Gigit
Well-Known Member
My first visit to Burgers' Zoo following one to Apenheul the day before. I'll just give my impressions as it's been described on other threads.
My very first impression on seeing the elephants, bongo, hippos etc was that it is dated and unimaginative.
I then went into the Orangutan house (which I had not read about before) and my impression was horror. Three clinical looking divisions of an area fronted by a large moat behind glass. We looked for their outdoor enclosure, but of course there isn't one. Three orangs in each division - a mother and two youngsters, a male plus mother and baby, and another mother and two youngsters. Their enrichment - some bedding, a climbing frame, some ropes and a deflated football each. One of these was floating in the moat. The female in with the male tried to avoid him by climbing along a fake rock right at the water's edge, baby following. I could hardly look. But what made me leave in disgust was the sight of a Siamang gibbon stuck in one of the 'cells' with three orangs, clinging onto a rope while the youngster repeatedly swung at it and then threw the football at it. It had NOWHERE to go to escape and did actually bite the orang's finger. All this was going on within inches of the water.
I saw on another thread that the orangs are going to leave the zoo. Could someone please tell me that this is true and imminent.
On to better things - we enjoyed the rest of the zoo, especially Ocean and Desert and having lunch in the sun watching giraffes and zebra. A lot to see. The gorillas and chimps are obviously better catered for than the orangs but the viewing areas were crowded.
Why do European zoos charge for car parking? I don't think I've been to a British one that does, any costs presumably being included in the admission price. We bought, and printed, our entrance tickets online but still had to join the queue to buy a parking token.
If my photos are any good, and are not duplicates of those already in the Gallery, I'll upload some later.
My very first impression on seeing the elephants, bongo, hippos etc was that it is dated and unimaginative.
I then went into the Orangutan house (which I had not read about before) and my impression was horror. Three clinical looking divisions of an area fronted by a large moat behind glass. We looked for their outdoor enclosure, but of course there isn't one. Three orangs in each division - a mother and two youngsters, a male plus mother and baby, and another mother and two youngsters. Their enrichment - some bedding, a climbing frame, some ropes and a deflated football each. One of these was floating in the moat. The female in with the male tried to avoid him by climbing along a fake rock right at the water's edge, baby following. I could hardly look. But what made me leave in disgust was the sight of a Siamang gibbon stuck in one of the 'cells' with three orangs, clinging onto a rope while the youngster repeatedly swung at it and then threw the football at it. It had NOWHERE to go to escape and did actually bite the orang's finger. All this was going on within inches of the water.
I saw on another thread that the orangs are going to leave the zoo. Could someone please tell me that this is true and imminent.
On to better things - we enjoyed the rest of the zoo, especially Ocean and Desert and having lunch in the sun watching giraffes and zebra. A lot to see. The gorillas and chimps are obviously better catered for than the orangs but the viewing areas were crowded.
Why do European zoos charge for car parking? I don't think I've been to a British one that does, any costs presumably being included in the admission price. We bought, and printed, our entrance tickets online but still had to join the queue to buy a parking token.
If my photos are any good, and are not duplicates of those already in the Gallery, I'll upload some later.