Artis Royal Zoo Artis News 2021

Indeed this is the species that I was alluding to. I heard from a zookeeper that currently 2 females live behind the scenes, atleast 1 came from Frankfurt.

Is there any news on where they will be housed? If I recall correctly Artis held some species of new world porcupine (I don’t remember which it was exactly) in one of the outer cages of the Apenhuis.
 
Today Artis revealed that 2 philanthropists are going to fund the new lion enclosure, this means that the lions will stay in Artis. The lions will stay in their current enclosure for a few more years, until the new enclosure is finished

I just read the mail Artis send me today. Fantastic news!

Is there any news on where they will be housed? If I recall correctly Artis held some species of new world porcupine (I don’t remember which it was exactly) in one of the outer cages of the Apenhuis.

A species of prehensile tailed porcupine was kept in the former nocturnal house. In the earliest years the porcupines shared their exhibit with albino hedgehog.
 
Is there any news on where they will be housed? If I recall correctly Artis held some species of new world porcupine (I don’t remember which it was exactly) in one of the outer cages of the Apenhuis.

The prehensile tailed porcupines will be housed in the Apenhuis/Forest house together with two-toed sloths and Grey-handed Night Monkeys.

The new world porcupine species that you are refering to are North American porcupines
(Erethizon dorsatum), which used to be housed in the outdoor cage closest to the Reptile house.
This enclosure currently houses 2 pairs of Satyr tragopans (Tragopan satyra).
The outdoor cage that used to house alpine marmots now houses a male Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), the female sadly passed away.
The large outdoor cage in the middle serves as outdoor cage for the animals that live in the Apenhuis/forest house. The outdoor cage also houses a female Malaysian Great Argus (Argusianus argus argus).
 
Recently Common redshanks (Tringa totanus) hatched, they can be found in the Hollandse Polder aviary. Zootierliste listed Artis as a former holder and never mentioned any previous breedings, so is this the first time that this species has bred at Artis? I persume that the common redshanks came from the damaged aviary in GaiaZoo.

Source:
Instagram of Artis (15/06/2021) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQIv76wLSBx/
 
Two weeks ago I visited Artis again, mainly for the reopened Metzelaarskas/greenhouse (which had been closed for over 10 years!).

- Metzelaarskas / Tropical greenhouse:
This is the greenhouse next to the butterfly greenhouse, in the past it was called the Metzelaarskas but now it's refered to as Tropenkas/Tropical greenhouse. You have to walk over a wooden walkway to enter the greenhouse. You are now standing on a stone bridge, underneath this bridge is a relatively large pond which supposedly houses the Malaysian painted river turtles (Batagur borneoensis). I only saw one Giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy) in the pond, this animal wasn't signed. In front of the bridge is a large rock formation which also has a small waterfall coming down from it. Behind this rock formation are all kinds of tropical plants, most of which were also in this greenhouse 10 years ago. Another thing that hasn't changed, is the walkway through the greenhouse. Once you "enter" the rock formation you can go to the left and walk on slippery rocks around the greenhouse. This brings you back to the rock formation in front of the bridge, due to corona you can now only exit the greenhouse through the vlindertuin/butterfly greenhouse. This was also possible in the past, but this door was sealed off eversince the Metzelaarskas was closed. I also noticed some sort of netting that was placed roughly 15 cm underneath the celing. I persume that the netting is put in place to prevent animals from escaping when the roof windows are opened, the Rodriguez flying foxes (Pteropus rodricensis) hang from these nets.

I was able to spot almost all the animals that were signed in the greenhouse, but some of them are almost impossible to find/see. Most animals did come from the tropical part of the Vogelhuis/Birdhhouse and the fazanterie/pheasantry. I saw the following signed animals:
2 White-collared Kingfishers (Todiramphus chloris), these used to live in the birdhouse.
Several Nicobar pigeons (Caloenas nicobarica), 2 Victoria crowned-pigeons (Goura victoria),
a pair of Crested partridges (Rollulus rouloul) and 1 Bali myna (Leucopsar rothschildi).
The Rodriguez flying foxes (Pteropus rodricensis) were also easy to spot, they were either hanging from the nets, plants or feeding containers.
In addition to Malaysian painted river turtles (Batagur borneoensis) 2 other reptile species can also be found in the greenhouse. Chinese water dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) and
Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), I didn't see both species and the chance of ever spotting them is very small. I also didn't see any Malaysian painted river turtles (Batagur borneoensis), they were most likely hiding underneath the bridge, one of the volunteers I spoke to told me that she had only seen 1. Beautiful fruit-doves (Ptilinopus pulchellus) were also signed but I couldn't find them. The two White-winged ducks (Asarcornis scutulata) that I had seen a week before my visit were nowhere to be found and they weren't signed either. I did hear that they are very good at hiding, so perhaps I was just unlucky. Lastly I saw several Red-whiskered bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus) and heard Anthonys poison-arrow frogs (Epipedobates anthonyi)

Signage in the Metzelaarskas.


