Orangutan encounters, other encounters, or great experiences in Europe

[OrangutanEnthusiast]

I'm excited to make my first two posts on ZooChat today! These forums have been an immense wealth of information for me, and I'm grateful to everyone who has shared their experiences. I recently did the Orangutan Family Fun Encounter at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA), and had the absolute time of my life! I just posted an in-depth review of the encounter on ZooChat.

I am going to be in Europe in October, and I'm looking for any orangutan encounters that you all may know about. I'm ideally after a private or semi-private experience, where you get to go behind the scenes to view or interact with some orangutans. I am open to traveling anywhere in Europe, and I'm happy to pay up to 500 Euro for this special privilege. I am also open to encounters with other animals, especially primates, if anyone has good recommendations.

The orangutan encounters that I have been able to find so far are at the Dudley Zoo, Chester Zoo, and Twycross Zoo in the UK and the Jersey Zoo. Other zoos or facilities that look interesting but don't offer encounters include the free roaming primates at Apenheul in the Netherlands, the wild Barbary Macaques in Gibraltar, and Monkey World in the UK. I've seen several zoos with semi-private guided tours, but I was hoping to find something more primate focused than a full zoo tour. I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions from fellow ZooChatters in Europe. Many thanks!

 

[GorillaBoy]

Port Lympne in Kent offers Orangutan Encounters.

Animal Encounters

 

[OrangutanEnthusiast]

Thanks for this reply GorillaBoy! Port Lympne looks like a beautiful place, and the Truck Safari sounds like it would be a lot of fun too. Seems like the UK certainly has no shortage of orangutan encounters!

 

[Lafone]

I can't speak to personal experience so someone else may have more information, but a colleague at work did the orangutan experience at Dudley with her mum for a significant birthday and said it was brilliant - good information from the keepers and the opportunity to see both the orangutan family with the youngsters and the lone male up close (with the same rules as in the encounter you wrote about already) and offer them a drink (the orangutans obviously only get something if they want it).

In terms of zoos Dudley is a great place to visit, though if you were only doing one place in the UK, Chester has more to see, is fantastic and makes the number one UK zoo slot of many zoochatters. Of course if you are doing a trip you might do a few zoos anyway!

Someone may post about the Chester experience (Chester also have two orangutan groups)

I'd also mention Trentham monkey forest which has 140 free roaming macaques in UK, not something to travel from the US for specifically, but worth considering for a visit if you were around. They also offer experiences, feeding the macaques before general opening hours. I haven't done that, but I have visited and it is a lovely spot.

 

[Mr Gharial]

Other zoos or facilities that look interesting but don't offer encounters include the free roaming primates at Apenheul in the Netherlands, (...).
I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions from fellow ZooChatters in Europe. Many thanks!

A lot of parks in the Netherlands have walkthrough islands with monkeys, although admittedly none as many as Apenheul.
Apenheul walkthroughs:
Bolivian squirrel monkeys, New world monkeys (White-faced saki, Silvery marmoset, Golden-headed lion tamarin and Coppery titi), Lemurs (Red-ruffed, Black-and-white ruffed, Crowned, Ring-tailed and Red-bellied), Barbary macaques, New world monkeys again (White-faced saki, Venezuelan red howler, Bearded emperor tamarin), Grey-handed night monkeys (joined by sloths), Bengal grey langurs, and a final walkthrough with King colobus and Northern talapoin.

Other walkthroughs in Dutch parks, although none as impressive as Apenheul if you're interested in primates, of course:
- Mixed lemur walkthroughs in Aquazoo Leeuwarden, Wildlands, Pantropica, Artis, Overloon, Beekse Bergen and Avifauna
- Mixed tamarin walkthroughs in Wildlands, Pantropica, Overloon and Avifauna
- Night monkey walkthroughs in Amersfoort and Artis
- Squirrel monkey walkthrough in GaiaZOO and Wildlands

Some primate standouts:
- some very good ape exhibits in Beekse Bergen, as well as a pretty cool habitat that mixes Baboons and Elephants.
- Amersfoort's Nocturnal house with various free-roaming nocturnal animals, including Night-monkeys, Sloths, Woylies and Agoutis. Amersfoort also has a lemur walkthrough with some very friendly lemurs who will sit on your shoulder if you sit down in the walkthrough.
- Another elephant/primate mix in Dierenrijk (now Zoo Eindhoven).
- GaiaZOO has some great all-round primate exhibits, especially a great Gorilla habitat as well as a pretty big Squirrel monkey forest.

