Mega zoo tour at Netherlands

[TeaLovingDave]

As well as Vogelpark Marlow, Ozeaneum Stralsund, Wildpark MV, Heimattierpark Greifswald and Kamelhof Sternberger Hof.

Indeed - a few collections I have never heard of before in that lot (Wildpark MV and Kamelhof Sternberger Hof) but as you know I've always been quite interested in visiting little places which Zoochatters seldom visit or talk about!

I'd also have to revisit Timmendorfer Strand, which appears to be almost exactly the same distance from Rostock as your place does

 

[Batto]

Wildpark MV does a great job focusing on native species and visitor education.

Kamelhof Sternberger Hof offers an interesting mix of activities such as moderated safari rides into the enclosures of camelids, moose, water buffalo, American bison etc., hiking with camels, wolves hybrids, llamas or reindeer and on-site youth hostel-style accommodation right next to a canoe . The owner is a larger-than-life person full of energy and ideas.
Kamelhof Sternbergerburg - Home

Timmendorfer Strand offers the bird park and a Sealife Center, but if you're already in that part of Schleswig-Holstein and have a car, I'd rather recommend you to visit Wildpark Eekholt and Haus- und Nutztierpark Warder instead.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Sadly I don't drive which is one reason why I didn't visit Eekholt in 2016 when I was visiting Schleswig-Holstein and Niedersachsen.

So many collections, so little time - even with the choice somewhat limited by the need to rely on public transport!

 

[Batto]

I'm somehow surprised about the number of ZooChatters who do not drive. Apparently, you neither live on the countryside, have kids nor own larger animals.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Or have fully-functioning depth perception

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

Or have fully-functioning depth perception

Note that my depth perception is quite limited too, but as you know, driving is not a problem for me!

 

[aim_foliksta]

aim_foliksta, yes is a shame that we can't meet here! My trip was announced here in Zoochat since many months ago, is a shame that you just saw it too late - otherwise we could have match dates for travel together.

I was offline for many time and I only checked the Netherlands forum once I was back from my trip, looking for some info/photos about Artis.

I see that you also had to face with some bad weather. I think that we are used to have too much sunny weather where we live One of the good points of Burgers’ Zoo is that you can visit it even on rainy day and you’ll not miss many animals because weather problems as many areas of the zoo are indoors (I visited it during a thunderstorm and I was able to see almost all I wanted)

Which zoo did you liked the most? (not in terms of species you wanted to see, in general)

 

[Kakapo]

Which zoo did you liked the most? (not in terms of species you wanted to see, in general)

Certainly the zoo I liked most not counting the species, is Pairi Daiza. That's why is the most expensive of the list

Yes, bad weather would have been not much a problem in Artis, but it caught me in Zie-zoo and Apenheul instead. And in these places, really can be a problem for see the animals! (as happened to me).

And talking about Apenheul, it also qualifies as a unique zoo! A zoo that is totally covered in native forest and have almost no areas with clear sky visible under the dense canopy, plus is specialized in monkeys and have free-ranging species not usually used for free-ranging, it's certainly unique

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

Certainly the zoo I liked most not counting the species, is Pairi Daiza. That's why is the most expensive of the list

That's kind of... unexpected. Not a bad choice in any way, just not what I expected. I would be interested to know why you rate Pairi Daiza so high.

And talking about Apenheul, it also qualifies as a unique zoo!

Good to hear you enjoyed Apenheul. Though not extremely large, it among the very best the Dutch zoo landscape has to offer.

 

[Kakapo]

That's kind of... unexpected. Not a bad choice in any way, just not what I expected. I would be interested to know why you rate Pairi Daiza so high..

Well, they asked me which zoo I like most not counting the animals. And the zoo that have a more complete setting of non-animal things, most amazing exhibits, shows, etc is of course Pairi Daiza, so it's a bit of predictable.

Maybe the next most liked zoo was Best-zoo by the sensation of homemade, familiar and kindkess while being able to keeping a lot of rare species and perfectly adequate enclosures.

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

And the zoo that have a more complete setting of non-animal things, most amazing exhibits, shows, etc is of course Pairi Daiza, so it's a bit of predictable.

Not so predictable if you ask me (read for comparison the recent reviews of the zoo by @lintworm and myself, found here and here). The exhibits are good (from a visitor perspective), but I would say that Burgers' or Apenheul for example, have equally good or even better exhibits, though with a very different concept. The gardens are very well kept in Pairi Daiza (with the tree-fern garden being the highlight), but for example Burgers' or Rotterdam also have integrated a botanical collection within their zoos, and I wouldn't say PD's is necessarily better than those. And don't get me started on animal welfare.

perfectly adequate enclosures.

Not really how I would describe them. Some are good, some are adequate, some are just acceptable and some are downright unacceptable.

