Best Baboon enclosure in the Benelux

Best Baboon enclosure in the Benelux?

  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .
felis silvestris

felis silvestris

Well-Known Member
This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Baboons in the Benelux. I have added a few photos from the gallery to make it easier for members to compare the different exhibits. If anyone wants to make an argument for a particular enclosure, please feel free to do so. Also, I would encourage people to list the enclosures in order of what they think is the best.

The Mandrill and Red river hog threads are closing tomorrow, and they are both in a draw at the moment, so if you want to vote or give an opinion on the exhibits do it soon before they close.

I will be going on holiday next week (and visiting Artis and Burgers :D) so I will not be making polls next week, but will continue as usual after.

Bouillon (Hamadrayas)

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Amersfoort (Hamadrayas)

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Emmen (Hamadrayas)

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Beekse Bergen (Hamadrayas)

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Blankendaell (Hamadrayas)

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Zonnegloed (Olive)

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Photo credits to @snowleopard @KevinB @vogelcommando @KevinL
 
Wow... Bouillon is... really bad.

Though the Beekse Bergen and Wildlands enclosures are quite spacious and have nice terrain, they don't provide a lot of climbing or shading opportunities. Now, of course, Olive and Hamadryas baboons are partially desert-dwelling. But that doesn't mean a sunny pile of rocks is the best housing option...

I'm unfamiliar with Blankendaell or Zonnegloed, but they seem to have nice, soft ground and some climbing opportunities that would make me say they're better than BB or Wildlands.

However, the clear winner for me is Amersfoort. They have a decently spacious enclosure with some tree climbing structures and a bridge going over the enclosure which provides some shade, while also having some rock piles and harder surfaces to enjoy. The photo provided shows roughly 1/3rd of their actual enclosure, and I'd say it's roughly the same size, if not a little bigger, than Wildlands' arena.

Some other photo's of Amersfoort:
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And it is true that Beekse Bergen's enclosure is bigger. Way bigger, even. But this is because this is actually an elephant enclosure. The baboons don't really get a lot out of the enclosure because the central rock is pretty much all they use, and the rock is quite a deal smaller than Wildlands or Amersfoort's exhibits.

Edit:
Take a look at this photo:
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and this photo:
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As you can see, the giant elephant enclosure is barely used by the baboons, who basically only use the rock:
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(Photos be @KevinB and @vogelcommando )
 
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Difficult choice this time. None of the enclosures please me aesthetically. Bouillon drops out anyway, and I can also agree with the criticism of Beekse Bergen.
I think it is a misconception that these animals would mainly be found in the rather arid environment, quite the contrary. Almost all baboon species rely heavily on grasses, tubers and roots and tree fruits. No species occurs in vegetation-less ecosystems.
My vote goes to an enclosure that contains grass.
 
As a small addition to the exhibit at Bouillon, I have added a picture of the indoor housing below from my visit last Saturday. The exhibit at Bouillon was really bad, the worst there together with their very similar Barbary macaque and Rhesus macaque exhibit. Their siamang, mandrill and lemur exhibits were only slightly better. The only primates decently housed at Bouillon were their callitrichids. Luckily Bouillon did have some pretty nice hoofstock exhibits.

As far as baboon exhibits go, personally I voted for the exhibit at Zonnegloed as I really liked it during my two visits. It features a large outdoor exhibit with grass and good climbing structures.

I do think the exhibits at Amersfoort, Wildlands and Beekse Bergen are fairly decent, but have some downsides, as discussed above. Of these exhibits I think Amesfoort is probably the best.
 

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Poll closed. Congratulations to Amersfoort for having the best Baboon enclosure in the Benelux. The ancient city theme and large enclosure may have given it the edge, although all these enclosures are if high quality (apart from Bouillon.) This is their first win so far.

Amersfoort: 33.3%
Beekse Bergen: 27.8%
Zonnegloed: 22.2%
Emmen: 11.1%
Blankendaell: 5.6%
 
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felis silvestris said:
Oh, when did they leave?
Click to expand...

Quite some years ago I believe. I can't give you a specific date but I'm pretty sure they were already gone before the Pandemic

Edit: They were still present in 2019 but they had already been gone for a little while during my previous visit (not counting last week, so 2022). I think they left during or right before the Pandemic
 
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