European (Tea)Cup - League B - Copenhagen vs Antwerp & Planckendael

Copenhagen vs Antwerp & Planckendael - TROPICAL FORESTS

  • Copenhagen 5/0 Antwerp & Planckendael

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Copenhagen 4/1 Antwerp & Planckendael

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Copenhagen 3/2 Antwerp & Planckendael

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Antwerp & Planckendael 3/2 Copenhagen

    Votes: 14 63.6%

  • Antwerp & Planckendael 4/1 Copenhagen

    Votes: 8 36.4%

  • Antwerp & Planckendael 5/0 Copenhagen

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    22
  • Poll closed .
TeaLovingDave

TeaLovingDave

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
Our contenders this time round have each seen success and failure within the Cup thus far, and as it stands both have a decent chance of progression - but both very much need another win to solidify their chances further. The category at hand which will grant one contender this much-desired advantage is pretty broad and open to interpretation, and familiar at this point - TROPICAL FORESTS.
 
This seems a pretty clear 4-1 for Antwerp & Planckendael for me. Looking at what Copenhagen has its almost all contained in there tropical house with just a handful of species outside (malayan tapir & okapi, both of which are at Antwerp). The Chimpanzees are still indoors only as I understand it which for me is definitely a major knock against the institution. Additionally Asian Elephant should count, although Copenhagens exhibit is not on the level of Planckendael in my eyes, although far better than Antwerps.

Planckendael & Antwerp meanwhile have nice exhibits for all four kinds of great apes. They even have the only Eastern lowland gorilla outside of Africa to my knowledge. Antwerps bird house and reptile house have a nice variety of tropical rainforest species. Additionally the zoo has exhibits for malayan tapir, okapi, and bongo which should all qualify. Planckendael has a few more species that meet this criteria, meaning it in my view has the larger species list and superior exhibit quality to Copenhagen. I’m open to 3-2 I would say, but I have yet to see what Copenhagen really has to offer in this category.
 
Both players have their strengths here, but the long tradition of the Belgium zoos of working with species from African tropics will ecco in this game.

The Bonobo Expedition at Plankandael, who is running for the best exhibit in Europe, and the Antwerp' Okapi historical success are probably the two brightest examples.

Primate collection is one of the strongest arguments in general with the the new Orangutan Tropical "greenhouse" in Mehelen and Great Ape house at Antwerp, home of the most famous Gorilla.

Antwerp' Bird and Reptile houses, Bongo, Congo Peafowl, Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroo - the list is long.


Copenhagen has the better Tropical house in my opinion, but the difficult Chimpanzee situation doesn't help. They are Studbook holder of the species and their indoor exhibit is quite good, tho.

Okapi/Red Duiker and Congo Peafowl exhibits also deserve mention, but I am not sure if this is going to be enough for 2 points.

I will start with 3-2, but 4-1 is possible scenario.
 
twilighter said:
The Bonobo Expedition at Plankandael, who is running for the best exhibit in Europe, and the Antwerp' Okapi historical success are probably the two brightest examples.

Primate collection is one of the strongest arguments in general with the the new Orangutan Tropical "greenhouse" in Mehelen and Great Ape house at Antwerp, home of the most famous Gorilla.

Antwerp' Bird and Reptile houses, Bongo, Congo Peafowl, Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroo - the list is long.

I will start with 3-2, but 4-1 is possible scenario.
Click to expand...

I would definitely vote 4-1 for Antwerp and Planckendael, as you have already pointed out numerous fantastic exhibits at those two Belgian zoos. Bonobos at Planckendael is world-class and the new Orangutan exhibit there appears to be excellent. Antwerp has a nice Gorilla and Chimpanzee complex as well as a number of other terrific exhibits and buildings that could all be counted under the 'Tropical Forests' title.

Copenhagen keeping all those Chimpanzees indoors 24/7 without any outside access was a major shock for me when I visited in 2022 and is a serious black mark against the zoo. I don't even know if there's another zoo in the world keeping a troop of chimps inside like that. Part of me, for the very first time in this competition, is actually tempted to vote 5-0 for the Belgian zoos but Copenhagen's Tropical House is very nice (apart from the chimps) and so I will give them a point for that. This should really be a decision between 5-0 or 4-1.
 
snowleopard said:
Copenhagen keeping all those Chimpanzees indoors 24/7 without any outside access was a major shock for me when I visited in 2022 and is a serious black mark against the zoo. I don't even know if there's another zoo in the world keeping a troop of chimps inside like that. Part of me, for the very first time in this competition, is actually tempted to vote 5-0 for the Belgian zoos but Copenhagen's Tropical House is very nice (apart from the chimps) and so I will give them a point for that. This should really be a decision between 5-0 or 4-1.
Click to expand...
I think Antwerp currently keeps their chimps inside too because of renovations to the outdoor enclosure. Currently, all climbing structures outside have been removed too.
 
twilighter said:
I saw a Tik Tok video of the new outdoor Chimpanzee habitat at Copenhagen and it looks very promising :)
Click to expand...
While it's far from the biggest outdoor area I've seen, it'll be a great addition and I'm hoping the chimps will enjoy it a lot! I'm very happy it is netted and doesn't include a moat. I'll see if I can share some pictures of it when I visit later this week, I thought someone had already uploaded it to the gallery but couldn't find it.
 
GamerGorilla said:
While it's far from the biggest outdoor area I've seen, it'll be a great addition and I'm hoping the chimps will enjoy it a lot! I'm very happy it is netted and doesn't include a moat. I'll see if I can share some pictures of it when I visit later this week, I thought someone had already uploaded it to the gallery but couldn't find it.
Click to expand...

You are right, there's picture from the unfinished exhibit. Looking forward to your new photos!

Work on Chimpanzee outdoor exhibit 261124

Work on Chimpanzee outdoor exhibit 261124

 
Bit of a quiet one this time round - any further arguments for the relative merits of Copenhagen, and anyone else willing to cast their vote? Remember that even if things seem pretty clear-cut, the reliability of the final result is improved by a larger overall sample!
 
Maybe not for Copenhagen, but not mentioned yet here is the aquarium at Antwerp, that also offers some tropical freshwater tanks.

Probably this is the best suited category for the two KMDA zoos.
 
A pretty obvious result, but still a worthwhile match:

Copenhagen - 36/110 points - 32.727%
Antwerp & Planckendael - 74/110 points - 67.273%
.
 
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