Pakawi Park Olmense Zoo News

Visited this zoo yesterday and after the stories about the closing by the government I was worried about what to find.
There was some construction work going on. But still it's quiet outdated at many places.
- Chimpansee were in a very poor exhibit
- Stuffed animal collection could need a big clean and the skulls some rearangements as there were parts all over the place and several stuck between the shelfs of the cabinet and door.
- I walked thru a walk thru aviary and got outsider to find out I was in an area I wasn't suppose to be. Not a terrible thing but still weird.
- Pair of white lions had a small enclosure
- I am no lion expert, but I expect it is not ideal to have a pair of lions directly besides a lone male lion and only have fence in between. I must say they roared a lot what is quiet a spectacle.
- The windows from the lynx exhibit were so scrathed it was difficult to have a decent look at the animals
- The individual kept panter (previous partner of Malik) was highly focused on all the dogs walking around. As I am no expert on this issue I wonder if it is a stress factor or a form of enrichment for the animal?
- In general the aviaries were spacious.
- The tropical hall was good.
- The bear and wolve enclosures were spacious.
- Some cranes were breeding and trying to get the visitors who came close to the enclosure.
- I think the entrance fee of € 22,- (in summer) is not in balance with the general condition of the zoo. I hope this money will be spend well in the near future for new developments and improvements.
 
vogelcommando said:
On Jan. 1 2 leopards were born at Pakawi Park ( the new name of the Olmense Zoo ). The young are so far raised by the mother - which is quite unusual for this park ).
Article ( in Dutch ) with video :
Pakawi Park verwelkomt twee panterwelpjes
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I believe they are no longer allowed (or at least strongly discouraged) to hand raise big cat cubs. That was one of the things they got into trouble with in 2017 and one of the grounds the minister of animal welfare used to motivate the temporary closure.

Unfortunately sad news came from Pakawi Park (formerly the Olmense Zoo) as well. 19-year old white tigress Curry (the grandmother of Paka and Awi, born at Mondo Verde but now living at Pakawi Park, and in fact named after it) had to be euthanized as her quality of life could no longer be maintained. She was euthanized with all her keepers present.
Pakawi Park Facebook post
 
Hi,
Can anyone confirm that KARU (Snow leopard) and his mate (I ignore the name) died recently ?
I knew KARU at Le Parc des Félins.
Thanks in advance.
 
Both snowleopards have indeed been put down recently. I'm not sure of the exact cause, but it's assumed it was due to old age and the associated health problems.

When I last visited (June 2019), the zoo still had clouded leopards on-display. I assume this is still the case.
 
Penshet said:
Both snowleopards have indeed been put down recently. I'm not sure of the exact cause, but it's assumed it was due to old age and the associated health problems.

When I last visited (June 2019), the zoo still had clouded leopards on-display. I assume this is still the case.
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Do you know what is their history or how much are they?
 
2 black panthers from a German zoo that were going to be moved to China, have found a permanent home at the zoo. They are siblings and were born on 2019.

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95055968_10158597105639349_3999497314384216064_o.jpg



4 baby hedgehogs? Were born to an albino mother on April 18th.
 
The addition of 2 black coloration "mixed" leopard does not exactly warm my heart! Especially, now that both elderly snow leopard have been put down.

I wonder why the destination in China suddenly went away (Corona block?)?!??
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
The addition of 2 black coloration "mixed" leopard does not exactly warm my heart! Especially, now that both elderly snow leopard have been put down.

I wonder why the destination in China suddenly went away (Corona block?)?!??
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The zoo said that they were accepted because of the death of many big cats at the zoo.
 
Jungle Man said:
The zoo said that they were accepted because of the death of many big cats at the zoo.
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Not exactly a flying colours curatorial visionary decision. Also very much in contrast as to what in year(s) past Pakawi with the new name promised to overhaul and depart from the outdated old school roadside zoo management. A modern-day-age zoo should be making decisions based upon educational or conservation value of a species not on ... what is a la carte on the market!
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Not exactly a flying colours curatorial visionary decision. Also very much in contrast as to what in year(s) past Pakawi with the new name promised to overhaul and depart from the outdated old school roadside zoo management. A modern-day-age zoo should be making decisions based upon educational or conservation value of a species not on ... what is a la carte on the market!
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Exactly. They could have accepted an endangered species rather than a specie attractive to visitors.
 
