DAY 9: Monday, July 22nd (2 zoos)
After my surprise two-zoo afternoon in France, which I only did because those Belgian aquariums were closed, I spent the night at a motel near the Maubeuge Zoo and in the morning drove into Antwerp, Belgium. I ended up within spitting distance of the zoo, but it is the most extraordinary thing to be near casinos, bustling streets, all sorts of shops and hundreds of people moving about…and then around a corner is the entrance to a zoo! As one walks into the place, people are leaning out of their balconies doing laundry or smoking and it’s amazing to see.
Zoo/Aquarium # 27: Zoo Antwerp (Antwerp, BE)
This famous old zoo opened on July 21st, 1843, and therefore is only 5 years younger than the equally well-known Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam. There are many similarities between Artis and Antwerp, being that they are two of the oldest zoos in the world, both in urban locations completely surrounded by densely-populated cities, and both zoos have Bird Houses, Reptile Houses, Butterfly Houses, Aquariums, penguins, elephants, giraffes, gorillas, chimpanzees, sea lions, ornate statues and stately lawns. I’ll be honest and say that while Amsterdam took me almost 7 full hours to see everything, including the adjacent Micropia, I was done and dusted at Antwerp in 4 hours. I then quickly re-did the Reptile House, re-did the Nocturnal House (vainly looking for no-shows in the very dark environment), had lunch near the Savanna Aviary and re-did the Great Apes (my first and last Eastern Lowland Gorilla) to push my visit to the 5-hour mark. With 1 million annual visitors on 30 acres/12 hectares, Antwerp is a famous old zoo and arguably still a great zoo, but in my humble opinion there is just not nearly enough there for a full-day outing. Others will disagree, but that’s the wonder of assessing zoos, right?
Let’s take a gander, shall we?
If one goes by the order of the map (the numbers correspond with an approximate pathway through the zoo) then most visitors arrive at the 1897 Winter Garden, which is pleasant, but for most visitors I would estimate it to be a 5-minute stroll through a small Butterfly House in a very old building. The Small Monkey House is next, and this building is clearly an anachronism. It’s outdated and the primates have zero access to the outdoors. It doesn’t seem so bad when looking at tiny callitrichids but being inches from a full-grown male Colobus Monkey it is fascinating at how large they can be and the one I saw could cross his entire existence in about 5 seconds. There are other Primate Houses around the world that are just as miserable, but that is not an excuse for such a famous zoo. The species list is nice, but this is a house that should never again hold large monkeys. Species list
(13 species): Colobus Monkey, Javan Langur, Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, Southern Tamandua, Emperor Tamarin, Red Ruffed Lemur, Ring-tailed Lemur, Hamlyn’s Owl-faced Monkey, Brown-headed Spider Monkey, Pygmy Marmoset, Goeldi’s Monkey and Black and Rufous Sengi. Mandrills are outside with two enclosures but loads of glare on the windows is a major deterrent to visitors being able to actually see the primates. I’d personally love to see Antwerp revamp the Small Monkey House by gutting it and turning it into a modern Insectarium. The exterior façade would remain, there would be a lot of space for a world-class Insect House inside, and it would go well with the next-door Butterfly House.
I purchased a fantastic zoo guidebook for 3 Euros, with 100 pages of information, and I’d stop and read each little chapter before progressing to the next exhibit. There would be tidbits of facts and figures in terms of looking out for a partly-hidden statue, or admiring a species that hides in a certain section of its exhibit, or even this gem: “Did you know that the males have a blue scrotum?” That is in reference to the Hamlyn’s Owl-faced Monkeys, and sure enough, the males do have blue scrotums. Thanks, guidebook! It makes me wonder if Smurfs have blue scrotums, but that’s a topic for another forum.
There’s a Flemish Garden, an amazing-looking restaurant called ‘Latteria’, some Queensland Koalas and Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroos in more exhibits with terrible glare (but no Dusky Pademelons listed) and then a row of parrot aviaries in a state of disrepair as construction is ongoing in that part of the zoo. The Moorish Okapi House is a historical gem, but the exhibit itself (both front and rear) is only okay with Okapis and Red Forest Duikers together. At this point I was wondering what all the fuss was about, with nothing really impressing me. Then I came to the penguin exhibit, with its 1878 Rotunda structure, the sprawling and slightly confusing Valley of the Great Apes (Eastern (1 specimen) + Western Lowland Gorillas + Chimpanzees) and the incredible Buffalo Savanna Aviary. Wow. Lots of penguins, lots of great apes, even Black and Rufous Elephant Shrews again, Barbary Striped Grass Mice, Common Gundis, then the Kitum Cave underground section that has yet more viewing of the apes and leads into the superlative Buffalo Savanna Aviary. The cave is 67 meters long and fantastic for all ages, with a kiddie climbing section against one wall. The massive aviary contains an exhibit for 5 Cape Buffalo, the 1893 Rhinoceros House, and 200 African birds of probably 20 species. I ate lunch in the ‘Restaurant Savanne’ and felt that this part of the zoo was one of two large areas that really stood out for having a sustained period of excellence.
