ZOO Antwerpen Antwerp Zoo News 2020

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After a lot of doubt this past week after last week's not so great zoo visit, I decided not to waste my reservation and to visit Zoo Antwerpen after all today.

In fact it was quite a pleasant visit as there weren't that many people in the zoo, so social distancing wasn't really an issue and there were relatively few places where I really had to watch out to maintain it.

With regards to animals and exhibits I noticed the following. Some of the information included I got from the Laafsekikkers and the most recent zoo magazine, which I received earlier this week:
- A new male mountain bongo named Lucah arrived from the Rotterdam Zoo.
- The Chinese crocodile lizards and white cloud mountain danios living in the first exhibit in the reptile house are temporarily off-show for a renovation of their exhibit.
- The newly renovated crocodile exhibit housing the American alligators I actually found a little bit better than I expected, and the recent renovation seems to have improved the exhibit a bit. It is not a bad exhibit for American alligators, but not great one either. I however still think getting larger crocodiles again to be a strange decision. I also found the lighting of the exhibit to be substantially duskier and more unnatural that before. I also saw the simulated tropical thunderstorm in the alligator exhibit again (from a distance, so no pictures of it), and that too seems to have been changed into a more spectacular form again, compared to the one I saw last year. For example the exhibit now again becomes entirely dark again during the "storm", the noises were louder and more impressive again and there is a simulated falling branch/tree again (the prop just drops a meter or so down from the ceiling).
- Three pairs of yellow-billed storks have arrived and will be introduced to the African savanna aviary. I did not yet see them today.
- There was some possible nesting activity from the marabous. Perhaps this explains the presence of a zip line with netting in the aviary, possibly intended to cordon off a section of the aviary.
- I saw the new baby gorilla born on Wednesday. Mambele is actually showing the baby relatively well.
- There was substantial progress and active progress on the renovated pig house near the giraffe/zebra paddock. A part of the that paddock had been cordoned off with a fence that seemed to me a bit sturdy to be temporary.
- A new komodo dragon has arrived, the individual is substantially smaller than the previous one but might still have some growing to do. The transport crate was still in the enclosure.
- One of the Malayan tapirs had a wound in the face.
- There was a sign saying one of the chimps was recently injured in a fight, and that the keepers and the vet are aware of the injury.
- The Brahminy starlings and Common hill mynas have switched places. The common hill mynas are now living with white-rumped shama thrushes in the corner outside aviary of the bird house, with the Brahminy starlings are living with crested wood partridges and red-whiskered bulbuls in the first exhibit on the left side inside the bird house.
- I noticed the collared hill partridges in one of the outdoor aviaries of the bird house had several chicks.
- The Asian mixed indoor exhibit in the bird house had red and white tape on the windows, a sign said new birds have been introduced, but did not mention which species they introduced.
- The smallest of the smaller and lower indoor exhibits in the bird house now held a type of small quail and an estrildid finch that I didn't see previously, but unfortunately they were unsigned. I will try to find out what species they were, possibly using this site.
- The estrildid finches from the dark corridor area in the bird house were still in the longest small exhibit in the bird house, as the dark corridor area is undergoing renovations.
- A new type of catfish I did not previously see seems to have been introduced in the African tank in the aquarium. Again I will try to find out the species.
- Even on a Sunday there was active construction activity in the soon to be white rhinoceros exhibits. Outside of one of the stables in the old bovine house a construction was being erected that might be intended to play a role in unloading the rhinos from their transport containers.

On a final note: I really, really need to start processing and posting pictures again, but I am finding it difficult to change my activity schedule to work it in right now. But I will try to get it done as soon as possible.
 
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I have since found out that the unknown finches were cut-throat finches and the unknown quails king quails. Both species from what I have read were present previously, but off-show or in different exhibits (such as the dark corridor) and possibly unsigned. Why the signage wasn't yet updated I don't know, but it may have to do with the ungoing renovations in the bird house.

The unknown catfish was from what I have found out a giraffe catfish.
 
I reckon your new Komodo monitor lizard might have been transferred from Artis - Amsterdam Zoo. I have no confirmation for this, but the last Komodo - both of which were maturing individuals, yet not fully adult size - have left the collection. Therefore it might be an likely origin.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I reckon your new Komodo monitor lizard might have been transferred from Artis - Amsterdam Zoo. I have no confirmation for this, but the last Komodo - both of which were maturing individuals, yet not fully adult size - have left the collection. Therefore it might be an likely origin.
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This has been confirmed by Zoo Antwerpen, a sign was placed at the exhibit before the arrival stating that the last dragon had died and that they were expecting a new animal from Artis.
 
A recent construction update with the concept drawing for the jubilee complex and photos documenting the progress of the ongoing construction projects was recently posted on a Facebook page.

Themepark Magic

Also on Facebook, in a Zoo Antwerpen/Planckendael related group, I read today that one of the Dromedary camels at Antwerp, named Fatima, passed away recently. I saw the two Dromedary camels they had previously on Sunday so the death must have occurred very recently indeed.
 
Two white rhinos are onshow currently in the location of the old bovine paddocks. The two males originated from Amnéville and Münster. They're going to be joined by dikdiks soon. Other species should follow later.
This area used to be a playground for the past two or so years, so I'm glad to see animals in here again.
 