- Reptielenhuis / Reptile house
A lot had changed in the reptile house, most reptiles had changed terrariums. I made the following schematic overview of the enclosures in the reptile house to visualize the current layout.
Overview of the content of each terrarium in the "warmer" part of the reptile house.
GZ1: Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardali).
GZ2: Central bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and juvenile Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata).
GZ3: Hispaniolan rhinoceros iguanas (Cyclura cornuta cornuta) and adult Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata). The radiated tortoises used to live in the former manatee enclosure in the gorilla house.
GZ4: Fiji banded iguanas (Brachylophus fasciatus). This used to be 2 separate terrariums, the most left terrarium housed a Gold-ringed cat snake/Mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila) and the other a Green tree python (Morelia viridis).
GZ5: Reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus).
GZ6: Frill-necked lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
GZ7: Philippine sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) and Chinese three-striped box turtles
(Cuora trifasciata). The Malaysian painted river turtles (Batagur borneoensis) used to live in this terrarium together with the sailfin lizard. The Chinese three-striped box turtles, were behind the scenes for years but are now finally back on display!
GZ8: Royal pythons (Python regius). Before this terrarium housed Common agamas (Agama agama) and Pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri). Not sure where the agamas went but the pancake toroises now live in the next terrarium.
GZ9: Pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri). This terrarium used to house the royal pythons.
GZ10: Gold-ringed cat snake/Mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila), previously the Fiji banded iguanas lived in this terrarium.
GZ11: McCord's snake-necked turtle (Chelodina mccordi) and one Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus).
GZ12: Reptile nursery.
GZ13: Green tree python (Morelia viridis), previously Fiji banded iguanas lived in this terrarium.
GZ14: False gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) and free flying Red-whiskered bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus).
GZ15: Round enclosure with multiple separate terrariums with juvenile Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), one Common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) and one Greater Madagascar day gecko (Phelsuma grandis).

Overview of the content of each terrarium in the "colder" part of the reptile house.
KZ1: Empty, front window removed and a few plants placed inside of the terrarium as decoration.
KZ2: Crocodile lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus).
KZ3: Egyptian tortoises (Testudo kleinmanni) and Zoutpansberg girdled lizard (Smaug depressus).
KZ4: European legless lizards (Pseudopus apodus).
KZ5: European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis).
KZ6: San Francisco gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia), previously Fiji banded iguanas lived in this terrarium.
KZ7: Algerian orange-tailed skink (Eumeces algeriensis) and Common chuckwallas (Sauromalus ater).
KZ8: Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura palearis) and Rio Fuerte beaded lizards (Heloderma horridum exasperatum).

- Other news:
- The male two-toed sloth is back in the small mammal house, he is recovering from an operation. The Cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) now no-longer have access to the sloth enclosure.
- The Pontianak Prevost's squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii borneoensis) only had access to the armadillo and middle enclosures. So not to its "original" enclosure.
- I was finally able to see the young white-faced saki!
Female white-faced saki with her young.

- The former manatee tank is getting prepared to house the Pacus (Colossoma macropomum). All the plants around the tank were removed, making that side of the gorilla house look quite bare. Hopefully some new plants will be placed there once the preparations are completed.
View of the former manatee tank.

- There were almost no butterflies in the butterfly greenhouse, this is because Artis didn't receive much butterfly cocoons due to covid.
- Some older news three weeks ago I saw at least 4 juvenile and 3 adult Black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax) in the Japanse paradijs tuin (near the penguins). There is also a make shift aviary hidden behind some trees.
- According to the zoo magazine the following bird species arrived from GaiaZoo and will temporarily stay in Artis: Common redshanks (Tringa totanus), an Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), Lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni), European rollers (Coracias garrulus),
Marbled teals (Marmaronetta angustirostris), Pied avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) and Scaly-sided mergansers (Mergus squamatus).
 
