I too had heard that the zoo was riddled with TB. There is quite a professionally produced website somewhere that lists where some of the animals went to after the zoo's closure. I visited the former site about three years ago and was surprised to see that, considering the robustness of some the structures, there is absolutely nothing left at all except the house.
Unfortunately, this zoo was exemplary for a fully commercial enterprise that was heavily immersed in illegal wildlife trade (hence the bonobos and the fact they did not want to sent them on to Apenheul without cashing a cheque). It was also extremely badly run and managed and fraught with absolutely shameless management/keeping procedures and numerous health issues. Seeing the TB issue rumours not surprised ... In short: a total hell-hole.
Still today, it makes me sad, thinking back about this place. I once saw the owner, Mr. Wauters, an old men with a "back to the future professor" hair cut, as he drove around the park in a dilapitated, rusty car, stopping at some enclosures to throw some old bread to the animals. I had the impression that maybe he ment well in the very beginning and that at some point, the whole venture completely took the wrong turn to disaster. They either got overwhelmed, greedy, confused - or all of that combined. I have seen other "not so good zoos" in Europe and other parts of the world. Usually, their is something that could be done to save the place. I never had that feeling in Genk - the only solution was to close it down as fast as possible, there was no hope anywhere ...
I agree, from interviews I have seen of Guido Wauters it appears that he was strongly "pro-life" , in other words he believed that elderly animals should continue to live, in whatever condition that may be! , until they died naturally. He insisted the animals were not in pain, though clearly some were! The welfare of the animals involved and their obvious suffering, in the advanced stages of old age, in some cases, were ignored. Certain animals needed immediate veterinary attention which they were denied which amounts to neglect and pure cruelty. Personally I think that the zoo had simply grown so much so that it was proving very difficult for the owners to adequately manage , it was way beyond their means. Though at the end of the day there can be no excuses for bad animal husbandry. By the way I heard that apparently they sent a small "herd" of "Buffalo", I presume Cape?, to be released back into Africa! They did also have Water Buffalo so I don`t know , it seems a bit strange.
I've just remembered that there was/is a rescue centre in Belgium that took some of the Limburgse animals. I am not sure whether it still exits. They certainly had tigers and bears there from memory. Try googling it.
That would be the one! I see they still list "brown, grizzly and Kodiak" bears there and also picture American black bear and a tiger. But there is no mention of the Limburgse animals any longer. Does anyone have any photos of this place?
Thank you, that is interesting, they certainly had a vast collection of animals to find homes for! In the end they had some 4,000 specimens I believe.
Absolutely, thanks for that scan, is there any way to enlarge it ? Do you know if they produced many guidebooks ? I can remember seeing one up for sale in recent times.
If you open it in a browser at full resolution it should be easily large enough to read the key (it's 2000 x 800 pixels)
A few more questions , can anyone help with ?? 1) Does anyone have any details of Orang Utans held ? 2) How many Bears did Emmen Zoo take when Limburgse closed ? 3) Did they have both Sloth and Sun Bears at Limburgse ? 4) Did they keep American/Canadian Black Bears ? 5) Which Crocodile species was kept ? 6) Can anyone confirm whether or not Cassowary were kept ? 7) Does anyone have any details about the Polar Bears and where they went to upon closure ? Sorry about all the questions - any information, no matter how vague, would be useful and interesting , many thanks.
Many years ago, I had a talk with two members of staff at Antwerp Zoo. They said that the zoo in Genk was the worst zoo in the world. The zoo obtained animals from dealers, kept them in poor enclosures and didn't have any veterinary staff. If an animal was ill, the staff tried to get free veterinary help from Antwerp or let the animal die, so it could be replaced by another animal. I didn't visit the zoo, but the Limburgse zoo seems to have been a very poor zoo, run for money, rather than the welfare of its animals.
Many thanks Dassie Rat, yes it was indeed , the animals were totally exploited in every way. I am also interested in the species kept and where they went to upon closure of the place, also in the early days of the collection.
I'm pretty sure they had Sloth Bears at least. There was a T.V programme about this place featuring a Zoo 'inspection' where the visiting 'Zoovet' (who shall remain nameless) made a comment about the Bears' claws being badly overgrown-whereas of course Sloth Bears have very long curved claws anyway, for digging into the packed earth of Termite hills. Not sure if they had Orangutans ?- will try and look up details for you.
I think David Taylor and BBC's "State of the Ark" have already been named earlier in this thread. Of course sloth bears have very long claws anyway. But the problem at Genk was that the claws were split and broken multiple times because of the 100% concrete ground - really not a pretty sight and certainly not good for the bears ! I visited the place several times and (as I said before in other posts) this place was the perfect poster child for animal rights activists - a place of true suffering in every single "enclosure"!
Thanks guys. Yes ,I have the programme on video and recall the Sloth Bears, but I don`t remember seeing any Sun Bears, which were mentioned as being there at some point. Iam sure I have seen a postcard from Limburgse which shows a juvenile Orang Utan!
1972 Ben came to Zwartberg. He was a male. Kim arrived in 1973. She was a female. In 1976 Laura. She was also a female. Ben and Kim got a child in 1980. 1976 Theo came to Zwartberg. He was male. What about Sarah I can not say. The four other bears were sold in 1996 to Lois Lenaers.