 

[Kakapo]

The best exhibits are those of Burgers (in particular the Bush and Mangrove), but nobody asked me about what exhibit I liked most, but about which zoo I liked most. The gardens are certainly not a thing that make me think in Pairi Daiza as the zoo that I liked most. The tree fern garden certainly didn't impressed me at all, is just a forest of Dicksonia antarctica, half of which are dead, with just tasmanian devils at one side and a cassowary at the other side. Certainly the nearby Australian walkthrough aviary is by far much more impressing than the tree fern forest! With the tame galahs and rosellas and the red soil that makes a much more Australian feeling. The botanical collection in Burger's Bush impressed me a lot and I got a lot of photos of rare plants (I already commented about this point in my review), but nobody asked me which zoo have the best botanical representation, but which zoo I liked most as a whole. I highly doubt that Pairi Daiza staff run into animal abuse, that would be the only thing that could make animal welfare not perfect here. I can't judge Rotterdam zoo without visit it. About BestZoo, all enclosures are adequate to good. There are no just acceptable and for sure absoluely no unacceptable enclosures (except if you count the behind the scenes exhibits, that I don't saw and hence I don't know how they are). The only enclosure that caught my attention by the barren and theorical not good lookin is the tamandua building, but knowing the breeding success of tamanduas in this zoo, then for sure is an adequate enclosure - otherwise tamanduas would not breed here.

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

The best exhibits are those of Burgers (in particular the Bush and Mangrove), but nobody asked me about what exhibit I liked most, but about which zoo I liked most.

The botanical collection in Burger's Bush impressed me a lot and I got a lot of photos of rare plants (I already commented about this point in my review), but nobody asked me which zoo have the best botanical representation, but which zoo I liked most as a whole.

I was merely giving examples of factors that could influence one's appreciation of a zoo. I was wondering which factors influenced your decision to rate PD so high.

I highly doubt that Pairi Daiza staff run into animal abuse, that would be the only thing that could make animal welfare not perfect here.

I did come across too harsh, but I hope you understand that there's a whole range between "no abuse" and "perfect welfare."

About BestZoo, all enclosures are adequate to good. There are no just acceptable and for sure absoluely no unacceptable enclosures

The big cats for example have enclosures that I would call barely acceptable or even unacceptable given the number of leopards they have. And instead of reducing the number of animals, only more cats have arrived or were born in recent years. They are certainly not hell-holes but I can't really call them adequate either.

I can't judge Rotterdam zoo without visit it.

Sorry, my mistake.

 

[Kakapo]

The leopards and jaguars (there are the only species of big cats here) have perfectly adequate enclosures, tough is true that I passed almost no time looking at the enclosures. Maybe the medium cats are in a slightly worst situation (lynx and serval) with long but narrow enclosures, but also not surpass the fronter of "unadequate". Lynx and serval have a dense vegetation while leopard and jaguar not, but the vegetation inside the enclosure is not a need for their welfare. The fact of that more leopards born indicates just that the enclosure is adequate - otherwise they would not breed or would do very occasionally.

 

[Shorts]

The leopards and jaguars (there are the only species of big cats here) have perfectly adequate enclosures, tough is true that I passed almost no time looking at the enclosures.

I've got no problem with the big cat enclosures, their size is similar to a lot of other zoos I've seen.

Maybe the medium cats are in a slightly worst situation (lynx and serval) with long but narrow enclosures, but also not surpass the fronter of "unadequate". Lynx and serval have a dense vegetation while leopard and jaguar not, but the vegetation inside the enclosure is not a need for their welfare.

Personally, I think the enclosures for these cats, especially the lynx, are too small and I'd hope they move to smaller species when the current inhabitants depart/die.

The fact of that more leopards born indicates just that the enclosure is adequate - otherwise they would not breed or would do very occasionally.

Whilst I don't have a problem with the enclosures I'd have to refute the often repeated claim that just because an animal breeds their enclosures are adequate. Animals have been known to breed in truly appalling enclosures (as well as not breeding in some truly great ones ) -lions used to frequently breed in (tiny) beast wagons in the days of travelling menageries.

Finally, what did you think of the truly unique Binturong "enclosure" at Best?

 

[aim_foliksta]

The fact of that more leopards born indicates just that the enclosure is adequate - otherwise they would not breed or would do very occasionally.

That just makes me think about the orangutans at Barcelona Zoo on its former enclosure. They breed many times, but that was by far the worst orangutan exhibit I ever seen

 

[AWP]

Oh, AWP, I had not a bad trip! I'm a positive person and hence I always felt the balance as positive. It's sad that you perceive these messages as so quite negative! It's not a negative report, but a neutral one. I just had bad luck with many issues in transports, moneys, delays or weather, but I also mention how I solved each problem so these solved problems are positive. And not to forget other very positive things I mentioned, for example the meeting with the beautiful person that is vogelcommando! Or the kindness of my hosters or the persons that guided me in some way

If is the list of not seen species what makes you perceive the message as negative, there are two reasons for put these lists here instead the list of seen species: first, the list of seen species would be muuuuuuch longer, and hence more tiring to write and to read, and second, the seen species will be added after to my list in the List of Species Seen post, and the photographed ones will go to the Gallery (be patient, this will take a long time). So it would be redundant. But if anyway you want a list of the species seen in a particular zoo of the ones that I've visited, I would be enchanted to send it to you by PM, you choose if alphabetically, taxonomically or chronologically. (I already have the lists handwriten, so it will not be difficult for me)

Thanks for the clarification. Good to hear that you had a good trip. No further lists are needed, just all the photos you added to the galleries up to now, including rarities I guess you made the trip to the Netherlands for like spotted skunk, scrub wallaby, sifaka etc.

I do agree with you that at least in some areas of the Artis Aquarium signages are quite worse and/or out dated.

 

[Kakapo]

I do agree with you that at least in some areas of the Artis Aquarium signages are quite worse and/or out dated.

Just this morning I was uploading the bad signage of the fossil and some unsigned fishes for ID, that just come to demonstrate what I said.