Opposite of a standout: Ouwehands. This is the only other Dutch zoo besides Apenheul with Orangutans, but I'd personally treat Ouwehands as a non-visit. Quite a lot of bad exhibits in the zoo, as well as bad direction.

Although I'm usually all for visiting zoos outside of Summer vacation, it does mean you missed some of the Apenheul events. They don't ever do true interactions, but I know they do "Orangutan yoga" sometimes, where you can do yoga in the Orangutan indoor viewing point. Apparently the Orangutans are very interested and it doubles as enrichment for the Orangs.

Unfortunately I don't know much about zoos outside the Netherlands. But I'd also suggest Planckendael with their impressive, newly renovated Orangutan greenhouse.

Either way, whatever Dutch zoos you end up visiting, feel free to contact me so I can send you my Dutch (or Belgian) Zoo Guides

 

[OrangutanEnthusiast]

Someone may post about the Chester experience (Chester also have two orangutan groups)

I'd also mention Trentham monkey forest which has 140 free roaming macaques in UK.

Thank you for this reply Lafone! The Chester Zoo does sound like a real highlight in the UK. I noticed that it often wins the top spot on polls here on ZooChat. I didn't realize that they had two separate orangutan groups, so I appreciate your sharing that! I also had not heard of the Trentham monkey forest. That looks like a great experience as well. I haven't ever been to a zoo with free roaming primates, but that's definitely a bucket list item for me!

A lot of parks in the Netherlands have walkthrough islands with monkeys, although admittedly none as many as Apenheul.

I know they do "Orangutan yoga" sometimes, where you can do yoga in the Orangutan indoor viewing point. Apparently the Orangutans are very interested and it doubles as enrichment for the Orangs.

Either way, whatever Dutch zoos you end up visiting, feel free to contact me so I can send you my Dutch (or Belgian) Zoo Guides

Thank you for such a detailed response Mr Gharial! I appreciate your sharing your insights about zoos that have great primate experiences all over the Netherlands. Apenheul really does sounds wonderful. The thought of doing yoga as some curious orangutans watch made me smile. Who knows what they must be thinking! If I decide on a zoo in the Netherlands, I will absolutely reach out and take you up on your kind offer of sharing your Zoo Guides from a local ZooChatter.

 

[OrangutanEnthusiast]

Apenheul

Hello Mr Gharial!

I'm seriously considering Apenheul, and I thought I would reach out and ask if you might be able to answer some questions that I have. I'm thrilled to be connecting with someone local and knowledgeable about Apenheul through ZooChat. I don't think I have access to private messages as a new member yet, so I am posting here because I'm not sure how else to contact you and I hope this information will also be helpful to other readers.

1. Do you think it will still be a good experience on October 15th? Not too cold for the primates to be out and about?
2. What is Apenheul like when it's raining? I can't foresee the rain of course, but I'm curious to hear your opinion if you've been when it was raining!
3. Should I expect any monkeys to climb or jump on me? That would be a dream come true, and I'm curious how likely you think that may be.
4. I've watched several videos and think I have a good idea what to expect about the orangutan enclosure there, but please share any other details about the orangutans if you have any thoughts.

Please feel free to share any other information that you think I might be interested in. I unfortunately won't be in town when they're offering Yoga with the Orangutans, but a video I found of it looked absolutely adorable - thanks for mentioning that. If you would also be willing to share your Zoo Guide, that would also be terrific! If you're able to send me a PM with your email, I can reply to you that way.

