DAY 6: Friday, July 19th (2 zoos)
Zoo/Aquarium # 15: Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam, NL)
Regarded by many as one of the world’s great zoos, this facility opened in 1857 and combines historic elements with modern-day immersion. In truth, the zoo has been on its current site since 1940 and the sense of architecture and history is not nearly as prevalent in comparison to Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam. Rotterdam, according to
@sooty mangabey, who has visited 400 different zoos in his lifetime, has very much an ‘American feel’ to it and that is mainly true. There are immersive areas that wouldn’t look out of touch in cities like Dallas or Omaha or Seattle. I loved Blijdorp and it was a 6.5-hour day.
With approximately 69 acres/28 hectares and 1.5 million annual visitors, this is a major European zoo and John and I made sure that we arrived exactly by opening time so that we could stay ahead of the surging crowds. We left the Oceanium to the very end, as in truth getting photos inside an Aquarium is always difficult and so we had that excellent facility as our last stop of the day. In the general order that we visited the zones:
North America: This whole area is truly excellent, although it is a short section with only 6 species and it can easily be seen in perhaps 20 minutes. We tracked back at the end of the day and so doing North America twice gave me a nice overview of the zoogeographic zone. The two Polar Bear exhibits are terrific, although why the zoo would have the giant bars on the holding area visible to the public is head-scratching. The Arctic Foxes gamboled around their fantastic habitat, complete with a stream trickling downhill. Raccoons and Prairie Dogs (with minimal barriers in the latter exhibit) are great, and that leaves a huge Steller’s Sea Eagle aviary and an American Bison paddock with very minimal fencing in the visitor viewing area. North America is a small part of the zoo in terms of how long visitors spend there, but the exhibits are all fairly new and represent a great first impression.
Amazonica: A splendidly-designed Tropical House that is essentially a large domed greenhouse, with wood pillars stretching far over the heads of visitors. However, John and I both found the space to be a waste as other than butterflies there isn’t really a lot there. Where are the primates or perhaps a crocodilian exhibit? There is a beautiful pond area, with typically minimal Dutch barriers that you’d never see in a North American zoo, and the pool has at least 5 Arapaima and several other Amazon species such as Red-tailed Catfish and Pacu. A Green Anaconda exhibit and some poison frog terrariums are good, but this Amazon House doesn’t have enough to sustain a long visit. A couple of spacious aviaries are outside, and also Chilean Pudu, some guinea pigs, Rheas and Vicunas sum up a decent and nice-looking part of the zoo…but also a somewhat disappointing section that should probably be added to in future years.
Africa: We crossed under the motorway (a similar setup to what occurs at Toledo Zoo in the USA) and here Blijdorp truly shines. Other than a tiny Australian section (a walk-through yard for Swamp Wallabies) and a European section (a dull Reindeer paddock), the entire top section of Blijdorp is neatly divided into an African zone and an Asian zone and both are superlative. Africa was my favourite part of the zoo and it begins well with an exhibit for Mhorr Gazelle that is as tasteful and elegant as the antelope within. A great big walk-in aviary has vultures, Marabou Storks and other species and is terrific, although it is very scruffy with pedagogical material damaged and peeling in all directions. A White-naped Mangabey enclosure is large, a Serval exhibit is adequate, zebras and ostriches prancing around in the background is terrific and the two Spotted Hyena exhibits are adequate although a bit small for that species.
The Giraffe House is one of the best I’ve ever seen, either aesthetically or functionally. Visitors gawk at giraffes and Greater Kudu from a wooden boardwalk and it’s all rather pleasing. After the thrill of the giraffe set-up, visitors are immediately immersed in Crocodile River, a hot and humid Tropical House for Nile Crocodiles, Slender-snouted Crocodiles, Rock Hyrax and Meerkats. The croc pools are world-class and shame many indoor croc exhibits I’ve seen back in America. Then there is the Okapi House, surely the best indoor accommodation for Okapis anywhere. The whole thing is netted, with two densely-planted, shady outdoor exhibits and then a surprisingly well-planted indoor area. We saw 4 Okapi and while John bemoaned the scarcity of birds, I was hugely impressed by the whole thing and I think that it all opened circa 2015.
