Rotterdam Zoo Blijdorp News 2023
- Thread starter Blijdorpenaar
- Start date
The 4-year-old black rhinoceros male Malte will soon come to Diergaarde Blijdorp from Zoo Magdeburg. It is a temporary move, as he will not be able to stay in Magdeburg next winter due to lack of space. There is also no intention of a romantic encounter with the female in Blijdorp, as he is still a little too young for that.
Source: Diergaarde Blijdorp newsletter
Source: Diergaarde Blijdorp newsletter
Next week Blijdorp will receive the young male Asiatic lion Wishu (born September 2021) from Planckendael to become their new breeding male.
Jonge mannetjesleeuw Wishu verhuist van Planckendael naar Blijdorp, kweekprogramma met Lorena gaat voort
Jonge mannetjesleeuw Wishu verhuist van Planckendael naar Blijdorp, kweekprogramma met Lorena gaat voort
It will be demolished and, though we all hope for something new to replace it, chances are nothing new will come of it for the time being. Blijdorp is knees deep in the consequences of their own bad planning right now and I doubt they'll be able to scrape enough VVB donations together to make another high-quality greenhouse
Where did you read it will be demolished? Last I read was that they are doing one more inspection before they decide what to do. Chances that it will be demolished seem high though and the crown on 15 years of mismanagement.
I'm fairly certain I read a sign at Amazonica itself right before the summer vacation started, stating that they would start demolishing it after summer vacation. I could me misremembering it though
What bad decisions are those?
Relying very heavily on the "Friends of Blijdorp" charity club, instead of building up enough money to live off themselves. As well as generally ignoring problems in the zoo (like the decline of Amazonica or Taman Indah), while still pushing out new projects.
We (including myself) sometimes like to complain about Burgers' zoo seemingly not doing anything new in comparison to other zoos. But I'd prefer a financially stable but relatively non-renewing zoo over a barely-scraping-by zoo with new projects planned
Most, if not all sentences in that reply seem pretty ill-informed if you ask me? There are a whole lot of differences between Burgers and Blijdorp.
First of all, as far as I know Friends of Blijdorp never sponsored any upkeep (salary/maintenance) of the zoo, They merely exist to sponsor new exhibits. So to say that Blijdorp “relies on them” is imo plain odd. Blijdorp relies mostly on the city of Rotterdam and philanthropist.
Than saying that they should have “build up enough money to live off” is also odd. What money was there to be build up? And do you know what happens to organizations that receive government funds and have money left over each year? They get cut, simple as that. And what if they did manage to build up cash, how would they live off it? Blijdorp is not a stock broker, it’s a zoo.
Blijdorp is a zoo that needs to sell it’s projects to potential sponsors. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. And I bet getting sponsors for large, costly projects must be harder than others.
I do have to say that the closure of Amazonica does feel like mismanagement, solely on the basis that such a young building shouldn’t be in the state it’s in.
Burgers is a for-profit, privately run zoo. The financial dynamics of such a zoo are completely different and choices are made, heavily influenced by a commercial basis.
I do agree that Blijdorp and Burgers are different zoo's. Financial and management. And Burgers is indeed a private zoo that needs to make some commercial choices. However, I think that Burgers have created such a good basis that they also make a lot of non-commercial choices. Which is pretty impressive for a private zoo. Therefore, I do not agree with the last statement.
I think there are 2 main problems:
1. From 2000-2015 Blijdorp was churning out new projects on a high basis, but the red line is that most projects seem to have been done on a budget. Choices were often made to create them based space requirements of the lower part of the standard of the time. As those have evolved, that means that within a few years enclosures such as the lions, polar bears, okapi and black rhinos can easily be considered too small, while being relatively new. But it also means that they used cheap and less durable materials. That is visible in Amazonica, which was closed within 15 years, but also the macaw aviaries were at the end of their lifetime within 15 years, purely because of the materials used. That means that in the end you have to pay a lot more then doing it well once... With regards to enclosure sizes, now they have seemingly gone to the other extreme building (and planning) huge exhibits for single species.
2. Blijdorp used to get about 4 million euros in subsidies until the 2008-2010 financial crisis, when this was suddenly slashed to less then a million euros. That led to big budget cuts at the time and the closure of the Riviera Hall as a reptile house. But in all the years since Blijdorp still hasn't been able to become so financially healthy that they have enough money themselves to invest in the park and they still rely heavily on the friends of the zoo organisation. Which is somewhat puzzling as they have 1.5 million annual visitors and revenues of over 30 million euros. Surely one should be able run a zoo with that. As a comparison, Burgers' has revenue that is almost 10 million euros less per year...
To be honest, it’s hard to judge from the sidelines. But I agree that the demise of what seem to be big investments within 15 years deserves an explanation. I remember the roof of Amazonica being “experimental” (and almost immediately causing problems”). Perhaps more of the building was experimental and the experiment failed? We can conclude that as an investment, it failed.
The fact that some of the exhibits are on the smaller side bothers me less, because most of the mentioned exhibits can easily be adapted for smaller species. And perhaps some of the species are there because the EEP needed the space?
This is also hard to judge without more information. It can very well be that a part of Blijdorp’s income comes specifically to maintain their monuments. If so, than a portion of it’s income (and cost) is already labelled. In the cost structure, Blijdorp might be on leased land or heavily financed where Burgers might not be. It has quite a lot more monuments to take care for at least. And in my experience, semi-gouvernment (like Blijdorp) is many a time more generous when it comes to both salary and pension plans for their employees than “for profit”. I’m not saying this is the case here, but it might well be. And decissions like salaries and pension plans are hard to change towards the future, so once it’s in place your kinda stuck with it.
So it’s a little more nuanced then just € 20 million vs € 30 million.
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Asian elephant Irma was euthanized at the age of 53 for reasons of declining health and compromised welfare.
OLIFANT IRMA OVERLEDEN - Diergaarde Blijdorp
Olifant Irma is op de respectabele leeftijd van 53 jaar overleden. Om welzijnsredenen is in goed overleg tussen de dierenarts en de verzorgers besloten... | By Diergaarde Blijdorp / Rotterdam Zoo | Facebook
OLIFANT IRMA OVERLEDEN - Diergaarde Blijdorp
Olifant Irma is op de respectabele leeftijd van 53 jaar overleden. Om welzijnsredenen is in goed overleg tussen de dierenarts en de verzorgers besloten... | By Diergaarde Blijdorp / Rotterdam Zoo | Facebook
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Rensrobert
Well-Known Member
There has been said alot about the state of Blijdorp. In my opinion as a regular visitor of the zoo in the past 17 years the managment of the zoo has been a question mark for me. Alot of projects since 2002 have been talked about. There have been a numbers of good projects Oceanium, Gelada enclosure, Giraffe enclosure, maki enclosure, crocodille river, vulture aviary, the old migration aviary, the new red panda enclosures. IMO the okapi enclosure is also a good enclosure, but i have read that not everybody would agree.
The thing is they also had some project that were very recent and then they change it again, I am thinking about the changes to the oceanium or the maned wolf enlosure, the wolf enlosure, the western wing of the rivierahal made the enlosure for the pygmy hippo even worse and I really love the animal. The rhino enclosure was already to small when they opend it. The changes to migration aviary. the renovation to the asia house.
The removal of some enclosures also feels weird, because there is space to do something and now I have the feeling that they are just wasting space. Also some enclosures are not space efficient which also bothers me. Some of the examples for me are the tiger exhibit, lion exhibit, polar bear exhibit.
What bothers me the most is one the financial state of the zoo( why is there no money if you have one the most visited zoos in europe and you have alot of backing from de vrienden van Blijdorp). I am not asking to be a second Pairi Daiza. I would like Blijdorp to be a better zoo. It to be considerd to be one of the best city zoos in europe.
second Blijdorp is a founding corporation which means they can't make a profit. Also they have the rijksmonuments. So the financial situation as wel as the enlosures can't be compared to burgers. They are run different and are in a different situation. What I don't get is that it is not possible for the goverment to hold some kind of buffer for the future projects. The fact is that when they want to do something they always need to knock on the door for sponsors, de vrienden van blijdorp and the goverment. I haven't looked in their books, but this is just not the state that works for the zoo. especially for zoo that wants to be one of the best in the world.
Third, what I don't get is that a monument is so important that it is in conflict with animal welfare. Also the goverment doesn't do enough in terms of the financial backing of these monuments. The point that I wanted to make is that having monuments in zoo is cool in terms of history and architecture, but with Blijdorp they are just abandoned and with the plans that I heard of their future is whitouth animals in the zoo.
Fourth, I am just not convinced by the director at this moment in time. He is an economist and has worked as a director of a school, how does that make you qualified for this job. He has had the time to try and do a good job. I think it is very hard to be a director of Blijdorp and the zoo needs somebody with more knowhow to get the zoo out of this mess. I am also not a fan of some other people in the board, it is easy to call for the dismissal of the people that work at Blijdorp, but still the zoo is in a mess. I do think the corporate structure needs to change.
We need to wait for the new master plan to be revealed. But the ''whispers on the street'' don't sound that good. I think there is a way to get back on top, the thing is I don't think they will do it. Because they need money and the thing is, I don't think they will get it, Unlike in the 80's. I just hope they don't cut the amount of animals to much. I hope they will fix the problems with the tiger enclosure, rhino, pygmy hippo, Polar bear, Give the old sea otter enclosure a new life, gorilla enclosure, Taman Indah. Langur enclosure. The whole of south america. Just please bring new life back to the rivierahal. I dont want a restaurant and a visitor center. If it brings in a lot more money then I'm not agianst opening the square at the old entrance. I just think it is a hassle to do that on a permenant base, because you can't close of the rest of the zoo and it also cost money to build that. Also you don't have the facilities yet. Are the citizens of rotterdam really going there for food and drinks after the zoo closes? Is this the best decision in terms of animal welfare?
As a member of the zoo I am just hoping for better Days. Maybe an idea to open a thread to share our plans and ideas for the zoo?
The thing is they also had some project that were very recent and then they change it again, I am thinking about the changes to the oceanium or the maned wolf enlosure, the wolf enlosure, the western wing of the rivierahal made the enlosure for the pygmy hippo even worse and I really love the animal. The rhino enclosure was already to small when they opend it. The changes to migration aviary. the renovation to the asia house.
The removal of some enclosures also feels weird, because there is space to do something and now I have the feeling that they are just wasting space. Also some enclosures are not space efficient which also bothers me. Some of the examples for me are the tiger exhibit, lion exhibit, polar bear exhibit.
What bothers me the most is one the financial state of the zoo( why is there no money if you have one the most visited zoos in europe and you have alot of backing from de vrienden van Blijdorp). I am not asking to be a second Pairi Daiza. I would like Blijdorp to be a better zoo. It to be considerd to be one of the best city zoos in europe.
second Blijdorp is a founding corporation which means they can't make a profit. Also they have the rijksmonuments. So the financial situation as wel as the enlosures can't be compared to burgers. They are run different and are in a different situation. What I don't get is that it is not possible for the goverment to hold some kind of buffer for the future projects. The fact is that when they want to do something they always need to knock on the door for sponsors, de vrienden van blijdorp and the goverment. I haven't looked in their books, but this is just not the state that works for the zoo. especially for zoo that wants to be one of the best in the world.
Third, what I don't get is that a monument is so important that it is in conflict with animal welfare. Also the goverment doesn't do enough in terms of the financial backing of these monuments. The point that I wanted to make is that having monuments in zoo is cool in terms of history and architecture, but with Blijdorp they are just abandoned and with the plans that I heard of their future is whitouth animals in the zoo.
Fourth, I am just not convinced by the director at this moment in time. He is an economist and has worked as a director of a school, how does that make you qualified for this job. He has had the time to try and do a good job. I think it is very hard to be a director of Blijdorp and the zoo needs somebody with more knowhow to get the zoo out of this mess. I am also not a fan of some other people in the board, it is easy to call for the dismissal of the people that work at Blijdorp, but still the zoo is in a mess. I do think the corporate structure needs to change.
We need to wait for the new master plan to be revealed. But the ''whispers on the street'' don't sound that good. I think there is a way to get back on top, the thing is I don't think they will do it. Because they need money and the thing is, I don't think they will get it, Unlike in the 80's. I just hope they don't cut the amount of animals to much. I hope they will fix the problems with the tiger enclosure, rhino, pygmy hippo, Polar bear, Give the old sea otter enclosure a new life, gorilla enclosure, Taman Indah. Langur enclosure. The whole of south america. Just please bring new life back to the rivierahal. I dont want a restaurant and a visitor center. If it brings in a lot more money then I'm not agianst opening the square at the old entrance. I just think it is a hassle to do that on a permenant base, because you can't close of the rest of the zoo and it also cost money to build that. Also you don't have the facilities yet. Are the citizens of rotterdam really going there for food and drinks after the zoo closes? Is this the best decision in terms of animal welfare?
As a member of the zoo I am just hoping for better Days. Maybe an idea to open a thread to share our plans and ideas for the zoo?
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A Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) was brought in to Diergaarde Blijdorp on Friday. The turtle had been found by fishermen in nets off the Dutch coast. She was named 'Boeier' after the ship they sailed on. Normally, this species is found only in and around the Gulf of Mexico. Young animals may well get lost and wash ashore hypothermic.
Boeier is taken care of behind the scenes in a special marine quarantine at the Oceanium and examined by the vet. Her condition seems stable, even though the shell is somewhat damaged. She is alert and swimming actively. Her age is estimated at two to three years. She can strengthen here and if all goes well, she can be released back at Florida next year. She remains behind the scenes for now, but in a few weeks she can hopefully be transferred to the mangrove section in the Oceanium.
Source: Diergaarde Blijdorp
Boeier is taken care of behind the scenes in a special marine quarantine at the Oceanium and examined by the vet. Her condition seems stable, even though the shell is somewhat damaged. She is alert and swimming actively. Her age is estimated at two to three years. She can strengthen here and if all goes well, she can be released back at Florida next year. She remains behind the scenes for now, but in a few weeks she can hopefully be transferred to the mangrove section in the Oceanium.
Source: Diergaarde Blijdorp
Today the Rotterdam Zoo presented its Masterplan 2050, the successor to 2020's Masterplan 2030. Over the course over the next few decades, the zoo will transition towards focussing on ten animal and plant species. They will be at the center of eight thematic areas. While no construction plans or maps have been shown, the zoo already has set specific ecological targets for these impact areas. An oversimplification:
- Natuur Dichtbij ('Nature Closeby'). Impact species: dalmatian pelican. Location: current site of Europe, Australia, the flamingo's and Amur. Ecological target: Reintroduction of the pelican in the Netherlands before 2030. Stimulating biodiverse backyards and ecologically healthy cities.
- Asian Corridors. Impact species: Asian elephant. Location: current site of Taman Indah, Asian Swamp and Mongolian Steppe. Ecological targets: Ten ecological corridors in the natural habitat of the Asian elephant by 2050. Hosting discussions about human-wildlife conflicts.
- African Plains. Impact species: Rüppells vulture. Location: current site of African Savanna, possibly some expansion to surroundings. Ecological targets: Within 5 years hosting two new PhD projects into vultures.
- Himalayan Peaks. Impact species: red panda. Location: current site of Himalaya. Ecological targets: Within 5 years planting one million treas in eastern Nepal. Within 5 years reintroduce 20 red pandas.
These are all basically rebrands of pre-exisiting areas. The remaining four represent more drastic changes to the park:
- Last Resort. Impact species: Vietnamese pond turtle, Nymphaea thermarum. Location: current site of Malasian Forest Edge and Chinese Garden. Description: A flexible group of enclosures meant for breeding and showcasing extremely rare species, not with any specific geographic theme.
- Duurzame Noordzee ('Sustainable North Sea'). Impact species: flapper skate. Location: current North Sea exhibits in the Oceanium, possibly also incorporating the big shark tank. Flapper skates will possibly not actually be put on display, but rather be shown through VR. Ecological targets: Blijdorp will permanently join various ecological project groups in the North Sea. Blijdorp will endorse the construction of eco-friendly wind energy parks.
- Caribbean Seas. Impact species: Lesser Antillean iguana, surgeonfishes. Location: current Caribbean enclosures in the Oceanium, possibly also incorporating surrounding aquariums. Ecological targets: establish a permanent 'hub' for the zoo on the Caribbean island of Bonaire to facilitate reintroductions and combatting invasives. Further develop the 'RoffaReefs' technique for breeding tropical fish.
And the big surprise:
- African Jungles. Impact species: Pygmy hippo. Location: current site of North and South American enclosures, including polar bears, bisons and Amazonica. Description: a big tropical building that will host most of the current Central and West African animals. If this lives up to its full potential, I think it will easily make Rotterdam the worlds front runner in this region. Ecological targets: Use VR to showcase the impact of deforestation and habitat degredation. Give a podium to sustainable companies to open pop-up shops. Cooperate with IBREAM to research the pygmy hippo in the wild.
Again, no true illustrations, financial calculations or really anything that qualifies as a plan were shown. I think the main take-away is that the Rotterdam Zoo is really gonna narrow down its focus. Of course it wont just be these ten taxa, but still. For those of you who are interested, I was present at the reveal and wrote about it (Dutch, but Google Chrome offers automatic translation). Masterplan 2050: tien soorten, acht gebieden, één doel
- Natuur Dichtbij ('Nature Closeby'). Impact species: dalmatian pelican. Location: current site of Europe, Australia, the flamingo's and Amur. Ecological target: Reintroduction of the pelican in the Netherlands before 2030. Stimulating biodiverse backyards and ecologically healthy cities.
- Asian Corridors. Impact species: Asian elephant. Location: current site of Taman Indah, Asian Swamp and Mongolian Steppe. Ecological targets: Ten ecological corridors in the natural habitat of the Asian elephant by 2050. Hosting discussions about human-wildlife conflicts.
- African Plains. Impact species: Rüppells vulture. Location: current site of African Savanna, possibly some expansion to surroundings. Ecological targets: Within 5 years hosting two new PhD projects into vultures.
- Himalayan Peaks. Impact species: red panda. Location: current site of Himalaya. Ecological targets: Within 5 years planting one million treas in eastern Nepal. Within 5 years reintroduce 20 red pandas.
These are all basically rebrands of pre-exisiting areas. The remaining four represent more drastic changes to the park:
- Last Resort. Impact species: Vietnamese pond turtle, Nymphaea thermarum. Location: current site of Malasian Forest Edge and Chinese Garden. Description: A flexible group of enclosures meant for breeding and showcasing extremely rare species, not with any specific geographic theme.
- Duurzame Noordzee ('Sustainable North Sea'). Impact species: flapper skate. Location: current North Sea exhibits in the Oceanium, possibly also incorporating the big shark tank. Flapper skates will possibly not actually be put on display, but rather be shown through VR. Ecological targets: Blijdorp will permanently join various ecological project groups in the North Sea. Blijdorp will endorse the construction of eco-friendly wind energy parks.
- Caribbean Seas. Impact species: Lesser Antillean iguana, surgeonfishes. Location: current Caribbean enclosures in the Oceanium, possibly also incorporating surrounding aquariums. Ecological targets: establish a permanent 'hub' for the zoo on the Caribbean island of Bonaire to facilitate reintroductions and combatting invasives. Further develop the 'RoffaReefs' technique for breeding tropical fish.
And the big surprise:
- African Jungles. Impact species: Pygmy hippo. Location: current site of North and South American enclosures, including polar bears, bisons and Amazonica. Description: a big tropical building that will host most of the current Central and West African animals. If this lives up to its full potential, I think it will easily make Rotterdam the worlds front runner in this region. Ecological targets: Use VR to showcase the impact of deforestation and habitat degredation. Give a podium to sustainable companies to open pop-up shops. Cooperate with IBREAM to research the pygmy hippo in the wild.
Again, no true illustrations, financial calculations or really anything that qualifies as a plan were shown. I think the main take-away is that the Rotterdam Zoo is really gonna narrow down its focus. Of course it wont just be these ten taxa, but still. For those of you who are interested, I was present at the reveal and wrote about it (Dutch, but Google Chrome offers automatic translation). Masterplan 2050: tien soorten, acht gebieden, één doel
Rensrobert
Well-Known Member
I have so much going trough my head. I get that they need something "NEW'' to make potential new customers and sponsors happy. Just readvertising from when they went from cages to enclosures. Or when not species that are in the same familie were put side by side, but species that were in the same continant. I'm not against the idea btw, i think i like it alot. I just need to get used to it. Since al my life it were continants. Also to focus on ten species and say we will try to get these ten species to least concerned in 2050 is smart advertisement. I think that they wil get alot of media attention out of it. So on that part I get it and I'm interested to see what the future wil hold.
However, I'm a bit sceptical about other things. The nature closeby gives no new or intresting enclosure or specie. They are also just casually throwing away their last australian animal because Australia can manages it own population and they have no conservational value. What about educational value. More on that later. I hope that they will give the Amur Leopard a new enclosure, I think this specie should stay in Blijdorp. Maybe in the Last resort area?
Asian Corridors is vague. Even more vague then the masterplan already is. They will keep the tiger, the langur and why are there butterflies on the picture? So just wait and hope for the best.
Himalayan peaks is just as vague without anything new. Just that they maybe keep the indian rhino? No new species or ideas.
The african plains is also very vague. Are they going to focus on a certain region or just the whole of africa? How much of the zoo are they going to use for the african plains? I just hope they don't use to much. Burgers and Beekse bergen are already doing it and doing it on a scale that I actually really like Blijdorp take on it, because it is just a bit different. Just don't use to much space for it. Since the African jungle is a thing I'm afraid that they will use the space for the red forrest buffalo, red river hog, okapi and the crocodiles. Just please don't do that.
The last resort also is an idea that I thought would be something for zoos. Just as the rest of them they are a big question mark on how they want to do this. Also a flexible group of enclosures sounds great, but WHERE? HOW MUCH MONEY? WHICH SPECIES? Nothing new accept a species that has been behind the scenes for years and two species that already are there. So I wonder what wil happen to the rest of the species? The otter wil probably go to the nature closeby. The rest is just not known, nothing about the fishing cat, nothing about the lion tailed macaque etc. Or the most importanted IMO the komodo dragon. PLEASE don't let the komodo dragon go.
Sustainable north sea doesn't sound like something new, they aren't even going to keep the flapper skate. Please keep the great barrier reaf, propably won't. But hey if that isn't worth conservating I don't know what is. The caribbean sea is already there so nothing really new there. only an expention to the gear barrier reaf. Only a big question mark on the pinguins, the tortoise, the maki's, the naturereservecentre, The old sea otter enclosure, the sea lion enclosure. Just one big question mark. I hope they change nothing on the oceanium, since i think it is almost perfect. I only mis an edition of more madagaskar species. Those enclosures could be placed on the grass where the outside of old swift fox enclosure is stil visible. For the rest keep your hands of please. I stil miss the old dessert
And then to the big suprise that isn't that big if you believed the recent rumours and have listened to a few interviews. This will be the biggest mismangement that i have ever seen. You get a piece of land and have build towards a zoo that has a specie from every continant, from North America to Europe. Just in one plan they do the gut strike to something that has been slowly dieing out. To just say that everything that has been build from artica (that actually has european species that are very intresting and have historical value to the zoo) to the amazonica hall has no value or intrest anymore. No North or South America anymore, No australia anymore. I get that you want to perserve something that is a little more close to home. The even if there is no conservational value to those regions, which I think is just not true. If you see how much of the amazonion forrest is dissapearing. Then there is something that has bothered me alot, I think that people should get educated on every continant and its animals, with throwing that away the zoo wil miss something that has always been there. I get that the American project has failed. But Australia, North America and South America not being represented except for the Caribbean is a big letdown for me.
The african Jungle concept is cool, I don't think it can be done. They simpley don't have the money. If they do it, it needs to be a better version of leipzigs tropical hal with only African jungle species it wil be very cool. The thing is all the species that are mentioned need outside space. The crocodiles already have something great. I like the concept, I just don't see the point of building it there and not just use other space. to make new enclosures for the bongo, pygmy hippo, okapi and mangabey. Keeping the birds where they already are and just do it like that. The crocodille river and congo trail is my favorite part of the zoo and not that old
What is going to happen with al the space that isn't mentioned? If they actually don't use the whole of the rivierahall, then I just don't get why they didn't demolish it when they had the chance.... I get that the west wing is outdated even after the renovations of 2013 it is old. I just like to go to Blijdorp to see animals. If I want to meet people for events or food I would go somewhere else. Just give me one wing with birds, for the centre I want a pond with fish an a few terrariums and in the two small wings I want a dwarf croc for the left one and the one for the komodo dragons on the right one. On the west side I want to see a refurbished and nice enclosure for two or three African monkey species, the gorilla viewing hut for an African ungulated and the current section for the pygmy hippo and black rhino needs to be just for the pygmy hippo an maybe northern warthog.
Then again this is just a plan that they want to use until 2050. That is alot of time and alot can happen in that time. Heck I wil be 48 in that time and Eric wil be retired and other people wil be working at Blijdorp and maybe they want to persue other plans. Who knows what the future will hold for this zoo. I just hoped that they would stop cutting a huge amount of species and give bigger enclosures for the ones that need it and maybe let go of a few others to get some more space. Maybe use the space that isn't that big for some smaller intresting creatures that are maybe a little more unknown. Like the ones that are and were in the asia house like the rusty spotted cat, northern three shrew, northern dry zone slender loris or the balabac chevrotain. O yeah and maybe do something about al the empty enclosures that are in the zoo.
I wil always keep my year ticket for this zoo. I am excited for the future and a little sad to see the past slowly fades away. Man what do I love this zoo. For the ones that actually read this I hope you are happy in live and I appriciate you for reading this. You don't know how much that means to me. believe me alot. Thank you
However, I'm a bit sceptical about other things. The nature closeby gives no new or intresting enclosure or specie. They are also just casually throwing away their last australian animal because Australia can manages it own population and they have no conservational value. What about educational value. More on that later. I hope that they will give the Amur Leopard a new enclosure, I think this specie should stay in Blijdorp. Maybe in the Last resort area?
Asian Corridors is vague. Even more vague then the masterplan already is. They will keep the tiger, the langur and why are there butterflies on the picture? So just wait and hope for the best.
Himalayan peaks is just as vague without anything new. Just that they maybe keep the indian rhino? No new species or ideas.
The african plains is also very vague. Are they going to focus on a certain region or just the whole of africa? How much of the zoo are they going to use for the african plains? I just hope they don't use to much. Burgers and Beekse bergen are already doing it and doing it on a scale that I actually really like Blijdorp take on it, because it is just a bit different. Just don't use to much space for it. Since the African jungle is a thing I'm afraid that they will use the space for the red forrest buffalo, red river hog, okapi and the crocodiles. Just please don't do that.
The last resort also is an idea that I thought would be something for zoos. Just as the rest of them they are a big question mark on how they want to do this. Also a flexible group of enclosures sounds great, but WHERE? HOW MUCH MONEY? WHICH SPECIES? Nothing new accept a species that has been behind the scenes for years and two species that already are there. So I wonder what wil happen to the rest of the species? The otter wil probably go to the nature closeby. The rest is just not known, nothing about the fishing cat, nothing about the lion tailed macaque etc. Or the most importanted IMO the komodo dragon. PLEASE don't let the komodo dragon go.
Sustainable north sea doesn't sound like something new, they aren't even going to keep the flapper skate. Please keep the great barrier reaf, propably won't. But hey if that isn't worth conservating I don't know what is. The caribbean sea is already there so nothing really new there. only an expention to the gear barrier reaf. Only a big question mark on the pinguins, the tortoise, the maki's, the naturereservecentre, The old sea otter enclosure, the sea lion enclosure. Just one big question mark. I hope they change nothing on the oceanium, since i think it is almost perfect. I only mis an edition of more madagaskar species. Those enclosures could be placed on the grass where the outside of old swift fox enclosure is stil visible. For the rest keep your hands of please. I stil miss the old dessert
And then to the big suprise that isn't that big if you believed the recent rumours and have listened to a few interviews. This will be the biggest mismangement that i have ever seen. You get a piece of land and have build towards a zoo that has a specie from every continant, from North America to Europe. Just in one plan they do the gut strike to something that has been slowly dieing out. To just say that everything that has been build from artica (that actually has european species that are very intresting and have historical value to the zoo) to the amazonica hall has no value or intrest anymore. No North or South America anymore, No australia anymore. I get that you want to perserve something that is a little more close to home. The even if there is no conservational value to those regions, which I think is just not true. If you see how much of the amazonion forrest is dissapearing. Then there is something that has bothered me alot, I think that people should get educated on every continant and its animals, with throwing that away the zoo wil miss something that has always been there. I get that the American project has failed. But Australia, North America and South America not being represented except for the Caribbean is a big letdown for me.
The african Jungle concept is cool, I don't think it can be done. They simpley don't have the money. If they do it, it needs to be a better version of leipzigs tropical hal with only African jungle species it wil be very cool. The thing is all the species that are mentioned need outside space. The crocodiles already have something great. I like the concept, I just don't see the point of building it there and not just use other space. to make new enclosures for the bongo, pygmy hippo, okapi and mangabey. Keeping the birds where they already are and just do it like that. The crocodille river and congo trail is my favorite part of the zoo and not that old
What is going to happen with al the space that isn't mentioned? If they actually don't use the whole of the rivierahall, then I just don't get why they didn't demolish it when they had the chance.... I get that the west wing is outdated even after the renovations of 2013 it is old. I just like to go to Blijdorp to see animals. If I want to meet people for events or food I would go somewhere else. Just give me one wing with birds, for the centre I want a pond with fish an a few terrariums and in the two small wings I want a dwarf croc for the left one and the one for the komodo dragons on the right one. On the west side I want to see a refurbished and nice enclosure for two or three African monkey species, the gorilla viewing hut for an African ungulated and the current section for the pygmy hippo and black rhino needs to be just for the pygmy hippo an maybe northern warthog.
Then again this is just a plan that they want to use until 2050. That is alot of time and alot can happen in that time. Heck I wil be 48 in that time and Eric wil be retired and other people wil be working at Blijdorp and maybe they want to persue other plans. Who knows what the future will hold for this zoo. I just hoped that they would stop cutting a huge amount of species and give bigger enclosures for the ones that need it and maybe let go of a few others to get some more space. Maybe use the space that isn't that big for some smaller intresting creatures that are maybe a little more unknown. Like the ones that are and were in the asia house like the rusty spotted cat, northern three shrew, northern dry zone slender loris or the balabac chevrotain. O yeah and maybe do something about al the empty enclosures that are in the zoo.
I wil always keep my year ticket for this zoo. I am excited for the future and a little sad to see the past slowly fades away. Man what do I love this zoo. For the ones that actually read this I hope you are happy in live and I appriciate you for reading this. You don't know how much that means to me. believe me alot. Thank you