ZOO Antwerpen Zoo Antwerpen News 2025

[Père Damian's Deer]

Update time:

• The Pygmy Hippos will share their outdoors with the European White Storks from the Flamingos and the Dalmatian Pelicans according to the signage. The water has also been filled, so everything is almost ready for the opening.
• The Naked Mole-rats are officialy on show.
• The Marabou has laid two eggs.
• And for those who were worried about the Macaroni Penguins, they are just temporarily seperated from the group as I saw them on friday behind a fence.

 

[MClaeys]

Can’t wait to see the pygmy hippos. So they get some company with the storks and pelicans? Nice mixed exhibit.

 

[Père Damian's Deer]

You can now go inside of the Hippo house and Nimba (Pygmy Hippo) also has acess outside. The Pancake Tortoise seems to have left the collection as the sign was removed.

 

[hjkr]

Hi, I'm planning a visit to Brussels next year and am considering visiting Zoo Antwerpen while I'm there. I can't find a list of species on the zoo website, and zootierliste isn't always kept up to date. Can anyone please tell me what their highlights of the zoo are and what species to look out for? What are the enclosures like?

I know of the gorillas and the owl-faced monkeys, as well as the chimpanzees and lions. I'm mostly interested in primates and any rarer species not often seen in zoos. Any information will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[KevinB]

Hi, I'm planning a visit to Brussels next year and am considering visiting Zoo Antwerpen while I'm there. I can't find a list of species on the zoo website, and zootierliste isn't always kept up to date. Can anyone please tell me what their highlights of the zoo are and what species to look out for? What are the enclosures like?

I know of the gorillas and the owl-faced monkeys, as well as the chimpanzees and lions. I'm mostly interested in primates and any rarer species not often seen in zoos. Any information will be appreciated. Thank you.

In terms of rare primates the highlights are absolutely Amahoro the Eastern lowland gorilla and the Owl-faced monkeys, and there isn't really much else, as the other remaining primate species at Antwerp aren't exactly rare in zoos.

Many of the other rarities at Antwerp can be found in the aquarium and the reptile house and in and around the bird house.

In terms of exhibits the many historical buildings and the savanna aviary are in my opinion the highlights of Zoo Antwerpen.

 

[Père Damian's Deer]

Hi, I'm planning a visit to Brussels next year and am considering visiting Zoo Antwerpen while I'm there. I can't find a list of species on the zoo website, and zootierliste isn't always kept up to date. Can anyone please tell me what their highlights of the zoo are and what species to look out for? What are the enclosures like?

I know of the gorillas and the owl-faced monkeys, as well as the chimpanzees and lions. I'm mostly interested in primates and any rarer species not often seen in zoos. Any information will be appreciated. Thank you.

I’d say that zootierliste is pretty spot on for Antwerp, except for the Woylies.

 

[Philipine eagle]

Hi, I'm planning a visit to Brussels next year and am considering visiting Zoo Antwerpen while I'm there. I can't find a list of species on the zoo website, and zootierliste isn't always kept up to date. Can anyone please tell me what their highlights of the zoo are and what species to look out for? What are the enclosures like?

I know of the gorillas and the owl-faced monkeys, as well as the chimpanzees and lions. I'm mostly interested in primates and any rarer species not often seen in zoos. Any information will be appreciated. Thank you.

Zootierliste is fairly up-to-date for Antwerp.

Species lists can also be found on a wikipedia page 'Lijst van diersoorten in Zoo Antwerpen', which has an update as recent as 1 july, and put it in an online translater.

I will try to post some lists of the birdhouse/reptile house/aquarium one of these days, as I visited the zoo very recently.

 

[hjkr]

Thank you everyone. I will have a look through zootierliste then if it is up-to-date. I know it's not the biggest zoo, how long would you recommend visiting for? Is 3-4 hours enough to see everywhere or should I set aside the entire day?

 

[MClaeys]

Last year I went to Zoo Antwerp and I did everything between 3 hours and 3 hours and half. Keep in mind, there is still lot of work for the jubileum complex.