After a delightful lunch, I nonchalantly strolled past the iconic Egyptian Temple that was built in 1856 (it is the oldest building in the zoo) and is the centrepiece for a giraffe, zebra, Asian Elephant area. There were two young, bull elephants in the yard (although a sign said that one is leaving soon) and Antwerp’s elephant exhibit is very small and probably just barely adequate for maintaining one or two bulls at any given time. Nearby are Common Hippos, Malayan Tapirs, Eastern Bongos (so close that you could reach over and stroke their horns) all in adequate enclosures that look a little rough around the edges.
Bird House: There are 11 aviaries that line the outside of this historic building, with another 9 aviaries inside and then at the very back of the house (still inside) are a series of 11 tiny ‘windows’ with no glass or wire and the birds flit around in the darkness. It’s all quite remarkable. A macaw aviary, with full glass, is again outside and so there are your Bird House statistics. I’m not going to type up a species list, but I will say that the building opened in 1893 and was reconstructed in 1948 after being badly damaged during WWII. It’s a very nice series of aviaries for mostly small birds. There is even a Cactus Garden outside and a bust of Charles Darwin that dates from 1898.
Then the second part of the zoo with a period of sustained excellence emerged. There is ‘Freeze World’, which opened in 1997 but was renovated in 2012 and so looks new and is an appropriate exhibit for Antarctic penguins (King, Gentoo, Macaroni). Near the Aquarium is not one but actually two different Harbour Seal exhibits, a species that has been at the zoo (“almost without interruption” says the guidebook) since 1847. There is an Aquarium, Reptile House and some outdoor habitats that all add up to a delightful corner of the zoological park.
Aquarium: There are exactly 19 tanks in this grand old aquarium, plus a Koi pool and a Goldfish pool. That might not sound like a lot of fish, but those 19 tanks are larger than average, and all are a very healthy size. There isn’t a single small aquatic exhibit anywhere, and most are packed with colourful fish. The highlight, of course, is the 2014 addition of the Great Barrier Reef, floor-to-ceiling tank at the end of the hallway with 4,000 fish. That one is simply brilliant. The Aquarium opened in 1911 but in 2011 it was renovated and so yet again Antwerp has sensitively given a facelift to an iconic part of the zoo.
Reptile House: This building was arguably my favourite part of the entire zoo and it’s an excellent Reptile House that opened in 1911, as the Aquarium and Reptile House are essentially one massive structure. I walked in just as a crashing crescendo of a thunderstorm was occurring, with a fake tree branch at one point dropping a couple of feet from the ceiling and making visitors jump. The Reptile House has 43 exhibits, plus a nursery room for juveniles and a walk-through area with some Green Iguanas hanging around on branches and a few birds fluttering in the trees. All of the terrariums range from adequate to excellent, with well-furnished exhibits and a few rarities alongside my daily dose of Bearded Dragons and Green Iguanas.
