AquaZoo Leeuwarden Aqua zoo news

[MennoPebesma]

Visited AquaZoo again yesterday. Some updates:

- In the indoor part, tadpoles from the Majorcan midwife toad can be seen again.

- The black-necked swans had young a few weeks ago. But they were nowhere to be seen yesterday. So probably those did not make it.

- The North American beavers gave birth to young again this year. I counted two, but there could be more.

- In the kangaroo walk-through enclosure, the two female red kangaroos have recently been joined by a male.

- No tiger cubs seen outside yet. According to the keeper, they are increasingly crawling around the indoor enclosure, though. So it will possibly be a matter of time before they go outside for the first time. Keepers separated them from their mother for the first time last week, for giving them a chip and deworming. A quick look at the sex of the cubs was also taken then. They seem to be two males and two females. The next health check this will be looked at more closely to be sure.

- Several young black-crowned night-herons can be seen in the Asia aviary. On top of this aviary, a wild pair of this species also has a nest with three young.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Visited AquaZoo again yesterday. Some updates:

- The raccoons are temporarily out of the collection. The last three animals were euthanised last week due to veterinary reasons. They were all already very old and had been on medication for some time. There will be new raccoons again in the new Churchill area to be opened next year.

- Last Sunday, the tiger cubs went outside briefly for the first time. I also saw them outside very briefly yesterday. Mother Aïda still finds it all a bit exciting and prefers to keep them inside. The expectation is that they will come out more often in the near future.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Some updates from my visits to AquaZoo recently:

- Two new fish species have been added to the seahorse aquarium. A foxface rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus) and a copperband butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus).

- The Azara agoutis have young again. I saw two.

- The sexes of the four Amur tiger cubs have been announced. They are two males and two females. The cubs are coming out more and more often and have already explored the whole outdoor enclosure by now.

From today, people can vote on the names for the two male cubs. A choice can be made between Argun, Gorin, Amazar and Bureya. These are all tributaries of the Amur River. Next week, names for the two females can be voted for.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Yesterday afternoon, one of the windows of the polar bear enclosure was damaged. The zoo was therefore temporarily evacuated. The polar bears were also immediately led to the other enclosure. It soon turned out that there was no safety risk. The window consists of three layers, and only the front layer was broken. The damaged glass was covered with wooden boards, after which visitors were able to watch the polar bears again.

The zoo assumes vandalism. But as there are no cameras around the enclosure, it remains to be seen whether the offender will ever be caught. The smashed window is expected to be repaired on Monday.

Source: Leeuwarder Courant (Premium article)

 

[KevinB]

Yesterday afternoon, one of the windows of the polar bear enclosure was damaged. The zoo was therefore temporarily evacuated. The polar bears were also immediately led to the other enclosure. It soon turned out that there was no safety risk. The window consists of three layers, and only the front layer was broken. The damaged glass was covered with wooden boards, after which visitors were able to watch the polar bears again.

The zoo assumes vandalism. But as there are no cameras around the enclosure, it remains to be seen whether the offender will ever be caught. The smashed window is expected to be repaired on Monday.

Source: Leeuwarder Courant (Premium article)

I wonder what you have to do to destroy such glass, it can't be a simple thing to do.

If even glass is no longer a safe option I fear for the future of zoos...

 

[MennoPebesma]

Visited AquaZoo las wednesday. Some updates:

From today, people can vote on the names for the two male cubs. A choice can be made between Argun, Gorin, Amazar and Bureya. These are all tributaries of the Amur River. Next week, names for the two females can be voted for.

- This week, names for the two females can be voted on. You can choose between Amba, Zeya, Ussuri and Sungari.

- I saw at least two small-spotted catshark eggs in the North Sea tank.

- I also saw a slightly smaller fish in there that I had not seen before. I first thought it was a young shorthorn sculpin, but on the Belgian/Dutch zoo forum 'Laafsekikkers', @Mr Gharial told me it must be a shanny (Lipophrys pholis). This is a new species for AquaZoo.

- The window of the polar bear enclosure had not yet been repaired. A small addition to the message shared earlier: the zoo has not been evacuated in its entirety, just the part near the polar bears. This is because it was clear fairly quickly that there was no safety risk of the polar bears escaping.

- I finally managed to get some good photos of the tiger cubs! On each of the past visits, I have seen them, but often behind a hill and/or behind several fences which made taking photos practically impossible.