 

[Philipine eagle]

To my surprise, I spent 5 full hours in the zoo during my last visit. In the process, I took extensive time to look closely at each aviary, aquarium and terrarium, visited the Bird House 2x and had a short lunch. So if you love the small critters, you can pass significant time here.

I also took extensive time to check out the Winter Garden, now a butterfly garden with an extensive plant collection in a beautiful historic setting. And the (dwarf) hippo house was still closed, meanwhile it is now open and the new residents can be seen (Pygmy hippo, White-crested turaco and White-headed buffalo weaver).

As @MClaeys said, a substantial part of the zoo is under construction, roughly the entire Railway station side.

But if you have interest in reptiles, fish and birds then count on 5 hours if this is your first visit.

 

[Philipine eagle]

Species list june 2025


Aquarium


Saltwater below, coral reef to the left, freshwater above

Entrance Room

1. Snipe-fish aquarium
- Longspine Snipefish
- Violescent Sea-whip
- Red Starfish
- Yellow Encrusting Sea Anemone
- Red Sea-squirt
- Boar Fish

2. Coral reef
- Golden Wrasse
- Copperband Butterflyfish
- Spiny Chromis
- Clown Anemonefish
- Flame Hawkfish
- Long-spined Sea Urchin
- Bladdertipped Anemone

3. Open-air tank
- Koi


Saltwater row

4. North Sea
- Sea Bass
- Pollack
- Goldsinny Wrasse
- Turbot
- Gilthead
- Atlantic Cod
- Thornback Ray
- Painted Ray
- Ballan Wrasse
- Nursehound
- Edible Crab
- Common Starfish

5. Shipwreck
- Common Blenny
- Two-spotted goby
- Greater Pipefish
- Common Hermit Crab
- Beadlet Anemone
- Green Sea Urchin
- Dahlia Anemone
- Common Prawn

6. Eel
- Eel
- European Plaice
- Small-spotted Catshark
- Tub Gurnard
- Flathead Grey Mullet
- Pouting
- Warty Gorgonian
- Spiny Starfish

7. Sharks
- Blacktip Reefshark
- Silver Moony
- Spiny Chromis
- Short-tail Nurse Shark
- Brown-banded Bamboo Shark
- Common Bluestripe Snapper
- Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
- Spotted Wobbegong
- Copperband Butterflyfish
- Sapphire Devil

8. Lionfish
- Red Lionfish
- Coral Catshark
- Long-spine Porcupinefish
- Pinecone Soldierfish
- Spinecheek Anemonefish
- Goldlined Spinefood
- Epaulette Shark
- White-spotted Puffer

9. Seabream tank
- Mediterranean Moray Eel
- Dusky Grouper
- White Seabream
- Auxiliary Seabream
- Black Seabream
- Common Seabream
- Annular Seabream
- Common Two-banded Seabream
- Green Wrasse
- Blotched Picarel
- Saddled Bream
- Greater Spider Crab

10. Damselfish
- Red Damselfish
- Blotched Picaral
- Damselfish
- Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse
- Bucchich’s Goby
- Ringneck Blenny
- Bogue
- Red Starfish

11. Seahorse
- Big-belly Seahorse
- Red Starfish
- Rock Sea-urchin

12. Panoramic Coral Reef
- Yellow Tang
- Quoys Parrotfish
- Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray
- Sailfin Tang
- Yellow-tail Tang
- Leather Coral
- Sohal Surgeonfish
- Blackwedged Butterflyfish
- Sergeant Major
- Canary Wrasse
- Malu Anemone
- Devil’s Fnger Leather Coral
- Blue Surgeonfish
- Coral Catfish
- Brown Sea-fan
- Andaman Damsel
- Mushroom Polyp
- Jewelled Blenny
- Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
- Azure Demoiselle
- Square Spot Anthias
- Blue-green Damselfish
- Colt coral
- Striated Surgeonfish
- Spotted Surgeonfish
- Orbiculate Cardinalfish
- Bubble Up Anemone
- Threadfin Butterflyfish
- Pastel-green Wrasse
- Longhorn Cowfish
- Lined Surgeonfish
- Elongate Surgeonfish
- Tomato Clowfish
- Diana’s Hogfish
- Sapphire Damsel
- Copperband Butterflyfish
- Japan Surgeonfish
- Kenya Tree Coral
- Long-spinned Sea Urchin
- Yellowfin Surgeonfish


