Best Bush Dog enclosure in the Benelux

[felis silvestris]

This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Bush Dogs in the 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 list the enclosures in order of what they think is the best.

The Okapi and Giraffe threads are closing tomorrow, and they are both in a draw at the moment, so if you want to vote or give an opinion on the exhibits do it soon before they close.

Bouillon

Unfortunately, there are no photos in the gallery of this enclosure. If someone could describe or provide a photo of it, that would be great.

Planckendael



Gaia





Overloon



Zie-Zoo



Photo credits to @KevinB @snowleopard

 

[Perseus6]

My ranking is Gaia, Planckendael and then Ziezoo finally Overloon and at the end Bouillon. By the way all the enclosures of Bouillon have a similar simple style, so if you've seen one you've seen them all. Most are simple some are to small.
I love how at Gaia they can swim unto another island or could in the past anyway. It's large enough fun design and has enrichment. And you can see inside but not to much so you can see them when they are indoor. The Bush dogs are also outside regularly and very active.
Planckendael is similar to Gaia but has less water and less low foliage and no indoor viewing and even though Planckendael is my home zoo I don't see the bush dogs a lot. I haven't seen Ziezoo or Overloon but they seem close in quality. So anyway that's my ranking and thoughts I would love to read yours.

 

[snowleopard]

I have not visited Bouillon, but that zoo doesn't seem to be rated highly by any zoo nerds. Overloon and Zie-Zoo have adequate exhibits for Bush Dogs that aren't very memorable. That leaves either GaiaZoo or Planckendael as the winner in my opinion. I distinctly recall GaiaZoo having a lot of water in the enclosure, almost too much for the species, and so I'll vote for Planckendael as the exhibit there is spacious and heavily forested.

 

[Perseus6]

Bouillon is by no means a bad zoo. For me It was a unique experience, very basic almost all chain linked fences enclosures( very roadside zoo vibes). The primates enclosures were abysmal but overall a cool zoo to visit. Large well crafted exhibits for their herbivores, and a pretty cool collection in my opinion. However it's by no account a must see zoo. It's more like if you're ever in the area definitely check it out but not like plan a trip to see that zoo specifically. So definitely no hate on it.

 

[KevinB]

Bouillon is by no means a bad zoo. For me It was a unique experience, very basic almost all chain linked fences enclosures( very roadside zoo vibes). The primates enclosures were abysmal but overall a cool zoo to visit. Large well crafted exhibits for their herbivores, and a pretty cool collection in my opinion. However it's by no account a must see zoo. It's more like if you're ever in the area definitely check it out but not like plan a trip to see that zoo specifically. So definitely no hate on it.

In Dutch zoo-related online places I have heard comparisons drawn between Bouillon and Pakawi Park (formerly Olmense Zoo) several times, in terms of exhibit quality. I haven't visited Bouillon yet - but I do plan to, mostly because of their interesting collection.

As far as bush dog exhibits go, I personally voted for Planckendael. GaiaZoo's exhibit is very good also, but at the moment their bush dog area is still closed for renovations and they are planning some work on the bush dog exhibit also, so I don't know how the exhibit I saw in the past will change.

 

[felis silvestris]

Score update. Gaia have more than half the vote at the moment. The standard for Bush dog enclosures appears to be quite high.

 

[Choco115]

Even though Gaia is building a new bush dog enclosure as we speak my vote goes to them! The enclosure is big and with a lot of greenery and yet I have always managed to see the actual bush dogs! I never seen them in Planckendaell, although that is a good enclosure just a bit basic. Overloon is great too but not much special.

Never seen the Bouillon one, and Ziezoo is a rare newer built enclosure I do not like (apart from the horendous thing that’s supposed to be a future spider monkey enclosure perhaps the worst). Ugly fences and too much grass.

 

[felis silvestris]

Poll closed. Congratulations to Gaia for having the best Bush Dog enclosure in the Benelux. Even with a new enclosure in construction, a large enclosure with on-show dens gave it a good win. In general most of these enclosures are pretty high quality. This is their second win so far.

Gaia: 61.1%
Planckendael: 22.2%
Overloon: 11.1%
Zie-Zoo: 5.6%