 

[MennoPebesma]

The Amur tiger cubs were named through a voting contest. The two males are called Amazar and Argun, and the two females are called Zeya and Sungari.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Visited again last Tuesday. Some updates from my visit and other news from the past period:

- Young hamerkops hatched for the first time. As far as I can tell from the videos from the chicks in the nest on social media, there are three of them. (Source: Facebook AquaZoo Leeuwarden)

- Maintenance was carried out on the European pond turtles' enclosure. The enclosure has been drained and the turtles have been temporarily housed behind the scenes. Meanwhile, the work has been completed and the turtles are back in their enclosure. Exactly what work was done is unknown to me.

- An updated zoo map no longer shows the black pacu in the indoor section. Currently, the animals can still be seen. According to unconfirmed reports, however, they would be leaving soon.

- In the indoor section, the Azara's Agoutis have given birth to another young.

- A white-faced saki was also born in the same enclosure last Sunday. (Source: Facebook AquaZoo Leeuwarden)

- At the Humboldt penguin enclosure, some things have been demolished. The viewing hut near the nesting boxes has been demolished, as well as part of the hill with nesting boxes. I suspect that new nesting boxes and possibly a new viewing hut will be build soon.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Last Sunday, Zoovaria organised a friends' day at AquaZoo exclusively for members of the Facebook group 'Vrienden van AquaZoo Leeuwarden' (Zoovaria is the owner of this group). As I am moderator of that group and was involved in organising the day, I was also present. The day (or rather morning) consisted of a feeding and presentation at the Amur tigers and, to conclude, an update on some of the zoo's future projects, such as the Wadden area and Churchill area. A few bits of news to share:

- Initial work on the new Churchill area started this week. The aim is to have the area completed during the first quarter of 2024, although this still depends on weather and other factors.

- During the update on the Churchill area, a map of the new area was also shown. At the construction site itself, there had been a sign with the map for a while, but the map that was now shown had some more info. On it were listed a number of animal species that had not been announced before. For instance, the bald eagles will be joined by common ravens and the North American beavers will be joined by North American porcupines, among others.

- Some more was also told about the recently opened Wadden area. This room will be decorated further this fall. Next year, the basement area will also be added to this area with some new aquaria.

 

[Mr Gharial]

The bald eagles will be joined by common ravens and the North American beavers will be joined by North American porcupines, among others.

Others being Mississippi paddlefish and rainbow trout, which will live in the deeper area of the beaver enclosure, which will have underwater viewing.

- Some more was also told about the recently opened Wadden area. This room will be decorated further this fall. Next year, the basement area will also be added to this area with some new aquaria.

The main species revealed here was the Brown trout, which will later be released into the lake that Aquazoo neighbours

 

[MennoPebesma]

The main species revealed here was the Brown trout, which will later be released into the lake that Aquazoo neighbours

Also called sea trout (Salmo trutta trutta). The plan is to release them in the Lauwersmeer. That's a lake on the border of the provinces of Friesland and Groningen, not the one next to AquaZoo.

This is a collaborative project with several sport fishing, water board and landscape organisations. The aim of the project is a better connection between the Wadden Sea, the Lauwersmeer and the waters beyond, allowing migratory fish to migrate.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Visited again last Tuesday. Some updates:

- The breeding of Majorcan midwife toads is going well this year. I counted about 40 tadpoles.

- Construction of the new Churchill area has started. So far, only greenery has been cleared or pruned. Due to safety reasons, the area is closed to visitors during construction. The polar bears can temporarily only be seen through the viewing window next to the seals.

- New nesting boxes have already been built for the Humboldt penguins.

 

[MennoPebesma]

In addition to the two male scaly-sided mergansers already present, AquaZoo recently acquired two females of this species. Only 45 birds of this endangered species are kept in European zoos.

Source: AquaZoo Leeuwarden Newsletter

 

[MennoPebesma]

Visited again yesterday. Some updates:

- Construction of the new Churchill area is now in full swing. Since the last time I was there, there has been a lot of digging. In fact, the shape of the beaver enclosure is already slightly visible.

- In the Amur area, new trees have been planted at a number of viewing points.

- The Humboldt penguins can now use their new nest boxes. The viewpoint on the visitors' side is still being worked on, so it is still closed.