I visited Pakawi Park today.

Unfortunately the visit turned into a negative and anxious experience for me, and therefore this post will not be about pleasant animal and exhibit-related developments.

The only thing that I will say for now with regards to animals and exhibits is that they have reopened the tropical hall and the reptile corridor underneath it, which were originally kept closed when the zoo reopened about a month ago. Other indoor spaces like the museum spaces and the petting zoo building however remained closed. The restaurant operated only as a take-away, and food and drinks were only able to be consumed at tables or on benches in the outdoor terrace area.

Unlike at Antwerp and Planckendael, where the coronavirus social distancing measures were not perfectly observed or enforced but still somewhat well respected, at Pakawi Park the social distancing rules were broken on a massive scale, and some of the things I saw were pretty shocking from an epidemiological point of view.

The majority of the visitors did not observe the 1.5 meter social distancing safety distance, I saw at least one group of more than 10 visitors from different families together, which is not allowed, and where one way traffic had been instated, such as around the savanna and the bear and wolf exhibits, that rule was broken on a massive scale and large numbers of people were walking in the wrong direction, making it impossible to maintain social distancing on the narrow walkway above the wolf and bear exhibits.

The way the zoo implemented the coronavirus measures to me seemed quite amateurish, rather lax and not particularly well done. There were no hand disinfection stations, just one hand washing station of which half was already broken. The signage with the measures was in my opinion too small and too few in number. The one way traffic areas were not indicated clearly or sufficiently at all, making it much easier to break that rule. There was no mandatory face mask wearing anywhere (just a recommendation, which very few people observed), not even in the indoor areas. The only area where I found the coronavirus measures to have been implemented pretty well was in the take-away area just outside and the restroom area in the restaurant building.

What I saw was very concerning in this time when the extremely dangerous and highly infectious coronavirus is still actively circulating, even if it is true that the virus spreads far less easily outdoors (which I don't believe is a certainty anyway), and this is absolutely not how things should be right now. This could get Pakawi Park and potentially all Belgium zoos in big trouble again, especially if it were to be proven infections happened at a zoo. The situation I saw was highly unsafe and irresponsible.

While observation and enforcement of the coronavirus measures was not perfect at Antwerp and Planckendael, things were a lot better and a lot less concerning there.

I am still too stressed right now to do an animal and exhibit update on Pakawi Park, but there is a chance I might still do that in the near future. However with regards to the pictures I took today I have already decided that I am not going to post any of those - and I probably am not even going to look at them at all. This is not a visit I desire to remember.

Today's visit was so disconcerting and stressful - including me having a bit of a meltdown at some point during the visit - that I have already made the decision that I am almost certainly not going to visit zoos anymore until this coronavirus crisis is over (which will likely be year or more) as it just gives me too much stress and anxiety under these circumstances. And I am definitely going to cancel my planned and booked visit to Antwerp next Sunday. I will no longer able to feel safe and comfortable at the zoo for the time being after what I saw today.
 
KevinB said:
A new male yellow-cheeked gibbon, named Joey Junior, has arrived and been introduced to the female Phoebe, and they can now be seen outdoors. He replaces the previous male (Joey) who died of old age.

Pakawi Park - Olmense Zoo

Last week the gibbons were still off-show.
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Joey was not a yellow-cheeked but actually a white-cheeked. One of the two was meant as company for the other one, but for obvious reasons they were never allowed to breed. Maybe this will change now if the female is not too old.
 
Jarne said:
Joey was not a yellow-cheeked but actually a white-cheeked. One of the two was meant as company for the other one, but for obvious reasons they were never allowed to breed. Maybe this will change now if the female is not too old.
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The new female is a white-cheeked too?
 
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