Freshwater side


13. Africa
- Corydoras panda
- Rummy Nose Tetra

14. Tilapia
- Featherfin Squaker
- Squaker
- Onespot Squaker
- Clown Squaker
- Cameroon Tilapia
- Spotted Tilapia
- Tigerfish
- Coptodon Deckerti
- Mozambique Tilapia
- West African Lungfish
- Spotted Tilapia
- Zebra Tilapia

15. Lake Malawi
- Electric Blue Hap
- Zebra Mbuna
- Copadichromis borleyi Kadango
- Blue Streak Hap
- Itungi Sandsifter
- Malawi Squaker
- Blue Malawi Dolphin
- Sulphur-headed Hap

16. Red Piranha

17. Flooded Forest
- Redtail Catfish
- Dorado
- Tucunare Peacock Bass
- Tambaqui
- Tiger Sorubim
- Ripsaw Catfish

18. Amazon
- Arowana
- Raphael Catfish
- Eye-spot Cichlid
- Leopard Pleco
- Royal Panaque
- Banded Leporinus
- Ocellate River Stingray
- Suckermouth Catfish
- Red-hooked Siler Dollar

19. Southeast-Asia
- Longfin Barb
- Clown Loach
- Silver Shark
- Asian Boney Tongue
- Denison Barb
- Canara Pearlspot
- Giant Gourami
- Giant Red Tail Gourami
- Mascara Barb
- Redtail Sharkminnow
- Spannerbarb
- Apollo Sharkminnow

20. Fishing

- Carp Bream
- Pumpkinseed
- Common Carp
- Roach
- Rudd
- Perch
- Sterlet
- Tench


Vriesland

1. Chinese merganser, Beluga sturgeon, Russian sturgeon, Siberian sturgeon
2. King penguin, Subarctic Gentoo penguin, Macaroni penguin, Common eider

 

[Philipine eagle]

Species list visit june 2025

Bird house

1. Australian aviary:
- Star finch
- Double-barred finch
- Brush bronzewing
- Wonga pigeon
- Black-throated finch
- Plum-headed finch
- Timor Zebra finch
- Gouldian finch
- Masked finch
- Diamond dove



2. Antwerp Open Cage corridor: exhibition, no birds

3. Asian aviary:
- Crested partridge
- Gouldie’s lorikeet
- Blue-breasted quail
- Blue-crowned laughingthrush
- Cinnamon ground-dove
- White-rumped shama



4. Turquoise tanager

5. South American aviary
- Sunbittern
- Turquoise tanager
- Swallow tanager
- Brazilian tanager
- Spangled cotinga
- Socoro pigeon

6. Turquoise tanager

7. African aviary
- Blue-naped mousebird
- Cut-throat finch
- Snowy-crowned robin-chat
- Sudan Golden sparrow
- Yellow-fronted canary



8. Red-fronted serin



9. Blue dacnis and Barred Buttonquail



10. Red Avadavat

11. Diamond Firetail

12. Black Crake and Golden-breasted starling




Outside, starting from the entrance

1. South America aviary
- Green Oropendola
- Grey-winged Trumpeter
- Northern Cardinal

2. Africa aviary
- Congo peafowl
- Amethyst Glossy-starling
- White-headed Buffalo Weaver
- Village Weaver
- Speckled Pigeon

3. Mediterranean aviary
- Eurasian Hoopoe
- European Bee-eater
- European Roller
- Collared pratincole
- Eurasian Stone-curlew
- Rosy Starling

4. Chestnut-backed Thrush

5. Bali myna and Vietnamese pheasant

6. Brahminy Starling, Palawan Peacock-pheasant and Scaly-breasted munia

7. White-necklaced Partridge, Blue-crowned Laughingthrush and Red-billed Leiothrix

8. Grey-breasted Parakeet and Northern Cardinal

9. Emei Shan Liocichla

10. White-rumped Shama, Barlett’s Bleeding-heart, Blue-headed Quail

 

