I am not surprised that you love the Wildlands zoo, but let me respectfully disagree with some of the points you make. I feel many of your arguments are not nearly as black and white as you make them. First, it is debatable whether Wildlands is very successful with families. There has been a lot of criticism, especially in the first year about a lack of animals, a lack of signage and lack of a clear vision. It seemed as the zoo didn't know what it wanted to be, a zoo, a themepark or a combination of both. It ended up failing in all 3 departments. In recent years the zoo has actually moved away from the themeparky focus, because it had to make a choice of what it wanted to be. So what they have been doing is adding more animals, more signage (many visitors specifically asked for this) and they have closed half of the new roller coaster, which was a failure both economically and with the visitors, not because they don't like rollercoasters, but it is not a great ride. This means that the zoo is more and more moving mainstream zoo. It is still different with regards to the theming, which is much heavier than in other Dutch zoos. Zoos like Gelsenkirchen and Hannover which are following a similar path do however show that it is very hard to make this kind of zoo profitable and even after 20+ years Zoo Hannover is not profitable (which given the income it generates is pretty shocking). That a themepark + zoo combination can successfully exist, doesn't mean that every zoo that does this succedes and Emmen clearly did not have the resources or vision to do so. in Europe both Tayto, Ireland, and Kolmarden, Sweden, show ways in which it can be done, but their approaches are very different. The fact that DAK is the world's top attendance zoo is purely based on its location in the middle of a whole range of other themeparks, resorts, etc., which make it a prime holiday destination for a huge country. It is still a huge achievement to be so successful, but it makes comparing their attendance figures with basically any other zoo worthless (maybe except Loro Parque and the Sea Worlds). Especially comparing with Emmen is worthless given the location in a "lowly" populated & non-touristy corner of the Netherlands, away from other major tourism attractions, in a country where there are plenty of other zoos that can be reached with the same driving distance. Many of DAK visitors, as in many themeparks will be one off visitors, which makes sense given the location, but most zoos depend on a different type of visitors as well: the locals who either have an annual pass or visit semi-regularly. This group of people has been seriously let down in Emmen and the number of annual memberships has plummeted very steeply 1 year after opening. There are however many many different options to help zoos become more attractive as tourist attractions. Zoos like Artis and Zoo Berlin are located in tourist hotspots and both have been increasing their attendance in recent years. Especially in Artis this development is somewhat surprising, given the dire state the zoo was in 20 years ago. The message has however been very clear that Artis is a place where nature and culture interact and this message has been well received. A theme ride in Artis (or Vienna for that matter) would be nothing short of blasphemy. The old Emmen zoo was also clearly different from any other zoo around, with a strong focus on education and exhibiting large groups of animals, but it was feeling the limits of its location. The Biochron was a fantastic living museum on evolution, but it showed its age. I feel that giving the Biochron a 50 million euro update, updating its displays and creating a new aquarium (see the Darwineum in Rostock to see what is possible), both zoo and city would have been better of. We have discussed about this before, but there are so many options to entertain and educate people simultaneously. Zoos know that they are in the entertainment business, up to a certain extent, that doesn't mean they shouldn't focus on education. There are several models around which successfully show how education can be well integrated in a serious zoo. Prime examples are Apenheul and Zürich. Apenheul has a hands on approach with a lot of volunteers around the zoo, but also a lot of interpretative signage as well as interactive displays, mainly aimed at children. Zürich has a more "serious" approach, with more educational displays, but it is all very visually and props, like a real cage of 2 cubic meters in which an Orangutan was kept as a pet, make sure an impact is made. There are a lot of complaints about the Ape house in Zürich, but educationally it stands out positively. The most problematic is that you seem to think that animals themselves cannot be enough entertainment by itself, which is something that baffles me. If they weren't, zoos wouldn't exist. The best entertainment any zoo could have are animals that are visible and behaving naturally. There are so many ways zoos can stand out and get people to learn about nature (entertaining visitors is the first step, because otherwise they would not become interested in animals). I personally think it is much harder, but much more worthwhile, if a zoo can entertain and sensitise people for nature using Fiddler crabs than with a huge African savannah.