I’ve gone with the exact names on the signs, which includes 5 iguana species and 10 gecko species:
Species list:
(77 species): Spectacled Caiman, African Rock Python, Carpet Python, Malagasy Ground Boa, Madagascar Tree Boa, Garden Tree Boa, Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Baja Rosy Boa, Rhinoceros Viper, Snouted Cobra, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Komodo Dragon, Spiny-tailed Monitor, Rhinoceros Iguana, Cuban Ground Iguana, Green Iguana, Desert Iguana, Black Iguana, Frilled Lizard, Weber’s Sailfin Dragon, Common Chuckwalla, Gila Monster, Mexican Beaded Lizard, Ornate Mastigure, Bearded Dragon, Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Smith’s Green-eyed Gecko, Common Madagascar Day Gecko, Ring-tailed Gecko, Olive Day Gecko, Gold Dust Day Gecko, Seychelles Giant Day Gecko, Peacock Day Gecko, Robert Mertens’ Day Gecko, Blue Dwarf Gecko, Klemmer’s Day Gecko, Veiled Chameleon, Major Skink, Solomon Islands Tree Skink, Fire Skink, Berberskink, Blue Spiny Lizard, Green Spiny Lizard, Black-lined Plated Lizard, Sudan Plated Lizard, African Spurred Tortoise, Pancake Tortoise, Red-legged Tortoise, Radiated Tortoise, Southern New Guinea Snapping Turtle, Nubian Flapshell Turtle, Malayan Box Turtle, African Keeled Mud Turtle, Central African Mud Turtle, Mountain Chicken, Green and Black Poison Dart Frog, Blue Poison Dart Frog, Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog, Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, Imitator Frosch, Golden Mantella, African Clawed Frog, Amazon Milk Frog, White-lipped Tree Frog, Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, Kaiser’s Spotted Newt, Rubber Eel, Mexican Red-knee Tarantula, Emperor Scorpion, Sabah Thorny Stick Insect, White Spot Assassin Bug, Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Cave Cricket and White Cloud Mountain Minnow. The birds in the small, narrow, walk-through section are Red Fody, Gouldian Finch and White-rumped Shama.
Outside the Aquarium/Reptile House combo is a rocky exhibit for Mishmi Takin and Himalayan Tahr, plus there are some Dromedaries and various macropods. One fantastic view is from the base of the lion ‘terrace’, with a Hagenbeckian view up past the lions, then the Dromedaries and right through to Takin Rock. Towards the zoo’s exit is the 1968 Jubilee Complex, with its bizarre Skywalk and exhibits for Coatis, Raccoons, Squirrel Monkeys, Red Pandas and Andean Bears. Those are all nicely done, but a couple of awful big cat exhibits still exist, for Amur Leopards and Jaguars. There is an equally awful, all-indoor California Sea Lion pool, but one hidden treasure is the ‘Nocturama’, which of course is a Nocturnal House. The exhibits there are fantastic and along a darkened hallway there are these species on display: Common Rat, Golden-bellied Water Rat, Balabac Mouse Deer, Northern Dry Zone Slender Loris, Gray Slender Loris, Aardvark, Springhaas, Southern Tamandua, Dourocouli, Two-toed Sloth, Southern Three-banded Armadillo and Egyptian Fruit Bat. There are only a dozen species, and two trips through the Nocturama did not reveal them all, but the exhibit quality in there is extremely impressive.
Antwerp Zoo has a great ‘feel’ to it, as many of the world’s most iconic zoos probably tend to have. The gardens are a work-of-art in themselves, with manicured lawns and pruned hedges and statues in all directions. Much like Artis, there is the sense that the zoo takes pride in its history and revels in it, so much so that the new parrot aviaries under construction have various signs detailing how the integrity of the ornate structure of the aviaries will be maintained. The zoo is a great one, particularly in the form of the Reptile House, Aquarium, Lion terrarce panorama, Egyptian Temple for Giraffes, Cape Buffalo Aviary and a few other exhibits.
I then drove 45 minutes southwest to this tiny Belgian zoo.
Zoo/Aquarium # 28: Harry Malter Familiepark (Destelbergen, BE)
The Malter family had a zoo in Schweinfurt from 1942-44, before being forced to close due to ramifications from World War II. There was a prolific touring circus for many years, from 1968-78, and it wasn’t until 1992 that the Harry Malter Family Park was established. When spending a trio of nights and visiting 6 zoos with my friend John (aka
@sooty mangabey ), I discovered an English word that he used frequently to describe something that was rubbish. He’d go: “That’s a bloody naff movie” when we had one of our friendly debates about the world of cinema. Well, the Harry Malter Zoo is a ‘naff’ zoo and one more for my list but it’s a real stinker. Conversely, it was packed with families during my visit and I had to park quite far away. There’s a naff little map with ridiculous animal images, some naff playgrounds and mini-rides for little kids, and even a small circus tent with a ring inside with a scary-looking, naff clown doing tricks. I was a little embarrassed to be there, but I did see some Guinea Pigs, Flemish Rabbits, Rhesus Macaques, Tufted Capuchins, and a walk-through Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit outdoors and then visitors can go into the indoor walk-through lemur exhibit as well. There are some Bactrian Camels giving rides, a few prickly porcupines, a couple of Genets, some barnyard animals, a few marmosets and lorikeets and of course the daily dose of Maras and Capybaras. Spending 30 minutes here was a struggle, but I did add on a few seconds by admiring the new addition for 2019 – a toddler pirate boat.