[Philipine eagle]

Species list visit june 2025


Former Bird-of-Prey Aviaries



1. Ultramarine Grosbeak and Sun Conure

2. Swift Parrot, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Wonga Pigeon

3. Red-billed Curassow, Mexican Military Macaw

4. Black-casqued Hornbill, Vulturine Guineafowl

5. Malay Crestless Fireback, Black-and-White Laughingthrush

6. Ecuadorian Red-lored Amazon, Blue Ground Dove

Hippotopia

Hippo House

- Western Pygmy Hippo

- White-headed Buffalo weaver

- White-crested Turaco

- Straw-coloured Fruit bat


Vulture aviary



- Marabou

- Hooded vulture

- Western Black Crowned Crana

- Northern Ground Hornbill

- Sacred Ibis

- Western Egyptian Vulture

- Knobbed Duck

 

[Philipine eagle]

Species list visit june 2025

Reptile House


1. Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Burmese Border loach, Chinese Danio

2. Alligator Rainforest

- American Alligator

- Mozambique tilapia

- Copadichromis borleyi cichlid

- Green Iguana

- Common Spiny-tailed or Black iguana



3. Turtle tank

- Northern Caiman Lizard

- Central-African Mud Turtle

- African Keeled Mud Turtle

- Weber’s Sailfin Dragon

- Branderhorst Snapping Turtle

4. Solomon Island Skink, South-east Asian Box Turtle, Green Water Dragon

5. Malagasy Ground Boa

6. Standing’s Day Gecko and Panther Chameleon

7. Giant toad

8. Mimic Poison Frog, Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog, Klemmer’s Day Gecko

9. Luristan Newt

10. Hump-head, African Clawed Frog

11. Rubber Eel, Cardinal Tetra

12. Sambava Tomato Frog, Red Eyed Crocodile Skink

13. Oriental Fire-bellied Toad

14. Amazon Milk Frog

15. File-eared Tree Frog

16. Dyeing Poison Dart Frog

17. Variable Poison Frog, Green and Black Poison Dart Frog

18. Blue Poison Dart Frog, Peacock Day Gecko

19. Anthony’s Poison-arrow Frog, Golden Poison Frog

20. Cuban Ground Iguana, Red-legged Tortoise

21. Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

22. African Migratory Locust

23. Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula

24. Baron’s Green Racer Argentine’s Longnosed snake, Golden-eyed Stick Insect

25. Reticulated Python

26. Bearded Dragon, Common Blue-tongued Skink, Singleback Skink

27. Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Sun Beetle

28. Giant African Land Snail

29. Two Spotted Assassin Bug

30. Central American Giant Cave Cockroach

31. Giant Madagascar Tree Boa, Giant Madagascar Day Gecko, Radiated Tortoise



32. Rough-scaled Lizard, Common Chuckwalla, Gila Monster

33. Common Desert Iguana, Guatemalean Emerald Spiny Lizard

34. Emperor’s Scorpion, Mourning Gecko, Giant African Flower Beetle

35. West African Gaboon Viper

36. Western Diamond Rattlesnake

37. Monocled Cobra

38. Mexican Beaded Lizard, Sun Beetle

39. Komodo Dragon



40. Montagua Spiny-tailed Iguana, Plumed Basilisk, Cane Toad

41. Zoutpansberg Girdled Lizard

42. Walk-through:

- Star Finch

- Scaly-breasted Munia

- Red-billed Leiothrix

- Gouldian Finch

- Yellow-crowned Bisshop

- African Spurred Tortoise

- Green iguana

 

[Père Damian's Deer]

Thanks a lot @Philipine eagle, that's a great list. You got everything right, but I think I can assist with some details about the birds.