Truly thank you so much,
OrangutanEnthusiast

 

[Mr Gharial]

Hello Mr Gharial!

I'm seriously considering Apenheul, and I thought I would reach out and ask if you might be able to answer some questions that I have. I'm thrilled to be connecting with someone local and knowledgeable about Apenheul through ZooChat. I don't think I have access to private messages as a new member yet, so I am posting here because I'm not sure how else to contact you and I hope this information will also be helpful to other readers.

When clicking on a person's profile, you should get five options:
"Profile page, Media page, Start a conversation, Follow, Ignore"
By pressing "start a conversation", you get a private conversation going, although I'm not sure what it looks like to new viewers.

1. Do you think it will still be a good experience on October 15th? Not too cold for the primates to be out and about?

Apenheul closes its doors during the winter, starting November tenth because that's the point where the primates essentially refuse to go outside. It's currently still pretty warm here (at least, for September), so the monkeys should still be out and about. Although there is a good chance that the tortoises will be restricted into their indoor enclosures.
Both the Herbal forest and African flooded forest walkthrough areas usually have outdoor enclosures for the tortoises, but during my visit last week they were all inside despite having outdoor access, there's a good chance they won't be allowed outside at all in Oktober.

2. What is Apenheul like when it's raining? I can't foresee the rain of course, but I'm curious to hear your opinion if you've been when it was raining!

Unfortunately, the monkeys really hate rain. Almost all the enclosures offer a good view into the indoor enclosure (All except for the Langurs, Barbary macaques, the Treetop path walkthrough area, the Spider monkeys and the Black howlers and Capuchin enclosures).

The lemur forest has no visible indoor enclosure, but that enclosure has a small, themed village. Both visitors and the lemurs can go inside the little houses, so that's where they're usually found if it rains.

3. Should I expect any monkeys to climb or jump on me? That would be a dream come true, and I'm curious how likely you think that may be.

The lemurs are a lot more shy than they are in Amersfoort, but the Squirrel monkeys in the first walkthrough are pretty much guaranteed to sit on you if you sit down in their enclosure.

4. I've watched several videos and think I have a good idea what to expect about the orangutan enclosure there, but please share any other details about the orangutans if you have any thoughts.

Not much to add, the viewing into the habitats is very good as you can see it from multiple levels and the indoor viewing area is quite nicely designed too. There is also a keeper talk every day at 13:00 so I suggest going to that .

Please feel free to share any other information that you think I might be interested in. I unfortunately won't be in town when they're offering Yoga with the Orangutans, but a video I found of it looked absolutely adorable - thanks for mentioning that. If you would also be willing to share your Zoo Guide, that would also be terrific! If you're able to send me a PM with your email, I can reply to you that way.

A shame you'll be missing the yoga, as this is only five days after your visit.

There is also a gorilla feeding presentation at Apenheul's colossal gorilla island that is pretty much a must-watch. Apenheul has a colossal island for their Gorillas that is so big that it's rare to actually see the gorillas unless you watch the showcase. There's also talks at the lemurs at 11:15 and 13:15.

Don't miss the Bonobo viewing point and indoor enclosure, as both of these are slightly hidden at the start of the Lemur walkthrough. Similarly, make sure you go up in the Treetop path walkthrough area, as there's a short nocturnal section up at the top. As well as a sturgeon pond with some really big sturgeons.

I'll have to update my zoo guides really quick, as the current ones are still from last year. I'll send you a PM when they're finished

 

[Pertinax]

There is also a gorilla feeding presentation at Apenheul's colossal gorilla island that is pretty much a must-watch. Apenheul has a colossal island for their Gorillas that is so big that it's rare to actually see the gorillas unless you watch the showcase.

Plus there is currently only a group of 4 using the big island. Five(mainly oldies) using the small one.

 

[Mr Gharial]

Plus there is currently only a group of 4 using the big island. Five(mainly oldies) using the small one.