Africa is still not done, with an enormous, 4-level playground that my army of children would have descended on with gleaming faces. I might never have seen them again as the playground is world-class and that is coming from someone who has taken his 4 kids to innumerable play areas. Lowland Gorillas have a modern habitat that reminded me of San Diego’s gorilla yard, although one blemish is that we saw a big silverback alone in an exhibit from the dark ages. Perhaps the ropes and swings on the cement platforms is enough to temporarily occupy a great ape, but the aesthetics totally jive with the rest of this premier Rotterdam attraction. Immersive exhibit after immersive exhibit, and then a majestic gorilla in a cage with a barred roof? Also, the gorilla indoor accommodation is old-fashioned and probably just barely adequate for the large troop. Moving on, there are Pygmy Hippos and Black Rhinos in the old yards connected to the massive Rivierahal, with a tropical bird loop inside but no more terrariums or other animals anywhere…just another large playground! One good thing is that by having a substantial play structure and eating area inside the Rivierahal, that then allows for an easing of congestion throughout the zoo. Geladas are new to the zoo as of 2018, with at least a dozen of them in an enormous amount of space that is essentially a repurposed Big Cat House. The Gelada addition is marvellous, as is seeing Forest Buffalo (almost unheard of in North American zoos) alongside Red River Hogs in a nearby exhibit. It took us a couple of hours to wander our way through the African zone and I loved every minute of it. There are loads of large mammals on display in the African section of the zoo, but one of the very best exhibits is a small one that is not even labeled on the zoo’s map. Cape Ground Squirrel (at least 20 of them), Black-headed Weaver (at least 20) and Green Turaco all in the same enclosure and the flurry of activity was so exciting that anyone who stopped to watch was engaged for several minutes.
Asia: A flaw here is the rambling style of the paths, with frequent checks of the zoo map to ensure that we were on track. There are pelicans, leopards, a Chinese garden, and very nice exhibits for Fishing Cats, Sulawesi Crested Macaques (labeled as ‘Celebes’ on the sign), Lion-tailed Macaques and a Banteng/Blackbuck paddock that has scarcely a barrier in sight. Yards for Bactrian Camels and Greater One-horned Rhinos are nice, as is a Tufted Deer/Red Panda exhibit that borders on brilliance with an overhead log for the pandas to access both sides. There’s a great big Elephant House called Taman Indah, with indoor accommodation for the rhinos, Asian Elephants and Malayan Tapirs sprinkled with several aviaries and reptile terrariums. Sumatran Tigers have two habitats with big viewing but a flaw with the Asian zone is that it is a bit scruffy in places, and birds are a weakness. The Burung Asia aviary is huge, but the rotting, swaying bridge is struggling for life and there is poo and mess everywhere and even a dearth of interesting birds. There is a walk-in aviary with what appeared to be a single night heron when in fact a troop of primates wouldn’t have looked out of place. The zone ends well with an Asian Lion exhibit that can be seen from multiple vantage points.
