DierenPark Amersfoort Dierenpark Amersfoort News 2023

I was at the zoo today and found out the following:

The tiger introductions are going well. I overheard a keeper telling another visitor that he saw the tigers mating this morning! He was hoping the mating was succesful and that there'd be tiger cubs in the zoo soon! I am hoping that too! Let's wait and see. :)

Also the boa constrictor has died. The zoo is awaiting a new snake to inhabit the enclosure.

And a new path has been constructed from the wolf enclosure towards the capuchin monkey enclosure. Quite neat, it doesn't add too much to the wolf enclosure, but there's finally a good viewing point for spotting the capuchins. It's much closer to the monkey island than the bridge. You can also see the exits of the capuchins and lemurs. :)
 
Two Eurasian Griffon Vultures have hatched in Amersfoort. :)

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Source: Zoo newsletter
More information on Dierenpark Amersfoort website
 
Sad news from Amersfoort as the zoo's oldest Chimpansee has passed away. Female 'Sjors' reached the age of 56. She was suffering from a bad case of osteoarthritis which limited her quality of life severely. The zookeepers had to make the decision to euthanise the old chimp.

Sjors had a lot of offspring, she had seven children, and two of her granddaughters still live in the group in Amersfoort. The group has been given time to mourn their long time member.

Source (including picture): Dierenpark Amersfoort Facebook

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Small news from my visit to Amersfoort yesterday. :)

We spotted multiple birds nesting, among others:
- little egrets
- black crowned night herons (these birds sure do have a more sophisticated name in English o_O)
- african penguin
and most significantly the first nest has been built by a pair of flamingo's.

Also the annual birth waves of some animals have started again. Youngsters can be spotted at the prairie dogs and hamadryas baboons. (Three very tiny ones, and three that seemed slightly older) Some small Somali black headed sheep are to be expected very soon.

I really like how 'Het Woud' has started blending in to the native natural surroundings in Amersfoort.
As the zoo also posted on Facebook today, they have started constructing some 'broeihopen' for native grass snakes. (Which do live in the zoo quite plentifully, as I spotted a few last year.) Also lots of room for native bird nests. The first native ducklings have hatched... in the flamingo enclosure where mom and youngsters got locked in, it seems. :p

I also observed the wolves moving as a pack near the border of their enclosure, at the side which borders Birkhoven forest. They seemed to be surveying the border of their territory, and at one point started howling collectively! Very impressive to see!

Also a question some of you fellow Zoochatters might know something about... Does this behaviour relate in any way to the presence of wild wolves nearby the Amersfoort enclosure? I live near Amersfoort on the Veluwe, and know of some (recent) wild wolf sightings in surrounding towns. I have seen the Amersfoort wolves interacting (a bit confusedly) with a passerby German Shepherd through the fence... :p And would the presence of wild wolves be considered enriching to the Amersfoort ones?
 
In Czech it´s kvakoš (=a bird that makes kvák sounds) and personaly I prefer its brevity over its English name. Also - the Dutch one sounds really cute.
 
"Black-crowned night heron" is quite a badass name for a bird. It's also a very accurate description of the bird.

However, in Dutch, this bird is called "Kwak"

Kwak is also an accurate description of the bird given that it is based on the sound of one, just like koekoek (cuckoo). I am glad such names exist too, be them based on a sound or on some ancient legend. It makes animal names a lot more interesting compared to all the white-tufted, black-crested and yellow-bellied whatevers.
 
New arrival at Amersfoort :) The last baby parented by the succesful sloth couple Quasimodo and Amaka has been born. This is the 11th time this couple has succesfully bred. The gender of the youngster is still unknown - in a few months keepers will take a hair from the youngster to get a DNA extract, but for now, the baby is snuggled up to its mother and keepers won't disturb the pair.

Source for news and photo: Dierenpark Amersfoort website

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