Absolutely. All the times I've taken 'non-nerds' around a zoo the first thing that will make them complain is if they aren't seeing many animals (the second is usually if there aren't enough loos or places to sit!). The last time I went around Chester with someone who hadn't been for years they commented on this issue multiple times around Islands (we did have a particularly bad run!) and it was only when we were back in the main zoo that things perked up.
A bit late on this one..I rarely "cruise" the internet and Im known for not looking at texts on my phone - never mind anything more complicated! Anyway,im bound to say that although I couldnt disagree with Lint more on Copenhagen and Budapest(see other posts elsewhere) I couldnt agree with his words more on the subject of Emmen. The place is an insult to the previous reinvention of the concept of a zoo....digested and spewed up across the road as thematic vomit.Easily the most distressing zoo experience Ive had since I encountered the `new` Birdland over 30 years ago in Bourton -on-the-water. Things will have to change a great deal before I venture back to that corner of the Netherlands.
I too am filling time a little at the moment - in the middle of an otherwise busy fortnight. There are some interesting comments on here currently, but this one is a bit depressing as I didnt like the old Emmen either and only went once. Artis and Blijdorp and Wassenaar - why waste the time and petrol driving any further north?
Well... you would go past Apenhuel,Harderwijk and that funny little place full of Asian small animals - Tamman Indah or something like that. And then you would nearly be in Germany of course...which is always zoologically interesting.
Again a new species for the new Emmen Zoo : a single Armadillo - Tolypeutes matacus took resident in the indoor-enclosure of the Squirrel monkeys. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=691153374727073
BTW: Taman Indonesia. Wassenaar was a hidden gem. Too bad it shut. Emmen Wildlands seems slowly on recovery from gimmicky (s)experience! Bring on old style Emmen Noorderdierenpark yay.
At Wildlands a Longhorn cowfish ( Lactoria cornuta ) past away. Sad but nothing special you would think but in this case it is special because the animal lived already 24 ( ! ) years at Emmen ! At Wildlands a second Longhorn cowfish still is alive and its as old as the one who died. - one of the elderly Longhorn boxfishes at Wildlands ( 23 years old on this photo )
Yesterday a Colombian black spider monkey was born at Wildlands : https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=485835555624197
Part of the former penguin-enclosure is at the moment rebuild into an enclosure for Raccons, Skunks and Seals.
To respond, a few months later, I disagree that it's "worthless" to compare Disney Animal Kingdom's attendance (the #1 attended zoo in the world) with other zoos. Yes, DAK has a huge advantage, being situated in the middle of the world's #1 theme park, and in the Orlando, Florida area, BUT consider this: Would DAK have anywhere near the attendance (over 10 million annually) they have if it was ONLY a zoo -- without the Disney-fied rides and shows? Hardly. It has the top-rated attendance BECAUSE it is a combination zoo and theme park. And don't misunderstand me, I DO agree that the animals can be enough entertainment by themselves, so don't be baffled. But the animals are entertainment enough to attract the local population, but are they entertainment enough to attract out-of-town vacation/holiday visitors? I'm guessing that usually the answer is no. Most travelers think most zoos are fairly similar, so why (they think) should they visit a zoo in a foreign city "when they already have a great zoo at home"? It's when zoos will distinguish themselves with theme park-type attractions like DAK or Wildlands that out-of-town visitors will consider trying them.
That explains why all the most successful zoos in Europe are theme parks, and the ones which aren't theme parks don't get visited by outside visitors at all.... Oh wait - that's not true at all. Obviously the following list of the 35 most popular European zoos (from the original Sheridan volume) is out of date a bit in terms of figures, as these have increased yearly for the collections in question, but it demonstrates a point pretty well: The first and only zoo which could be termed a true theme park is Loro Parque in 24th place, and even with a looser definition of theme park this adds only Pairi Daiza in 8th place. One wonders just how the other 33 collections manage having to survive on the local populace alone..... Unlike the above collections, Emmen is currently displaying a negative growth trend in terms of yearly visitor numbers, incidentally....
