdoors, so it should be possible to do them relatively safely. A company was installing new banners in the park advertising memberships. Construction of the orangutan project is continuing. Ground work with a crane and a large truck was being carried out next to the greenhouse on the restaurant side. At the front side of the greenhouse it seems spaces with cages and stacked rock walls are being constructed. The brick-paved square next to the small food/drinks stand, to the side of the former primate islands, was being broken up, the bricks were being taken away with a small front loader. Because of this the road from the elephants and the tree-top walk to the restaurant was closed, and visitors were detoured via the normally closed road past the side of the red panda exhibit and the camel paddock that are normally off-show. Sort of nice to see this side of these exhibits once again. The restaurant was still accessible via the road that is normally the exit of the Asian area. In the European aviary signs for the two duck species I previously mentioned have been added. According to signage the aviary now also houses European turtle doves. But aside from the waldrapps I saw no birds in this aviary today. I saw a red squirrel and a Eurasian nuthatch in the wildlife feeding area with the wildlife viewing wall in the European area. A keeper seemed to be trying to reintroduce a joey, wrapped in a towel, to the swamp wallaby group. Possible a joey somehow got out of a pouch too early? Central bearded dragons are no longer on show in the Australian terrarium house. The desert terrarium now only houses spiny-tailed monitors. For the first time I saw a large proportion of the bonobo group in the second indoor exhibit from the entrance (the one with the large fake termite mounds). I also saw a few animals "fishing" for some type of food in the holes in the termite mound with sticks. Quite fun to observe this interesting behavior. It seems to me some clipping and pruning of the vegetation in the African aviary has occurred, and I think they perhaps took away a little too much cover and shelter. Hopefully things will turn out a bit better when the vegetation starts to grow again next spring. Construction of the new antelope stable is also continuing. Aside from removed jack posts/support structures and the presence of some construction materials, perhaps for interior fencing or furnishings, I did however see no very substantial developments here. I know that I have failed to post my construction update images from my last post, I am going to try and still post those as well as those from today somewhere in the coming weeks. But I can't guarantee I will be able to get it done, given how poorly and how low on energy I have often been feeling lately. At least today's visit was enjoyable and hopefully did me some good.
After doubting for a while due to my current mental state, today I decided to go to Planckendael for a couple of hours anyway. I just couldn't pass up a visit on this cold and sunny day, given the current circumstances. I am happy that my "holiday season visit", kind of tradition, happened after all this year. The park was noticeably busier than during my previous week day visits, with the small parking lot filled but the large parking lot still almost completely empty, but for me the level of business was certainly still manageable. I do however feel that under the current circumstances the park should not be too much busier to really keep things safe. Out of carefulness today I did skip all indoor areas and some busier outdoor areas. In the updates below I will also be mentioning some things I noticed during my December 7th visit, which I didn't end up being able to report on. Updates: Despite the cold weather many animals were on show, probably because it was also sunny. The construction of the orangutan project continues. All construction inside the Asian greenhouse is now fully screened off with canvases and plastic door flaps. In the corner of the Asian greenhouse where the rice fields used to be located a kind of concrete tunnel has been constructed, the exact goal of which isn't yet clear to me. The ground work on the restaurant side seem to come down to a downsizing of the pond between the greenhouse and the restaurant and an expansion of the island space towards the restaurant. There were also a number of large rocks in this area for further construction. The aviary on the restaurant side has been demolished. The old road from the elephant to the wisent and the restaurant is now closed, and new utility lines and pipes are being laid in that area. Only the parallel new road closer to the tree top walk structures is now accessible. The road past the small snacks and drinks stands has been reopened and has had a new (temporary?) road surface of dark gravel applied. Next to the wisent paddock and the small snacks/drinks shack a retention pond has been dug. The viewing wall next to the wildlife feeding area in the European area has had small signs with drawings of native forest and park birds applied. At the side of the viewing wall a wall with information on different types of nesting boxes for birds and bats has also been made. I quite like this addition to the viewing wall. Today I saw a red squirrel, a number of chaffinches and some great tits in the European area and the wildlife feeding zone. Since the avian influenza control measures went into place I haven't seen the ducks, avocets and redshanks in the European aviary again. However in all other walk-through aviaries the ducks and waders are still on show. The scarlet ibis and black-faced ibis have moved back to the large South American aviary, from the former scarlet macaw aviary. The former macaw aviary now houses a turkey and a trio of Malines (Mechelse koekoek) chickens, probably animals from the domestic animal paddock/former petting zoo that have to be coped up due to avian influenza. On december 7th the ibises were already no longer on-show in the former macaw aviary, and the pond in that aviary was being emptied. The signs for the ibises have not yet been moved, although the signs for the chickens and the turkey have been moved. I heard sounds of what I believe where geese coming from what I believe was the antelope house. Possibly the geese normally living in the bison/wapiti exhibit are cooped up here. The construction of the new antelope house also continue. Animal doors have now been installed, and I heard welding inside the building. On December 7th I saw they were working on the roof, and as the doors had not yet been installed, I could see that the placement of the fencing of the indoor stalls had started. Next to the cheetahs and the (former?) off-show antelope separation area a concrete shelter has been created next to the new antelope house, possibly for storage. In the wapiti paddock a Christmas tree was hung from one of the trees in the exhibit. Two of the wapitis were sniffing/browsing on it. I am going to try to post some photos of the construction sites in the gallery, but I don't yet know or can guarantee when. I'm hoping perhaps somewhere during the holiday season.
On Christmas Eve another Cape porcupine was born, the fifth in one year. Vijfde stekelvarken op kerstavond geboren in dierenpark Planckendael Too bad the porcupines at Planckendael almost always barely show themselves, compared to porcupines at other zoos (at least in my experience).
