Best Penguin enclosure in the Benelux

[felis silvestris]

This is just a bit of fun to judge the general consensus on the best enclosure for Penguins 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 best.

The Warty pig poll is closing soon if you haven’t yet voted do so before it closes.

If you want to vote for Antwerp (either exhibit), Pairi Daiza (King, Rockhopper, Gentoo), Artis,
Burgers, Rotterdam, Blackenberge SL, Erholungspark, Planckendael, Avifauna, Hoenderdaell, Ouwehands, Schieveningen, Zie-Zoo or Merivelleux please vote for the “Other” option in the poll.
Antwerp (African)



Antwerp (King, Macaroni, Subantarctic Gentoo)



Pairi Daiza (African)



Pairi Daiza (Eastern Rockhopper, King, Subantarctic Gentoo)



Amersfoort (African)



Artis (African)



Burgers (African)



Beekse Bergen (African)



AZ Leeuwarden (African)



AZ Leeuwarden (Humboldt)

 

[felis silvestris]

Overloon



Rotterdam (King and Subantarctic Gentoo)



Blackenberge SL (Humboldt)



Monde Sauvage (Humboldt)



Erholungspark Mont Mosan (Humboldt)

Unfortunately there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. If someone can describe it or provide a photo that would be great.

Planckendael (Humboldt)



Vogelpark Avifauna (Humboldt)



Hoenderdaell (Humboldt)

Unfortunately there are no photos of this enclosure in the gallery. If someone can describe it or provide a photo that would be great.

Emmen (Humboldt)



Dierenrijk (Humboldt)



Ouwehands (Humboldt)



Scheveningen SL (Humboldt)

 

[felis silvestris]

Zie-Zoo (Humboldt)



Merivelleux (Humboldt)



Photo credits to @KevinB @snowleopard @lintworm @Mr Gharial @Tiger @felis silvestris @MennoPebesma @vogelcommando @Dianamonkey

 

[felis silvestris]

The Overloon exhibit photo can be seen at the bottom of that post.

 

[Tiger]

Hard to decide, as the requirements for the penguins are so different due to their totally different habitat and lifestyle. For (sub)antarctic penguins, for me, Pairi Daiza would be the clear winner, as it is pre-eminently the largest and it has height differences, natural daylight and even snow. It's also undoubtedly the best from a visitor point of view. You are namely literally in the same room as the penguins, what means that it's as cold in the visitors' area as in the penguin enclosure itself. On top of that, you can see, hear them and smell them. They can even get so close that sometimes it feels like you can touch them. All this really gives it an extra dimension. The enclosure also has hotel rooms overlooking the enclosure and the animals can be admired from 3 different levels!
For non-Antarctic penguins, it is a bit trickier. Until Wildlands opened, Emmen undeniably had the very best enclosure, but that is a thing of the past.
Still, Wildlands would qualify, but surely competitive with Planckendael, AquaZoo Leeuwarden, Beekse Bergen and Burgers' Zoo. Still, I must say that ZooParc Overloon and Monde Sauvage's penguin enclosures are certainly not bad either, quite the contrary. Monde Sauvage even has an underwater viewing.
I am perhaps leaning more towards Wildlands at the moment because of its varied accommodation with probably the deepest pool of all. It also has a very nice integrated indoor enclosure. In fact, it's under the boat. The only way to see it is through a window which is barely noticeable, so definitely very nicely done. Yet the other parks still leave me in doubt. For instance, Planckendael also has a very good enclosure that is even shared with other species such as ibises and inca terns.

 

[Tiger]

Here are some more photos of Planckendael's enclosure, as the top photo only shows about one-third of the enclosure:

Here some additional photos for AquaZoo Leeuwarden...

...and ZooParc Overloon

Photos by @KevinB, @snowleopard and @MennoPebesma

 

[snowleopard]

There are quite a few excellent penguin exhibits in the Benelux, with the Pairi Daiza Antarctica themed complex looking brilliant from a visitor perspective. However, when I walked through the gigantic aviary that holds penguins at Planckendael I was blown away by the world-class setup there and so that Belgian zoo gets my vote.

 

[Perseus6]

I think it might be better to split the poll into Humbolt and African vs (sub)Antarctic. Since they all have different needs. I do think their are plenty of great penguin enclosures. I want to point out that for (sub)Arctic it's better to fully separate penguin from guests since they are susceptible to diseases.
Since it's really hard I agree with snowleapard and vote for the Aviary of Planckendael.

 

[felis silvestris]

Score update. It’s currently between Planckendael and Emmen right now. I wonder one has the larger enclosure.

 

[Tiger]

Score update. It’s currently between Planckendael and Emmen right now. I wonder one has the larger enclosure.

Going between Planckendael and Emmen, Emmen has by far the largest enclosure, including the largest water section. However, this is not surprising as the penguin enclosure was originally an enclosure for polar bears.
However, overall, Safaripark Beekse Bergen has the largest enclosure of all, with one of the largest water sections as well.

 

[MennoPebesma]

Going between Planckendael and Emmen, Emmen has by far the largest enclosure, including the largest water section. However, this is not surprising as the penguin enclosure was originally an enclosure for polar bears.
However, overall, Safaripark Beekse Bergen has the largest enclosure of all, with one of the largest water sections as well.

With the addition of the former fur seal enclosure to the Humboldt penguin enclosure at AquaZoo Leeuwarden, that enclosure should be even bigger than the one at Beekse Bergen. Some quick measurements via google earth:

AquaZoo Leeuwarden (Humboldt)
Total: 2500 m2
Water area: 1030 m2

Beekse Bergen
Total:2250 m2
Water area: 1150 m2

Wildlands
Total: 1150 m2
Water area: 350 m2

Planckendael
Total: 850 m2
Water section: 240 m2