Best Polar Bear enclosure in Benelux

[britishzoofan]

This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Polar Bears in Benelux I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to perhaps list the enclosures in order of what they determine to be the best.

Pairi Daiza

Monde Sauvage

Emmen

AZ Friesland

Dierenrijk

Ouwehands

Rotterdam

 

[snowleopard]

This is a tough decision! I saw the polar bear exhibits at Rotterdam, Ouwehands, Dierenrijk, Monde Sauvage and Emmen last summer. I also visited Pairi Daiza but the polar bear exhibit was under construction at the time and not yet open, plus AZ Friesland is a place I didn't visit and there is also a brand-new polar bear exhibit there. I might wait and see what zoo nerds say about those exhibits, as both look to have certain high qualities.

Monde Sauvage has an extraordinary polar bear exhibit because half of it is an old-fashioned cement bunker with very high walls that that looks like this:

The newer section of the polar bear exhibit at Monde Sauvage is a forested environment that seems more appropriate for brown bears than the great white bear of the tundra:

Monde Sauvage is decent, but it would not get my vote.

I would also not vote for Emmen, as the viewing areas are a bit tight for the number of visitors and there are big metal pipeline things like this that are aesthetically unappealing:

Ouwehands has a pool that is 100% green in the summer and thus there really isn't any underwater viewing although the exhibit is a good one with some thick grass and many boulders to create a lush-looking environment. I can see why Ouwehands could have some supporters.

Rotterdam has absolutely superb underwater viewing, with huge windows that are spectacular. The two outdoor exhibits were probably world-class when they opened almost 20 years ago, but now are simply okay. This zoo might get a few votes as well.

Dierenrijk would probably get my vote, although I'm going to wait to see what people say about the new exhibits at Pairi Daiza and AZ Friesland. Here are 6 photos that I took of the two enormous polar bear exhibits at Dierenrijk. The lack of underwater viewing is a negative, but there are many positives with the two spacious enclosures at this zoo.

A polar bear cub at Dierenrijk:

A polar bear about to dive into the water:

 

[KevinB]

I personally voted for Dierenrijk. Size is a very important factor for polar bears and the exhibits at Dierenrijk certainly have that, I think they might be the largest on the list here. And while the structure of these exhibits is relatively simple, making them not hugely aesthetically pleasing, they do offer a lot of water and open land space to the polar bears, and that matters a lot for polar bears.

I also like the exhibits at Rotterdam a lot and they would be pretty high on my list. The large, deep pool with an impressive underwater viewing, where I in 2018 saw a polar bear diving all the way to the bottom to retrieve a food item, is definitely a plus. I did find the exhibits at Rotterdam a little rough around the edges, with some ugly metal structures and an ugly moat in full view. But they are pretty decent exhibits nonetheless.

The old polar bear exhibit at Monde Sauvage was basically a totally unsuitable old-fashioned concrete pit, and the recent expansion, while offering some much needed extra space, doesn't seem all that well suited for polar bears. I think this is still easily the worst exhibit on the list.

The exhibit at Ouwehands is I think a pretty good exhibits and I think it would rank just a bit lower than the one at Rotterdam. I do seem to remember that they use an old small concrete exhibit as a second/side exhibit, and that this zoo only has one large major exhibit, which is a definite downside with solitary animals.

I have not yet seen the exhibit at Widlands Emmen, but in the images in this topic the water area doesn't look very large to me. I haven't seen the one at AquaZoo either, but in the images I have looked up of it it looks adequate and acceptable, although not great.

The exhibit at Pairi Daiza I also have yet to see. The images of the underwater viewing areas, of the resort room with view of the polar bear pool and of the cooled "ice cave" I have seen look rather impressive. But I am not quite as impressed with the photos of the land area, which to me looks a little ugly (especially the big rock wall) and not really that large. I will however be visiting Pairi Daiza next week, so I will get a chance to judge this exhibit myself soon.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

I have not yet seen the exhibit at Widlands Emmen, but in the images in this topic the water area doesn't look very large to me.

I’ve been at Emmen last year and it seemed alright to me, has a good underwater view too and the animals were playing with eachother and
a wooden raft. With the help of Google Earth I figured it’s around
420 m² (in comparison their hippo pool is around 410) Here’s an overview of the polar bear exhibit:

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

Side Note: Google Earth gave me a 2d View, so it could be more than 420 if things like the polarstation blocked a bit of the water, but it shouldn’t give so much of difference.

 

[lintworm]

Side Note: Google Earth gave me a 2d View, so it could be more than 420 if things like the polarstation blocked a bit of the water, but it shouldn’t give so much of difference.

420 square meters would be tiny for a polar bear exhibit, google earth has an option to calculate area sizes.

 

[KevinB]

420 square meters would be tiny for a polar bear exhibit, google earth has an option to calculate area sizes.

I understood that he meant the water area alone would be around 420 square meters.

 

[lintworm]

I understood that he meant the water area alone would be around 420 square meters.

That makes more sense indeed, in which case it would be by far the largest complex in NL and probably benelux.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

Yes I ment only the water

Edit: With help from the Google Earth calculator, I found out the entire enclosure should be somewhere between 3.4 and 3.5 thousand m².