5. South American aviary
- Sunbittern
- Turquoise tanager
- Swallow tanager
- Brazilian tanager
- Spangled cotinga
- Socoro pigeon
Outside, starting from the entrance

1. South America aviary
- Green Oropendola
- Grey-winged Trumpeter
- Northern Cardinal

2. Africa aviary
- Congo peafowl
- Amethyst Glossy-starling
- White-headed Buffalo Weaver
- Village Weaver
- Speckled Pigeon

The Socorro Pigeon is usually in the outside South American aviary as well as an Ultramarine Grosbeak and no Northern Cardinal, perhaps this was different on your visit? I also don't think there normally is a Speckled Pigeon in the Africa aviary, but perhaps this is new.

Vulture aviary

View attachment 809729

- Marabou

- Hooded vulture

- Western Black Crowned Crana

- Northern Ground Hornbill

- Sacred Ibis

- Western Egyptian Vulture

- Knobbed Duck

Since the renovation, the Western Egyptian Vulture hasn't returned. Great list nonetheless and thank you for putting in the effort.

 

[Père Damian's Deer]

Small Updates:

• A dark wall has been placed around the Naked Mole Rat enclosure to make it more dark. (with no succes)
• The Macaroni Penguins are back on show.
• The Storks who lived with the flamingos, now occupy the male pygmy hippo enclosure (who has not arrived yet).
• 3 more female Scaly-sided Mergansers arrived to make it a group of 5 females. The male has disappeared since last month.
• There was a fledgling European Bee-eater.

 

[Crowthorne]

I'm looking at trying to visit a few European zoos in the near future, and Antwerp is very high up the list. Reading this thread though it sounds like there is construction work going on, is this affecting a large part of the zoo? Does anyone know when it will be completed?

 

[KevinB]

I'm looking at trying to visit a few European zoos in the near future, and Antwerp is very high up the list. Reading this thread though it sounds like there is construction work going on, is this affecting a large part of the zoo? Does anyone know when it will be completed?

It does affect a large area of the zoo, with the entire jubilee complex currently having been demolished and the site being empty. Pretty much the whole area alongside the central station currently sits empty.

There is however currently no active construction work as they are reworking the project once more. The last time they discussed it they mentioned they still want the new complex done by late 2027, although that seems quite unrealistic at this point.

I would not personally wait until this complex gets done, and in my opinion there is still enough to see to make a visit interesting and worthwhile.

 

[Crowthorne]

Thank you @KevinB this is really helpful to know! If it had just been a small renovation area I might have waited, but for such a large area, and such a long time till it is done, I might as well visit sooner

I know about Amahoro, but are there any other interesting species not to be missed? Am mostly interested in mammals and birds. Always interested if there is a nocturnal area too, and historic buildings (from looking at the gallery, Antwerp looks like it has some good history and architecture like my favourite ZSL London)

 

[KevinB]

Thank you @KevinB this is really helpful to know! If it had just been a small renovation area I might have waited, but for such a large area, and such a long time till it is done, I might as well visit sooner

I know about Amahoro, but are there any other interesting species not to be missed? Am mostly interested in mammals and birds. Always interested if there is a nocturnal area too, and historic buildings (from looking at the gallery, Antwerp looks like it has some good history and architecture like my favourite ZSL London)

There is currently no nocturnal area, unfortunately, as the Nocturama was closed and demolished as part of the jubilee complex. The closest they have to any nocturnal exhibit currently is the recently opened naked mole-rat exhibit in the small monkey house.

They keep Hamlyn's monkeys with the gorillas, including Amahoro.

The savanna aviary is a very interesting exhibit with a mammal/bird mix and several interesting species.

In terms of birds the reconstructed aviary complex behind the okapis and the indoor and outside of the bird house are not to be missed.

The seaduck and sturgeon exhibit outside Vriesland (penguin house) is also quite interesting.

They have babirusas in the exhibit that is surrounded by the road from the aquarium to the reptile house and markhors in the mountain exhibit next to the reptile house.

I am not sure whether the straw-colored fruit bats are back on display yet (haven't seen anything about it), but if they are they will be in the pygmy hippo house (formerly common hippo house).

In terms of historical houses, except for the jubilee complex all buildings can currently be seen. I personally find the way they reused the old rhinoceros house in the savanna aviary very interesting to see.