Best Okapi enclosure in the Benelux

Best Okapi enclosure in the Benelux?

  • Total voters
    25
  • 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 Okapis 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 Lion and Tiger threads are closing tomorrow, so if you want to vote or give an opinion on the exhibits do it soon before they close.

Antwerp
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Beekse Bergen

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Rotterdam

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Photo credits to @KevinB @Mr Gharial @snowleopard
 
I'm a big fan of Blijdorp's Okapi Aviary as a whole, as it showcases the animals well, includes a great indoor holding in the shape of a greenhouse, and has a wonderful mixture with a large group of birds.

That being said, the enclosure is not too big and relatively open, not giving the animals that much space to hide from visitors. Especially since Blijdorp has a full wrap-around viewing.

Beekse Bergen, on the other hand, is a lot larger. And though it is more open (the tree-to-square-meters ratio is a little smaller than Blijdorp's), it has less viewing points for visitors so the Okapi's can sit on the edge of the exhibit peacefully. And though the indoor holding is a lot less pretty and not-so natural, it does allow for the animals to sleep out of view of the visitors.

With the least room and vegetation, Antwerp is in last place, though I'll admit I have the least experience with this exhibit, as I had to rush past it during my previous (and only) visit.

My vote goes to Beekse Bergen, without a doubt. These little competitions are really showcasing their quality in terms of animal welfare. And with the new elephant valley coming up and looking like one of the world's best elephant enclosures only proves that further.
 
I think that @Mr Gharial has provided a solid analysis. Antwerp is clearly third here, even though I liked the historical Moorish House backdrop and the addition of duikers when I visited in 2019. The enclosure is quite pleasant and it goes back a fair distance, but it's not as great as the other two options in the poll.

Blijdorp's indoor holding area for Okapis is wonderful and even larger than it appears in photos. However, the outdoor yard isn't big enough or else this would be the potential winner for me.

Beekse Bergen is indeed doing rather well in these mini competitions and the setup for Okapis there is just as impressive as the entire zoo. It gets my vote. I will point out that the photo from Beekse Bergen has either Nyala or Sitatunga in it. Did they ever share or rotate in an exhibit with Okapi?
 
No doubt for Beekse Bergen, while Rotterdam has a nice indoor enclosure, the outdoor enclosures are far too small and there are too few enclosures so everytime I visit some okapi are confined to the small boxes in the back of the indoor enclosure. As an exhibit with the birds, it is a superior experience to Beekse Bergen, but Beekse Bergen has so much better outdoor enclosures (and enough of them).

@snowleopard , the antelope are mixed with the okapi.
 
snowleopard said:
I will point out that the photo from Beekse Bergen has either Nyala or Sitatunga in it. Did they ever share or rotate in an exhibit with Okapi?
Click to expand...

These were indeed female Sitatunga. At the time of my visit where the foto was taken it was rather cold and the okapi were found inside, but I can certainly say they're sharing the exhibit.

Another addition I'd like to make is that what's shown on the foto is only the first Okapi enclosure in Beekse Bergen. There's another one that may be even bigger than the first:
20220205_134830.jpg
 

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None of them is very good but after some hesitation I vote for Blijdorp. I agree it's far too small, but of the three its leans the closest to the natural habitat.
 
Philipine eagle said:
None of them is very good but after some hesitation I vote for Blijdorp. I agree it's far too small, but of the three its leans the closest to the natural habitat.
Click to expand...

Though I agree that Blijdorp's enclosure has denser foliage and more lower shrubs. Beekse Bergen's smaller enclosure is already bigger than both of Blijdorp's enclosures combined! The larger of BB's is even twice the size of the entire Okapi aviary.

Here's a rough outline of both the exhibits, to scale:
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Mr Gharial said:
Though I agree that Blijdorp's enclosure has denser foliage and more lower shrubs. Beekse Bergen's smaller enclosure is already bigger than both of Blijdorp's enclosures combined! The larger of BB's is even twice the size of the entire Okapi aviary.

Here's a rough outline of both the exhibits, to scale:
View attachment 624105
Click to expand...

Ok, but size wasn't my remark for the BB enclosure, but only for my personal choice, Blijdorp.

As far as the BB enclosure concerns and why I didn't vote for it: it's big enough and it has trees, that's true. But it has no foliage cover on the animals eye level.
 
Score update. Rotterdam are ahead of Beekse Bergen. A denser enclosure and being more aesthetically pleasing towards visitors could be giving them the edge.
 
I guess I have another unpopular opinion. For me It's Beekse Bergen, then Antwerp and at the end Blijdorp. I haven't seen Beekse Bergen but it seems the best. I personally didn't enjoy Blijdorps aviary as much. Visitors are to close to the okapis in my opinion. And I think to many okapis are housed. At Antwerp they all have multiple stables and an indoor area as well as individual outside enclosures. The addition with the chimp house stable is a minus for me since they are sensitive to noise and the chimps and visitors give plenty however they can go behind the scenes to their own stable if they want. And if i were to score aesthetically I would vote Antwerp frist.
 
Poll closed. Congratulations to Rotterdam for having the Best Okapi enclosure in the Benelux. A mix with birds and a naturalistic outdoor may have gotten the lead. It won by only one vote, with Beekse Bergen also having two high quality enclosures, mixed with Sitatunga. This is their first win so far, surprisingly. Rotterdam have been in many polls but have not won as many compared to other collections which have entered a similar amount of times (Burgers, Beekse Bergen, Ouwehands etc.)

Rotterdam: 48.0%
Beekse Bergen: 44.0%
Antwerp: 8.0%
 
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