Nordens Ark Nordens Ark

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The Nordens Ark in Sweden is a small park that specialises in animals from northern climes and mountainous areas of the world.
The park has especially fantastic enclosures for large cats, such as Amur tiger and leopard and snow leopard.
Other highlights include very successful breeding groups of wolverine and markhor.
Here is the annual report for 2008 in English, with a full stocklist and a very interesting review of the wolverine EEP for the year.

http://www.nordensark.se/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Annual_Report_eng_2009_1.pdf
 
Have you visited the park and will you be uploading pictures?!

This park has a very good reputation, indeed. It sticks to "The Swedish tradition" of fencing in big areas of natural forest and putting (appropriate) animals in there.

Friends of mine visited it a year ago and were very positive about the experience.
 
No i have not visited the park, but i have been aware of it for a few years now, the urial at the HWP came from Nordens Ark, as did one of the wolverine at Edinburgh zoo and i think that Nordens ark, should be what the HWP is aiming for, with their new remit for endangered animals from the mountains and tundra areas of the world.
 
Small park? I would certainly not classify it as so. I have visited Nordens Ark twice, once in 1996 and once in 2004. It is a faboulous park featuring, as Kiang so rightly stated, mostly endangered animals from northern climes and mountainous areas of the world. Almost all of the animals are from Europe and Asia with a few South Americans (maned wolves, parrots and chilean southern pudus).

The visitor pathway through the park is either dirt paths or wooden walkways layed aorund a small mountain and the journey around it takes several hours if you also take your time to look at the animals. It is also located next to a fjord to which there is a lookout and the view is stunning.

The animals have some absolutely stunning enclosures in geniuine Swedish woodland or on actual mountain slopes. No amount of mock rock can even hope to create the effect seen here. Some of the key species here are red panda, european wildcat, amur cat, amur leopard, amur tiger, snow leopard, wolverine european otter, european lynx, european grey wolf, himalaya tahr and przewalskii wild horse.

All of these species have fantastic exhibits and the one for snow leopards is the best I have seen anywhere! It is essentially a huge fenced-in mountain side with pine trees and several natural rock terraces. In this exhibit, as indeed it is in all of the park, the animals can be a pain to find and sometimes you won't see them at all. The wolverines also have the best exhibit I have seen anywhere. It is a thick pine forrest with a few clearings of grass. Visitors cannot overlook the whole exhibit so it is a good idea to show up at feeding time!

Another quite interesting aspect to Nordens Ark is actually their farmyard. I mostly pass by these "petting zoos" during my zoo-visits but this one must not be missed! The focus here is endangered domestic breeds, such as the telemark cattle from Norway. The farm itself is large and very modern and goes a long way to educate people (especially children) where the meat, milk and eggs they eat every day actually comes from.

All in all Nordens Ark is a grand experience and a truly inspiring park.
 
Nice post, Toddy! I really have to visit this park someday.

You wouldn´t happen to have any photos to upload? There are only six pictures in the gallery from Nordens Ark.

BTW
Here is a link to their website:
Nordens Ark
 
Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures worth uploading from Nordens Ark. I had only just got my first digital camera last time I went there. It is a shame since it looks great!
 
The best zoo i Sweden?

I can just agree with you guys, Nordens Ark is a really great zoo, probably the best I've visited.

Been there twice, back in 2000 and this summer. Don't worry Dan, I have a bunch of photos which are waiting to be uploaded any day. Maybe I can take some time to do that later this week, but I'll give you a few tonight, since you seem to be so desperate :P

One great piece of the park which haven't been mentioned here already is their new wetland area, completed in 2008. It also contains some species that doesn't fit in to their profile (species from the northern hemisphere or similar climate), for examples a bunch of tropical amphibians and some reptile species in the wetland house. Outside the house there is several outdoor enclosures for Scandinavian amphibian and reptiles and a big field with three species of storks. All very well done and just one of hundreds of reasons to visit Nordens Ark.
 
Unique woodpeckers

Another really interesting feature of Nordens Ark is their White-backed woodpeckers (Dendrocopos leucotos), the only specimens in captivity anywhere in the world reported to ISIS. The white-backed woodpecker is considered to be critically endangered in Sweden and the birds born at Nordens Ark are released to appropiate places in the swedish woods. Most of the woodpeckers are kept in a off-show breeding facility, but there is a couple of aviaries spread around the park.
 
Sad news... the female Amur Leopard cub (born June 2012) has had to be PTS after being found to be blind in both eyes. Unfortunatly the blindness is believed to have been caused by a recessive gene, carried by both parents. Meaning the adult pair at Nordens Ark will also have to split up following this discovery :(
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Some notes on the wolverines born a few weeks ago :
April 23, 2013
Ferocious Wolverine Pups Born in Sweden

Wolverine 1

Staff at Nordens Ark in Sweden finally got a glimpse of their newest residents, three Wolverine pups. The pups, born on February 21st, recently emerged from their mothers den; where they spent the first six weeks of their lives completely dependent on their mother.

Wolverines have a fairly small captive population of around one hundred individuals internationally. Since Wolverines are considered to be difficult to breed in captivity, and are associated with high infant mortality, this is a very important birth for the captive population. This is the second litter for the mother. She proved to be an excellent mother to her first litter of pups, so keepers are optimistic about the outlook for her newest batch.

Wolverine 2

Wolverine 3

Wolverine 4
Photo credits: Tom Svensson / Nordens Ark

Wolverines are medium sized predators. They are classified in the same family as Weasels, and are the largest species in this grouping. They are ferocious predators that are known to take down prey several times their own size. Native across the Northern Hemisphere is North America, Europe and Asia, Wolverines have adapted to a wide range of habitats. They are currently listed as species of "least concern" by the IUCN due to relatively large population numbers. Despite this, in February of 2013, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed give the species protection under the Endangered Species Act due to habitat loss as a result of global climate change.
Source : Zooborns
 
Southern pudu born at Nordens Ark :
May 29, 2013
World's Smallest Deer Born in Sweden

Norden's Ark Pudu 1
Photo credit: Tom Svensson / Nordens Ark

On April 30th, Nordens Ark in Sweden welcomed a pint sized baby, a male Southern Pudu. It is the sixth doe born at the zoo since they began housing and breeding the species eight years ago in an effort to help conserve this tiny South American deer species. The little boy has been spending his days in an enclosure with his parents for visitors to see. You can get a glimpse of the little guy as well in the video below!



Pudu, native to South America, are known for being the smallest species of deer measuring under a foot and a half tall and around 25 pounds. They are separated into two subspecies, the Northern Pudu and the Southern Pudu. The southern variety, as is housed at Nordens Ark, can be found on the slopes of the Southern Andes at elevations up to 6,600 feet. They live in temperate rain forests, using their small size to help them take cover in undergrowth to avoid predators. They live on a herbivorous diet that includes a wide range of different types of plant matter.

Both subspecies of Pudu are classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to overhunting and habitat loss. Zoos around the world are helping to conserve this species through captive breeding programs and re-introduction efforts.
Source : Zooborns
 
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