Penshet said:
Two white rhinos are onshow currently in the location of the old bovine paddocks. The two males originated from Amnéville and Münster. They're going to be joined by dikdiks soon. Other species should follow later.
This area used to be a playground for the past two or so years, so I'm glad to see animals in here again.
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I understood from one of the magazines sent to members earlier this year that the dik-diks are actually going to live in the small exhibit in between the pig house and the rhinoceros paddock.

I also saw on Facebook yesterday that four dik-diks have actually already arrived at Antwerp and are currently in the former red panda/muntjac exhibit near the jubilee complex, presumably (unless plans have changed) temporarily until the pig house and the exhibit near the rhinos are finished.
 
You're right,I they aren't going to be in the same enclosure. I had seen the pictures of the dikdiks as well but wasn't sure whether they actually were at the zoo already. Good to hear that they are.
 
KevinB said:
Two American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) chicks have hatched at Zoo Antwerpen earlier this week. They were named Vega and Vida. They are being raised by the parents.

Twee donzige flamingokuikens kruipen uit hun ei in de Zoo
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American Flamingo update:

Two more American flamingo chicks have hatched since, bringing the total to four, which is a first-time record for Zoo Antwerpen.

The two new chicks were named Vista and Viento. While the chicks and their parents were kept separately until recently, they are now in the main exhibit with the colony.

The article linked below details that three of the eggs were from one pair, and that two of the chicks are being raised by foster parent pairs.

Babyboom bij flamingo’s in Antwerpse Zoo: vier kuikens geboren
 
Today I visited Zoo Antwerpen for the first time since June 28th. This is my report on new developments at Zoo Antwerpen since then:
  • A Hamlyn's monkey was born recently, the first since 2017. I posted a picture (that admittedly is relatively crappy, unfortunately).
    Hamlyn's monkey with baby (Cercopithecus hamlyni), 2020-09-20 - ZooChat
  • The Goodfellow's tree kangaroo exhibit was expanded by adding the koala exhibit at the restroom side of the marsupial house to the tree kangaroo exhibit. The zoo now only has one koala.
  • Cinnamon ground doves were added to the swift parrot aviary. I did not find any yet.
  • A pair of Red-billed curassows was added to the mixed macaw aviary. I saw them.
  • In that same macaw aviary the hyacinthine macaws were off-show. Someone at the Laafsekikkers and another person on Facebook suggested there was a conflict with the Mexican military macaws.
  • A grey-winged trumpeter was added to the Ecuadorian amazon aviary.
  • The yellow-billed storks that were added to the Savanna aviary are now showing themselves well. I did not yet find the southern bald ibisses that were also added recently.
  • The former yellow mongoose exhibit near the Egyptian temple now houses Hermann's tortoises.
  • I was positively surprised by the new yellow mongoose and southern white rhinoceros exhibits that were opened this summer. Personally I find these new development to be quite successful and the exhibits quite decent.

    I did stupidly forget to check out the Kirk's dik-diks in the former red panda exhibit, so I will have to and will hopefully able to go back at some point (soon?) to tie up that loose end.
  • Some of the Gentoo and Macaroni penguins in Vriesland were molting, making them look rather rough and scruffy.
  • In the reptile house the former veiled chameleon and skink terrarium now houses Zoutpansberg girdled lizards (Smaug depressus). Three juveniles of this species are now also on show in the reptile house nursery.
  • In the green-and-black poison dart frog and Merten's day gecko terrarium Fleischmann's Glass frogs have been added, but I could not find any.
  • In the Amazonian milk frog terrarium a species of anole had been added. I don't know the exact species and there was not yet any signage.
  • The bearded dragon terrarium had a juvenile spiny-tailed monitor added.
  • Collared hill partridges have now also been added to the blue-faced honeyeater aviary in the aviary block outside of the bird house, on the jubilee complex side. Collared hill partridges were already present in the blue-crowned laughingthrush and Peking robin aviary in that block.
  • The red-throated parrotfinches in the bird house have been replaced with zebra finches, but the signage had not yet been updated.
  • Inside the bird house two aviaries (the scarlet tanager aviary and the mixed South American average) had red and white tape on the windows due to the presence of new or young birds.
  • The dark corridor in the bird house no longer houses any birds and is now empty. As sign said it was decided in 2020 to no longer house birds here, as the aviaries are no longer deemed to meet modern animal welfare standards. The sign also cited the fact that the finches flew back and forth between the alcove aviaries once more light was allowed into the alcove aviaries.

    The different species of estrildid finches were moved to the three smallers indoor aviaries, where they are now finally signed. The barred buttonquails housed with them, though still present as I saw two, were however not (yet?) signed. I fear that this dark corridor might well be protected heritage, because I personally would like to see it removed altogether and transformed into one of more modern indoor aviaries. It really doesn't have much added value just standing there empty.
  • I did not see any Mexican military macaws left in the aviary in the bird house, I only saw the helmeted curassow in that aviary.
  • For the first time in years we ate on the terrace of the Grand Café Flamingo near the exit of the zoo and the American flamingo exhibit. This facility is a bit more expensive that the Savanna restaurant and includes service at the table. The food isn't very cheap, but the vegetarian lasagna I had was good and worth it. I would recommend this facility.
 
I do not think that having hyacinthine macaws (habitat tropical forest-Pantanal marshlands) and Mexican military macaw (highland mountain forests) fit habitat and behaviour-dominance wise very well. A strange mix one would probably not opt for as an aviculturalist, I guess.

I assume the Zoutpansberg girdled lizards might have come from Artis-Amsterdam (having bred the species on various occasions in the recent past).
 
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