The more relevant question is whether DAK would have a quarter of the current visitor numbers if they were located in New Orleans instead of Orlando. Orlando is leisure destination number 1. A good friend of mine who is a theme park fanatic, did not think much of it as a zoo, but for him it was one of the best theme parks he has visited, with Avatar being possibly the best attraction he has ever seen. Not quite, about 25% of the visitors in Burgers' Zoo is German, whereas there are plenty of good zoos in nearby Germany. Similarly a zoo like Schoenbrunn, Artis or Berlin wouldn't have nearly as many visitors if they were not also visited by tourists. Up to a certain extent you are right that theme parks do often draw in more visitors from further away (also because there are less), but I think that to a large extent that is also down to the fact that many are too big to see in one day, so they are making a complete holiday destination from, with hotels etc. They do give a unique experience. Pairi Daiza does however show that that tactic also works if you are just a zoo, a very big and unique one, but without any rides. Pairi Daiza is currently on 2 million visitors, but within the next years and especially after the large tropical dome is finished, it will easily draw 3 million visitors, if not 4. Then it would rival Europe's main theme parks (the Disneys excepted) without offering a single ride. Long story short, it is not because they are theme parks that they draw in more visitors, so adding rides to a zoo is not a ticket to more visitors. What zoos can learn from theme parks is that being a multiday destination and selling a completely unique experience can greatly enhance visitor numbers. A challenge here is that a zoo lay-out is less suited to high visitor numbers than a theme park (where people happily queue for ages instead of all standing at the same viewpoint and demanding to see a Lion immediately). Sheridan's list is not quite correct. Malton Flamingo Land, Chessington and Kristiansand all are themeparks with a zoo attached, which receive over 1 million visitors in Europe. But with Loro Parque that still makes up less than 10% of all most popular zoos. European zoo attendance Emmen is on the up again, with better financial results and a good increase in visitor numbers in 2019. Incidentally this has much to do with focusing less on rides and investing more in showing larger numbers of species, a trend that will continue in the coming yeas.
Even if it sounds weird, I share arguments of both sides here. Yes, DAK is a special form of zoo (or of theme park) and its location is a huge advantage. However, there are "common/ordinary" zoos in Sheridans list that have theme park/fun park elements as well (e.g. Leipzig with its boat ride, Pairi Daiza with its train ride). There are also others, that one or more theme park elements like Karlsruhe, Gelsenkirchen, Hannover, Tierpark Berlin, Zürich, San Diego Zoo), not to mention special shows (children/acrobatic theatre like Gossau, birds of pray, horse riding, tiger like Amnéville) etc. It isn't easy to divide/draw a line between "classic" zoos and animal based theme parks.
I would be very careful with this statement because using this logic means that pretty much every zoo has "a theme park element"
Yes, correct, that was/is exactly my intention. We should be very careful by pointing with our index to a zoological institution with (a lot of) theme park elements and saying: This is not a real (= good) zoo because it has rides (of any kind). Furthermore also, because it doesn't say anything about the welfare of the kept animals. There CAN be "Animal Theme Parks" that are keeping there animals better then "classic zoos" (and vice versa of course). I have to consider here that I could often dispense of many theme park elements I have seen in zoological institutions. Mainly because they were "space killer", ugly, doesn't fit to the theme or all three of them. But this has also mainly to do with my personal taste.
Former penguin enclosure as in Playa Pinguinos or former penguin enclosure at Wildlands? (Whatever happened to Playa Pinguinos anyway, a perfectly good penguin exhibit?)
no, the penguin enclosure they lived in the first two years of wildlands (now they live in a part of the former polar bear enclosure). A part of Playa Pinguinos is now the hippo exhibit.