 

[owensluis]

The concept art for the new Canadian area was posted by the zoo
AquaZoo Leeuwarden on Instagram: "We zijn begonnen met de bouw van het nieuwe gebied Churchill . In dit westelijke deel van het dierenpark, waar zich nu al de ijsberen bevinden, draait het straks helemaal om Noord-Amerika: de natuur én de dieren - waaronder de Canadese bevers, wasberen en natuurlijk de ijsberen. Ook wordt er in het nieuwe gebied, dat is gebaseerd op de 1.609 kilometer lange Churchill River in het noorden van Canada , aandacht besteed aan klimaatverandering en de gevolgen die dat heeft op het gebied en de dieren die er wonen. Zo wordt het door de stijgende temperaturen steeds lastiger voor ijsberen om aan eten te komen. Daardoor zijn ze vaker genoodzaakt om hun voedsel te zoeken in bewoond gebied, wat voor mens-dierconflicten zorgt. We verwachten dat de bouwwerkzaamheden komend voorjaar afgerond zijn en we komende lente al van dit nieuwe gebied kunnen genieten. #aquazoo #leeuwarden #churchill #verbouwen #bouwproject #dierentuin"

 

[MennoPebesma]

Some updates from recent visits:

- Guppies can now be seen in the axolotls' aquarium.

- In the sea aquarium of the Wadden Sea area, there is a basket containing three eggs of the small-spotted catshark.

- Construction on the new Churchill area is in full swing. Part of the concrete walls for the beavers' and raccoons' new enclosures are already in place. Work has also already started on the water stream in the polar bear enclosure. Construction of the aviary for the bald eagles will probably start in January.

Construction site on November 30:

Construction site on 14 December:

- At the moment, the Humboldt penguins only have their old part of the enclosure available again. A fence has been placed between their enclosure and the former fur seal enclosure. The Magellanic flightless steamer duck is in the former fur seal area.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Some news about AquaZoo and some updates from my visit yesterday:

- AquaZoo has reached 175,000 visitors by 2023. That's 5,000 more than last year. The new Churchill area will open in spring 2024 (target is at Easter). Besides the new area, there will also be a new event this year, what that is will be announced later.

- As some may know, AquaZoo will be rearranging the zoo in the coming years. From the random layout it largely has now, it will eventually be divided into five themed areas, with each area representing a continent. Each area will have a major river/water as its theme. So far, there are Amur (Asia), Wadden Sea (Europe) and soon Churchill (North America). AquaZoo's general manager recently confirmed in an interview that the two other areas will be Africa and South America.

- Like previous years, AquaZoo also held a Christmas tree collection campaign this year. People could hand in their Christmas tree with root ball in exchange for a free ticket. This year, 150 trees were handed in. Most of them will be used to decorate the new Churchill area.

- Construction of the new Churchill area is progressing well. Groundwork for the raccoons' and beavers' enclosures is more or less finished, and rockeries have already been placed in both enclosures. Soon the first fencing will be installed and very soon work will also start on the aviary.

- The gender of the young white-faced saki is now clearly visible. Its white face reveals that it is a male!

 

[MennoPebesma]

Some updates from my visit earlier this week:

- The Wadden area is temporarily closed. The area will be themed further. The area is expected to be open again by mid-February.

- Work is also continuing on the Churchill area. The first fencing has been installed. Work has started on the stairs to the underwater viewing point. The foundation for the education house has been laid. And work has also started on the aviary.

- A number of wallabies seem to have a thicker pouch. So possibly there are several joeys again this year.

- In the pelican aviary, I have not seen the hamerkop for a while.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Some updates from my visit yesterday:

- The Wadden Sea area has reopened since last Saturday and has been completely renewed in terms of decoration. Throughout the area, the wadden theme is clearly visible. There is also a lot of new (interactive) education.

More pictures can be found in the gallery

- On the construction site of the Churchill area, a lot has happened again. The groundwork including the water stream for the aviary is done. The education hut in-between the aviary and the beaver enclosure has been constructed for a large part. A large part of the fencing has also been installed.

- During the tiger presentation, the keeper told that it is expected that all four cubs will be moved to other zoos, probably during next year or the year after. When all the cubs have moved, Vadim and Aïda will be allowed to have cubs again.

- Next to the tiger enclosure, work has started on a new enclosure. A start has been made on a foundation for an indoor enclosure near the islands. During the presentation of the red pandas, the keeper told that this enclosure is going to be for the pair of red pandas.

 

[Mr Gharial]

In the new video sharered by Aquazoo we get a nice view of the top of the new Churchill region:


The region is really taking shape and we can already see the boardwalk viewing point in the back, and the two small bridges between the Beaver and Raccoon habitats. We can also see the contours of the beaver den / viewing hut into the eagle aviary.

It was also mentioned that there is still a surprise in store that we haven't seen yet. Personally I'm very curious about what that may be...

Video:
Episode 2 - The road to Churchill

Another perspective of the area: