According to ZTL the Greater Grison has died. I wonder if that means that the Lesser Grison is now on display. ZTL still lists the African Civet, but I never saw this species during my visits to the park.
Last year I saw it, but they are not signposted and their enclosure franky looks like is has been uninhabited for years.
Last stop on my rare small mammals trip today was De Paay. All enclosures looked unchanged compared to my last visit, but with some different inhabitans. I saw a caracal in the former ocelot enclosure. Not really a progress for this cat, compared to the large and lush enclosure it used to be kept. The former caracal enclosure holds now the big rarity I hoped to see today in De Paay: the African civet. There is no signage at the enclosure, but the guy at the front desk told me where to look for it and I hadn't that much trouble spotting it. The signage at the grison enclosure still says "Galictis vittata", but it's clearly a different type of animal than the grison De Paay used to keep, being a bit lower on the legs with brownish hairs in the grey fur of the back. So I will put it on my list being my first lesser grison. I saw an unsigned agouti in one of the parrot cages, but I'm not sure what species it was. I will put a photo in the gallery, hoping that someone can identify it.
It appears De Paay stopped with making signages, so you only know which species inhabits an enclosure until you see it... There have been some changes in owl species in the last two years, but most notably is the addition of Asian palm civet, Siberian weasel, red-and-black variegated squirrel and white-nosed coati (I saw two of all four species). Caracals are now in three enclosures, including the one that hold the African civet at my visit in 2018 (so I think it's not longer kept).
As you maybe know, De Paay has been in national newspapers due to financial problems. I think it is always strugglung somehow in the financial field, but I read the corona crisis hit De Paay hard.
Jep, but I honestly have rarely heard 'positive' stories on de Paay. Which might also be a reason I have not visited the park yet. But from what I have read it is indeed a big issue and I actually have the idea they might close down within the next 5 years.
That would be great news! I've visited almost 100 zoos in Europe, including exactly 43 in the Netherlands, and de Paay is the absolute worst zoo out of the lot. It wouldn't be such a bad thing if the animals were sent elsewhere and the zoo permanently closed. I'm not sure if many other zoo enthusiasts would agree, but the zoo has apparently been dreadful for years and by staying open it creates a bad reputation for zoos in general.
Not so sure. Relocation of animals will always be an issue in these cases. The last thing we would wish for is that with no zoos able to take these .... it is euthanasia (animals should not be victimised just for the fact the zoo for some reason is badly run or is in financial difficulties. It is as yet one of those stumbling blocks where national legislation or accountability and support is seriously lacking and a down right failure. Remember that if and when zoos are "given" confiscated animals they are almost never / not compensated and the national government does not take their responsibility in law enforcement with duty of care too seriously I am afraid. In cases where a zoo shuts down and there is an issue with relocation of animals, the national authorities do not act upon duty of care.
Have you seen BestZoo though during your trip? As that one would be a good competitor for worst zoo I believe
We agree - being a Dutch national De Paay is the worst of all the zoos we have to offer, and the sooner it closes down the better. At least three places I know of in NL have offered to take animals in. Veldhoven, AAP and Zie-ZOO! Best isn’t great, but at least they’re making steady progress in upgrading some of their facilities. De Paay have yet to do that.
@Kifaru Bwana Interesting that any possible relocation of animals could be a problem. Thanks for that information. @Timmiegun Yes, I visited BestZoo and it's not a great advertisement for zoos either. Lots of leopards and jaguars there, although most were not on public view. @ShonenJake13 I'm glad that we are in agreement. Sometimes visitors take photos at terrible zoos and it just creates a bad image for zoos in general.
De Paay is a crappy zoo; the only reasons I have visited it multiple times is it's collection of small carnivores and owls and the fact that it is very close to more or less the main highway of the Netherlands (the A2), so I have made a couple of rather quick visits returning home from zoos or museums in the southern part of the Netherlands. Best isn't really great either, but the worst zoo in the Netherlands for me is Blanckendael-park (although the owner is called Blankendaal, but the name of the park sounds fancier). Everywhere the same green fences and cages, oryxes on concrete floors... I work quite often in Tuitjenhorn, so when I could leave early sometime last year, I decided to give the park another try several years after my first visit. Eventually, I didn't visit; the entrence fee is absurd and you have to pay to park your car.