Oceanium: I loved this facility and it is substantial enough for John and I to have spent 45 minutes inside. He’s not a big fish fan and so was a little underwhelmed, but for me the Oceanium is easily the best Aquarium that I’ve ever seen inside of a zoo. American zoos like Houston, Point Defiance, San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Toledo and a half-dozen more all have aquariums inside their zoos, but all of them are clearly in the shadow of what can be found in the heart of Rotterdam. Even Omaha’s excellent aquarium, which is now relegated to my number two slot, cannot compete with the Oceanium at Blijdorp Zoo. The first thing visitors see is a California Sea Lion exhibit, admittedly in need of having its windows scrubbed down, and a Seabird Aviary and both are very good but nothing that a seasoned zoo enthusiast hasn’t seen many times before. There are many smaller fish tanks set in the walls of the Oceanium, with the walk-through tunnel blowing me away. I’ll find out on this trip if a certain zoo in Arnhem has a similarly-excellent aquarium, but the tunnel tank at Blijdorp is wide enough to ease congestion, has mock-rock seating areas that are brilliant, and the walls of the tank are painted so dark that peering into it I could see sharks swimming out of what appeared to be thin air…or at least extremely dark water! The species inside includes at least one Green Sea Turtle and one Hawksbill Turtle, plus Blacktip Reef Sharks and other delights. The fantastic tunnel then leads into more aquatic delights, including a King Penguin/Gentoo Penguin Antarctic exhibit that is very good but not as good as places like Detroit or Omaha. The outdoor loop that leads to the Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit is pure nonsense, which seems so odd for a zoo of this caliber. The oceans of the world are represented by many species, but Ring-tailed Lemurs in a walk-through are incongruous to the theme. The aquarium never seems to end, with a jungle-like area with some nice species (Cuban Hutia, Mountain Chicken, Cuvier’s Dwaf Caiman) and even a volunteer ‘lab’ that was open during our visit. Apparently, Blijdorp is one of the few zoos in the world to have on-show Lake Patzcuaro Salamanders (which look just like Axolotls).
John does insist that Blijdorp has lost some of its lustre over the past few years. He frequently told me that a decade ago most zoo nerds would have the zoo in their Top 5 zoos in all of Europe, but with the rise of others it could be argued that Rotterdam’s great zoo has stalled a little. The Oceanium no longer has either Sea Otters or Tufted Puffins (although the latter are still labeled), the Riviera Hall is devoid of any reptiles or amphibians and has a small walk-through jungle aviary with very few birds. Wolves and owls are all gone from the Europe zone, which leaves only a boring Reindeer paddock partly hidden away from the main path. Onagers are gone from the Bactrian Camel yard, Takin Rock is an exhibit that is completely closed down, and even the Bat Cave in the Asian section has been dismantled. Blijdorp was hit hard by the economic recession of a decade ago, with the funding for the zoo dramatically slashed, and perhaps that has seen the zoo scale back a little in a situation eerily similar to that of the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
However, with the 2015 addition of the Okapi complex and the 2018 Gelada exhibit, the zoo has a couple of new gems that are both fantastic and I’d be remiss if I didn’t declare each of them borderline brilliant. Blijdorp is still regarded as one of the best zoos on the continent, which means that it is arguably still one of the world’s great zoos. John and I spent 6.5 hours walking around and I was thrilled to have spent time in the park. It’s a full-day zoo with a lot of things to see in mainly high-quality exhibits and very few poor sections. I spent 7 hours at Artis Royal Zoo earlier in the trip and admitted that despite my enjoyment there were at least half-a-dozen exhibits that needed a complete overhaul. Looking at the map of Blijdorp, I struggle to locate a single enclosure that should be immediately bulldozed because the zoo is a modern-day work of art. There are many things that could be tweaked, and zoo nerds love to hypothesize about what should be done at a zoo, and there are even some that say the zoo lacks ‘soul’ or ‘quirkiness’, and all of those things may well be partly correct, but overall Blijdrop is such a great zoo that there is a very high standard throughout the park.
Zoo/Aquarium # 16: Familiepark Plaswijckpark (Rotterdam, NL)
We left Blijdorp and headed approximately 15 minutes down the road to this family-friendly attraction. Amidst all of the young kids and parents were a couple of middle-aged ‘gits’ from Canada and England, both eager to see what treasures would appear before us. We paid 13 Euros each for a 35-minute tour of this facility as no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t persuade John to ride with me on one of those giant swan boat-things that people pedal around lakes. In all honestly, we briskly walked through the zoo section of the kiddie park, seeing a decent Small-clawed Otter exhibit, Coypus, some Bennett’s Wallabies, a nicely-done Prairie Dog exhibit that is a walk-through enclosure, plus the usual motley assortment of Rheas, Maras, Coatis and Black and White Ruffed Lemurs. We saw it all and headed back to our hotel at Vogelpark Avifauna. A quick and easy zoo that is so close to Blijdorp that it would be a crime to miss it. Ha!
We then drove back to Vogelpark Avifauna for our 3rd and final night in the excellent hotel.