Has anyone seen the prehensile-tailed porcupines yet?

I have, I visited Artis yesterday.
During my visit they were both sleeping, but relatively easy to spot.
The Apenhuis/foresthouse now houses 3 different species:
Two female Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis)
Two males and one female Grey-handed Night Monkeys (Aotus lemurinus griseimembra)
A female Linnaeus' two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
All of these animals were asleep during my visit.
The male two-toed sloth will be moved to the foresthouse later.

Vogelhuis/Birdhouse:
- I saw a new sign in the first part of the bird house with the Inca terns (Larosterna inca). Alongside the Inca terns also Puna ibises (Plegadis ridgwayi) were signed. This would be a new species for Artis, however I couldn't find them in both the inside and outside enclosures. Hopefully they will be put on display soon.

Picture of the new sign.


- The Wreathed hornbills (Rhyticeros undulatus) are now the only birds in the tropcial walkthrough part. I did notice that atleast one hornbill was separated in their former enclosure. It was quite impressive to see the hornbill fly around in a walkthrough exhibit.
- In the desert/arid part I saw multiple (new) species: one Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris), one Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) and one Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). The hamerkop came from the fazanterie/pheasantry, the marbled teal and lesser kestrel most likely came from Gaiazoo. I did however also see 2 lesser kestrels in the Hollandse polder aviary, so Artis atleast has 3 kestrels now.

Reptile house:
- The Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) has either passed away or been placed behind the scenes, a sign in its enclosure stated that soon this species will be visible again.

Metzelaarskas:
- I was finally able to see atleast 2 Malaysian painted river turtles (Batagur borneoensis), they mostly hide underneath the bridge making them hard to spot.
- The pair of Crested partridges (Rollulus rouloul) have 3 chicks.
- I also saw a Beautiful fruit-dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus) and 3 Bali mynas (Leucopsar rothschildi)
- A few weeks ago I heard that the Chinese water dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) have been removed from the greenhouse (now back in the reptilehouse) and that the Pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta) does in fact live in the greenhouse.
- I still haven't been able to see the two White-winged duck (Asarcornis scutulata), has anyone seen them yet?

Insectarium:
- I believe that a new beetle species can be found in the insectarium: Brown rhinoceros beetle (Xylotrupes gideon)
 
I visited Artis today for the first time in over 3 weeks!

Apenhuis/Monkey house and Vogelhuis/Bird house
- I was only able to spot one of the two Brazilian porcupines (Coendou prehensilis).
- Still no sign of Puna ibises (Plegadis ridgwayi) in the first part of the bird house.
- In the weaver bird aviary in the desert/aride part of the bird house I saw 3 new species (atleast for me). I saw one European thick-knee (Burhinus oedicnemus oedicnemus), 2 European Turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur turtur) and 2 Crested guineafowl (Guttera pucherani) all species were not signed and the first two species came from GaiaZoo. The crested guineafowl used to live in the pheasantry. I did however not see the Socorro doves (Zenaida graysoni) and Elegant crested tinamous (Eudromia elegans), does Artis still have these species?

Metzelaarskas:
I finally saw 1 (of the 2) White-winged ducks (Asarcornis scutulata) in the Metzelaarskas.
 
The crested guineafowl used to live in the pheasantry. I did however not see the Socorro doves (Zenaida graysoni) and Elegant crested tinamous (Eudromia elegans), does Artis still have these species?

The guineafowl were kept in the arid section of the Bird House before, but could be some years ago.

I didn't see tinamous at my last visit either, so I'm also interested if this species is still kept.
 
The guineafowl were kept in the arid section of the Bird House before, but could be some years ago.

I didn't see tinamous at my last visit either, so I'm also interested if this species is still kept.

The guineafowl used to be kept in the free roaming area of the arid section but were at some point moved to the pheasantry.

Did you see Socorro doves at your last visit?
 
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they moved atleast 1 socorro dove to the butterflyhouse. They definitely are not in the weaver exhibit anymore. This was info from 2 months ago though so idk if this is still the case.
 
they moved atleast 1 socorro dove to the butterflyhouse. They definitely are not in the weaver exhibit anymore. This was info from 2 months ago though so idk if this is still the case.

I will hopefully visit Artis this week, so I will try to find them in the Butterflyhouse or I will ask a zookeeper.
 
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