Yes, unfortunately the island was constructed for a much larger group of Gorillas. When the family group fell apart they had to separate some of them onto a much smaller island that originally belonged to a group of Capuchins. They're planning on rebuilding the island into three separate islands to fix this, but that'll take quite a few years before they're going to start on that

 

[remar]

At Haus des Meeres (Vienna) you could book a feeding session (20 minutes) for the ring tailed and black lemurs. It is very likely, that one of the lemurs will climb on you, during the feeding.

 

[Pertinax]

Yes, unfortunately the island was constructed for a much larger group of Gorillas. When the family group fell apart they had to separate some of them onto a much smaller island that originally belonged to a group of Capuchins. They're planning on rebuilding the island into three separate islands to fix this, but that'll take quite a few years before they're going to start on that

I remember the group when Bongo was the leader. I saw about 12 on the big island then. I think they will enlarge the 'main' group again through breeding in the future and may be transfers from the other group on the smaller island, particularly after BaoBao dies as he will at some point.

 

[OrangutanEnthusiast]

I'll send you a PM when they're finished

Thank you so much for these responses Mr Gharial. The information you provided may very well have me sold on Apenheul! I'll be sure to circle back and share my experiences with you.

Plus there is currently only a group of 4 using the big island. Five(mainly oldies) using the small one.

Thank you for adding this commentary Pertinax! The gorilla islands sound like a big highlight of Apenheul, and I certainly won't miss the Gorilla Feeding!

At Haus des Meeres (Vienna) you could book a feeding session (20 minutes) for the ring tailed and black lemurs. It is very likely, that one of the lemurs will climb on you, during the feeding.

Thanks for sharing about this feeding session remar! I've always wanted to go to Vienna, and it's good to know that they have a fun primate encounter there.

 

[Perseus6]

As someone who loves primates I can highly recommend Apenheul. I just got back from a trip to it's sister zoo La Vallée Des Singes which is also an amazing park. I don't know if you're focused on unique species as much if so I would suggest Planckendael and Antwerp zoo. With Antwerp having the only Eastern lowland Gorilla Amahoro and a Central common chimpanzee male Chita (15 holders in Eu) and Nose-stripe owl-faced monkey(9 holders). Planckedael has both Bonobos and Sumatran Orangutans. They also have 2 walk-through exhibits for their White faced saki- golden lion tamarin and Ring tailed lemur -black lemur. They also have Crested black macaque and Barbary macaque.

While Belgium and the Netherlands don't really offer an experience you want I think you can see a lot of primate species and great zoos. And If you want a tour of Planckendael and Antwerp I would be happy to tell you all about the primates. If you would combine it with some German zoos in the Rheine valley you would have a lovely trip.

 

[Pandaboi]

I'm excited to make my first two posts on ZooChat today! These forums have been an immense wealth of information for me, and I'm grateful to everyone who has shared their experiences. I recently did the Orangutan Family Fun Encounter at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA), and had the absolute time of my life! I just posted an in-depth review of the encounter on ZooChat.

I am going to be in Europe in October, and I'm looking for any orangutan encounters that you all may know about. I'm ideally after a private or semi-private experience, where you get to go behind the scenes to view or interact with some orangutans. I am open to traveling anywhere in Europe, and I'm happy to pay up to 500 Euro for this special privilege. I am also open to encounters with other animals, especially primates, if anyone has good recommendations.

The orangutan encounters that I have been able to find so far are at the Dudley Zoo, Chester Zoo, and Twycross Zoo in the UK and the Jersey Zoo. Other zoos or facilities that look interesting but don't offer encounters include the free roaming primates at Apenheul in the Netherlands, the wild Barbary Macaques in Gibraltar, and Monkey World in the UK. I've seen several zoos with semi-private guided tours, but I was hoping to find something more primate focused than a full zoo tour. I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions from fellow ZooChatters in Europe. Many thanks!

The one at Twycross you’ve linked you only go around the outside of an enclosure for Asian species. You could do instead the great ape tour (for 2-4 people) where you can go behind the scenes with the keepers where you can learn in more detail about the individuals. You can also give the apes enrichment as well as a scatter feed.