 

[Stefan Verhoeven]

Emmen has a great polar bear enclosure for the animals, but biggest downside is for the visitors. Small viewing area, and the way the layout is (with a small elevation directly after the water) the animals are often not visible. I know there are plans (or already done? I haven't been there this year) to alter the area a bit, to improve visibility.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

After I calculated the enclosure of Emmen, I thought ‘Why not do the same for the other zoo’s to compare them?’ Here they are: (enclosure size is with the Pool included and all sizes are a bit rounded, since small mistakes can cause big changes in the numbers)

* Pairi Daiza: Unfortunately unable to calculate, due to Google earth
being outdated, would probably be around 3000 m²
* Monde sauvage: I don’t know where the new enclosure is (can somebody help?), the old enclosure is 630 m², which consists of a 200 m² Pool
* Wildlands: Complete enclosure: 3400 - 3500 m², Pool: 420 m²
* AZ Friesland: Enclosure 1: 1300 m², including a 480 m² Pool, Enclosure 2: 1350 m², including a 260 m² Pool
* Dierenrijk: Complete enclosure: 3400 - 3500 m², Pool 700 m²
* Ouwehands: Enclosure 1: 2600 m², including an 850 m² Pool, Enclosure 2:
* Blijdorp: Complete enclosure: 1700 m², Pool: 400 m²

 

[MennoPebesma]

I know there are plans (or already done? I haven't been there this year) to alter the area a bit, to improve visibility.

Didn't know about those plans but visited Wildlands last Tuesday and it had still the same layout as at my last visit in 2017.

* AZ Friesland: Enclosure 1: 1300 m², including a 480 m² Pool, Enclosure 2: 1350 m², including a 260 m² Pool

AquaZoo Friesland, or AquaZoo Leeuwarden as it is nowadays called, is my home zoo. I didn't quite get the same measurements you mentioned, also, they renovated the enclosure earlier this year.

The left enclosure is about 2300 m² with a pool of about 220 m². The right enclosure si about 1700 m² with a pool of about 120 m². The right has been renovated earlier this year, there is now a shelter where the pool was. The pool is now at the lower part of the enclosure. The left enclosure also got a shelter, it's in the upper part of that enclosure between the trees.

The landscape of the enclosure contains some grass, gravel and some big rocks. part of one of the enclosures is between the trees. It has multiple nice views in the enclosure just like on the photo in the first post. They also hold Polar bear presentations (not at the moment due to corona) where they show part of the medical training of the bear. They do things as letting the Polar bear stand up, touch his paws and let him open his mouth.

Currently they house 1 adult male who gets to have both enclosures for himself at the moment. They are searching for a new home for this male, so they can get a breeding pair of Polar Bears.


My vote would probably be between Pairi Daiza and Wildlands Emmen. Haven't been to Pairi Daiza but on the photo's it looks amazing. Also the always cool water, underwater view and ice cave are great features of that enclosure. I've been to Emmen and i lso like their enclosure with the nice landscape and underwater viewing area. I do like the industrial theme of the enclosure. For now my vote goes to Emmen, but that's just because i haven't been to Pairi Daiza to see their enclosure for myself.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

Well, first of all, I didn’t count the indoors, second, you counted the hedge, I didn’t. I think I did something wrong with the right pool (Enclosure 1 is the right one, 2 the left one). I also did something wrong with the left enclosure, sorry. I haven’t been to AZ so I used the old map (the new one doesn’t give the borders of the exihibits) of the Zoo, since there are trees in the way, and you said it was renovated, I didn’t know that, so I used the wrong border. This made my calculation wrong, sorry about that.

Edit: I tested some things myself, but are you sure the right pool is 120? Or are both Google Earth and the newest Zoo map outdated?

 

[MennoPebesma]

Well, first of all, I didn’t count the indoors, second, you counted the hedge, I didn’t. I think I did something wrong with the right pool (Enclosure 1 is the right one, 2 the left one). I also did something wrong with the left enclosure, sorry. I haven’t been to AZ so I used the old map (the new one doesn’t give the borders of the exihibits) of the Zoo, since there are trees in the way, and you said it was renovated, I didn’t know that, so I used the wrong border. This made my calculation wrong, sorry about that.

that doesn't matter, if you never been there then it's a bit difficult to see where the fence is.
I also didn't count the indoors. I counted on the fence, but the fence is indeed in some plants/hedge. And there is also some electric fence on the inside what makes it a bit smaller. So maybe my measurements are also not that precise.
Renovation didn't make the enclosures bigger they only changed the layout and landscape a bit.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

Edit: I tested some things myself, but are you sure the right pool is 120? Or are both Google Earth and the newest Zoo map outdated?

I edited my last post. I still think there’s something wrong with your Pool size, I did it again and come to 400. I’m sorry again for my mistakes, I don’t know what happend but I think I didn’t use the right border for (mostly) the left enclosure.

 

[MennoPebesma]

I edited my last post. I still think there’s something wrong with your Pool size, I did it again and come to 400. I’m sorry again for my mistakes, I don’t know what happend but I think I didn’t use the right border for (mostly) the left enclosure.

Yes, both are outdated but especially the latest zoo map is very wrong. It's nowhere near that size.
They filled in the old pool and made a new one in the lower part of the enclosure. There is now a shelter where the pool used to be.

 

[1Squirrel monkey]

Ok, thanks for the Info!

 

[britishzoofan]

Score update. It is currently extremely close but Dierenrijk lead Pairi Daiza by 3 votes who in turn lead Emmen by 3 votes. A convincing argument for one of these collections could swing the vote in their direction.

 

[britishzoofan]

Poll closed. Congratulations to Dierenrijk on winning the vote for Best Polar Bear enclosure in Benelux. This was by far the closest poll so far with them receiving one vote more than Pairi Daiza. Perhaps as more zoo chatters visit the new exhibit in Pairi Daiza it may have the possibility of winning this poll in the future. This was Dierenrijk's second poll win and Pairi Daiza's best performance so far.

Dierenrijk: 44.4%
Pairi Daiza: 40.7%
Emmen: 14.8%

 

[MennoPebesma]

Been to AquaZoo yesterday and made some photos of the polar bear enclosure for the ones who are interested to see how it looks nowadays:
The right enclosure:

The left enclosure: