Odense Zoo Danish zoos

I have 10 days free from school from now on so I will send some e-mails around then :)

Ah, a question I can answer instantly ;).

Aalborg Zoo currently keeps the only scimitar horned oryx' in Denmark, and have a large breeding group. They don't have any addax at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that addax are on their wishlist.

The zoo's white rhinos, malayan tapirs and pygmy hippos all lived in the same house, in small and inadequate exhibits. The pygmy hippos have a new enclosure in the newest theme at the zoo, "The African Village", which is a fantastic series of enclosures. The old rhino/tapir/house was demolished to make way for the village. The tapirs will return sometime in the future, but the rhinos have left for good. Aalborg Zoo decided that they simply didn't have room for them. The world famous white rhino "Brutalis" also lived in Aalborg for a while.

I have a printed version of Aalborg Zoo's masterplan from 2000. It used to be available on their old website, but hasn't been transfered to their new one (which by the way is rubbish; Aalborg Zoo - Forside). Here are the main points from the masterplan, listed by expected date of completion, and a map of the zoo.

South America - New tropical house with indoor enclosures for the South American animals such as giant anteater and brown-headed spider monkey (completed 2004). Also a new aviary for flamingos and other birds (not done).
The African Village - New stables for the zebras, antelopes, ostriches and pygmy hippos living on the savannah. The visitors have access to the stables all year round. There are also free ranging goats within the village (completed 2006).
Sealions/penguins - New enclosures for patagonian sealions and humboldt penguins (both species are kept at the zoo today). This is the next big project in Aalborg Zoo, and will be placed where the camels, kangaroos and Children's Zoo is today.
Carnivores - The current enclosures for lions, amur tigers and Iranian leopards will be rebuilt and expanded. The leopards will move to where the emus are today, and the lions will be replaced with Asian lions, to make it an all-Asian theme.
Tropical House - The biggest project to date. A brand new tropical house 25 % the size of Burgers Bush with an Asian theme. Planned to hold orang-utans, malayan tapirs, some sort of asian crocodile and wrinkled hornbills, along with many other tropical Asian animals. To be built where the current tropical house and sealion/penguin exhibits are today (bordering The African Village).
Educational Centre - The old orang-utan house will be rebuilt as a new Education and Rescearch facilities.

Also planned are renovations and expansions for green vervet monkeys, elephants and brown bears.

Hope this is the info you were looking for ;)
 
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Thanks Toddy,

Seems like Aalborg Zoo is well on the way to being completely overhauled. Nice to know another zoo will try to hold on to Malayan tapirs, I feel they are undervalued in our zoos!

While writing my questions I forgot to ask you about the elephants. Aalborg Zoo kept 1.3 individuals, but the bull died recently. Anyhows, they did not breed at all. Do you know why they have not been successful?
 
A theory may be that they have all grown up together, so it's possible that they consider each other siblings. The bull Tempo and cows Bibi, Tanja and Mai all came from the same South African reserve in 1985, when they were only 2-3 years old. Tempo only lived 26 years, so he died young.
 
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Hi Toddy?

Can you tell something about Scandinavian wildlife park's polar bear enclosure? :)
 
Of course I can :)

The Polar bear-park is the largest enclosure in the huge Scandinavian Wild Animal Park. 1/3 of the enclosure is covered by water, while the rest is dirt covered by tall grass. The only decorations are rocks and wooden trunks, and yo will find no artificial rocks here. When standing on the walkway, the visitors look out across the lake, with a hill in the background. Behind that hill is an amphitheatre with several benches for the visitors to sit when the polar bears are fed. The keepers do a talk on the animals in Danish, while throwing various treats into the enclosure. This is a get way to see active animals. The only thing this enclosure is missing, is underwater viewing. Otherwise, it is probably the best polar bear enclosure I have seen. Not only is it huge, but it's a completely natural enviroment.

Here is a photo
 
Do you (or does anyone) have any photos which show the whole Polar bear enclosure?
 
Wow that looks really awesome
 
The first photo gives you the best overview of the enclosure. You can see the amphitheatre in the background, from where the third photo (feeding time) is taken.

The enclosure is about twice the size of what can be seen in the first picture, stretching behind and to the left of the picture. The polar bears are viewed from a wooden bridge going right through the enclosure.
 
When does that new house open?
 
Exclusive Elephant Photos

@Susan Humphreys: Sir Norman Foster is the very reason this house is to famous

@ashley-h: The new house opens on June 10th.

Here are a few exclusive photos from the new house as it looks now. These are some of the "staff-privileges" i enjoy. The elephants have all moved in, and are enjoying their new indoor facilities. The elephants almost have as much space indoors now, as they did in the old enclosure (indoors and outdoors combined).

The glass dome


The females


The female enclosure


Elephants enjoying themselves
 
More photos...

The females seen from above


The bull Chieng Mai


The outdoor enclosure


The link between the males and females + visitor pathway
 
How did they transport them to the house in the first place?
They seem to have settled in well, when will they have access to the outside paddocks?
Also what will happen to the old elephant house now?
 
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They used two massive transport-crates that can still be seen at the zoo. A closed one for the old bull and and open one for the females and young bull. The house has it's own road leading up to it from the outer wall of the zoo, so the elephants were driven out of the zoo through Gate 3, and the back in through the Elephant Gate.

I asume they will be let outside once the house opens, or perhaps later this summer.

@kiang: Thanks :)
 
WOW nice new enclosures. Such a change from the old house, and a big change for Cheing Mai...in the old place for over 40 years!!

I think the old house is going to be kept, as its so old and to show visitors how they used to live - i don't know why they would want to mind you!! i may be wrong though.
 
Chieng Mai actually lived in the old house for 47 years :eek:. He turns 50 next year :D

The old house is going to stay. It is an historical building, nearly 100 years old. It is either going to be used as a museum or a restaurant, but it's days of holding live animals are numbered. The three babirusa/pig hybrids still live there.

What I like the best about the new house is the glass domes. They give the elephants much more light indoors than ever before, and it just gives the house a nice feel to it.
 
Today Aalborg Zoo recieved a new male polar bear to join their two females, Victoria (11) and Malik (7). The new male in question is Felix (7), the former breeding male in Nürnberg Zoo and father of the famous Flocke (Knut 2). Neither of the females have ever been mated, so their offspring would be very valuable.

@jelle: I got a reply from Knuthenborg about their 1.2 onagers. Their male is from Hagenbeck, the adult female is from Whipsnade and the other female is a foal born at Knuthenborg last year. Still waiting to hear from Ree Park.
 
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