Planckendael Planckendael News 2024

Some updates from my visit to Planckendael today:
  • The changes in species selections for the aviaries in the Asian section seems to be getting a more permanent character. The aviary near the snow leopards now houses and was signed for Chestnut teal, Australian maned wood duck, Northern shoveler, Eurasian spoonbill, Little egret and Oriental white ibis. The aviary near the train car, the lion exhibit and the exit of the elephant house now houses green peafowl and white-winged wood duck. The aviary near the former Visayan warty pig yard now seems the only house the oriental white storks. The bamboo forest aviary near the access to the Asian greenhouse was only signed for brown eared pheasant, pied imperial pigeon and Demoiselle crane. The orangutan greenhouse indoor/outdoor aviary houses bank myna and Asian azure-winged magpie that were still not signed, golden pheasant and collared hill partridge have also moved to this aviary.
  • Sadly the Sulawesi crested macaque baby that was born to female Tika a few weeks ago died on Friday July 12th, there were temporary signs indicating the mother is still holding on to the deceased young.
  • In the Australian area updated signage has been placed. Strangely still nor old nor new signage for the glossy ibis which are currently in the Australian waterfront aviary. The renovation of the Tasmanian devil area has been mostly completed, only the transformation of the former echidna indoor exhibit into a viewable indoor exhibit for Tasmanian devils still needs to be completed. There are now four connectable Tasmanian devil yards. The walkways have also been renovated in this area. The renovated area looks really nice actually. I really hope they will update the Australian terrarium house soon, as this now stands out negatively and is an eyesore compared to the rest of the Australian area that has recently been updated.
  • The African waterfront aviary walk-through area was open again, after being closed for a while this spring.
  • I saw the two new Barbary sheep, but they seem to be staying at the very back of the exhibit for the time being, and I did not get a usable picture. I hope they will get more used to the exhibit and start moving around and showing themselves more soon.
  • The Flemish geese that live in the prairie exhibit with the wapiti and bison have at least two chicks.
  • In the South American aviary I saw three black-bellied whistling duck chicks, at least three scarlet ibis chicks and at least three American flamingo chicks. Several Chilean flamingos are still on the nest, I saw one egg.
I hope to post some photos in the gallery as soon as possible.
 
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Looking at some recent uploads in the gallery, I just realized I forgot to mention that I saw two female ostriches in the separation paddock next to the Somali wild donkey/Saharan Dorcas gazelle exhibit. They mentioned an intention to add ostriches to this exhibit when it was first completed, so it looks like that will hopefully be happening in the coming months.
 
Some small updates, pictures in gallery.
The male Barbary sheep are visible.
Planckendael Barbary sheep

Planckendael Barbary sheep

  • Media owner Perseus6
  • Date added
Southern black-bellied whistling-duck with chicks
Planckendael Southern black-bellied whistling-duck with chicks

Planckendael Southern black-bellied whistling-duck with chicks

  • Media owner Perseus6
  • Date added
Planckendael Southern black-bellied whistling-duck with chicks

Planckendael Southern black-bellied whistling-duck with chicks

  • Media owner Perseus6
  • Date added
North African ostrich on show now.
Planckendael North African ostrich and dorcas gazelle

Planckendael North African ostrich and dorcas gazelle

  • Media owner Perseus6
  • Date added
 
Haliaeetus said:
Birth of 0.0.4 Capybaras.
ZOO Planckendael on Instagram: "Waaaat! Kleine capibara's! Ons mannetje Pol heeft niet één nestje, maar twee nestjes geregeld. Een week geleden kwamen er vier kleintjes bij Janne tevoorschijn en gisteren kwamen er drie bij Rosanne piepen. Kijk maar mee naar de allereerste beelden! Wil je de zeven mini-capibara's zelf ook zien? Alle jongen troepen samen bij hun mama, maar ze gaan wel al mee op ontdekking en smullen er al op los. Een zalig zicht voor alle bezoekers! #ZOOplanckendael #ZOOsamen #capybara #capibara"
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Finally 0.0.7 Capybaras (from 2 litters) are born in Planckendael so far this year.
ZOO Planckendael on Instagram: "Blijf eens allemaal zitten, dan kunnen we even tellen! Makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan, maar het zijn er... 1, 2, 3, ... 7! Vier van Janne en drie van Rosanne, maar alle zeven van Pol. Wat een telopdracht. Kom jij onze kleine capibara's even checken in ZOO Planckendael? #ZOOplanckendael #ZOOsamen #capibara #capybara"
 
 
Planckendael Zoo hosts temporarily the female (much probably generic) Lion VANDA, that has been rescued from Ukraine.
ZOO Planckendael on Instagram: "Leeuwin Vanda krijgt tijdelijk een thuis in ZOO Planckendael! Samen met andere leeuwen werd ze gered uit Oekraïne door 'The Big Cat Sanctuary'. Achter de schermen hebben wij onze infrastructuur klaargemaakt om haar een plaats te geven, in afwachting van hun nieuwe leeuwopvangcentrum in het Britse Kent dat eind dit jaar klaar zal zijn. Vanda is een jonge leeuwin van een jaar oud die als huisdier gehouden werd in een flat in Oekraïne. Ze leefde er zonder zonlicht, had geen buitenverblijf en was ernstig ondervoed. Ook de twee zussen Amani en Lira, illegaal gekweekt voor fotografie- en knuffeldoeleinden, werden gered en verblijven tijdelijk in Pairi Daiza. Leeuw Rori, bestemd voor illegale kweek, kreeg een plaats in het Natuurhulpcentrum in Oudsbergen. Wij vangen ondertussen leeuwin Vanda graag op met de nodige expertise! "Ze zal hier goed gesoigneerd worden”, vertelt verzorger Frederik. #ZOOplanckendael #lion #leeuw"
 
 
Perseus6 said:
They are renewing the Aviary in Europe( the old beaver enclosure). The birds on display will remain the same and were currently moved behind the scenes.
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I noticed they were cutting the trees in there 10 days ago, glad to hear this aviary is getting an overhaul.

I also noticed 10 days ago (but ended up not posting about it) that the aviaries near the lions were fenced off (and one of the train cars in that area was also gone), and the green peafowl and Asian white-winged wood ducks were in the aviary near the snow leopards (alongside the wigeons from the European aviary). Do you happen to know anything about what is going on there?
 
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KevinB said:
I noticed they were cutting the trees in there 10 days ago, glad to hear this aviary is getting an overhaul.

I also noticed 10 days ago (but ended up not posting about it) that the aviaries near the lions were fenced off, and the green peafowl and Asian white-winged wood ducks were in the aviary near the snow leopards (alongside the wigeons from the European aviary). Do you happen to know anything about what is going on there?
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Sorry no clue. Could be them renewing the aviary in the future to.
 
I was at Planckendael yesterday.

The renovation of the European aviary is still ongoing. It does not at this point look like the general lay-out and look of the aviary will change greatly.

European aviary being renovated, 2024-11-24

European aviary being renovated, 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
  • Date added
European aviary being renovated, 2024-11-24

European aviary being renovated, 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
  • Date added

The train cars have been removed from the area between two of the aviaries and the Asiatic lion exhibit. In the area where they stood ground work, work on utility lines and work on one of the aviaries is ongoing in this area. Not yet quite clear what is going to be done here.

Construction and ground works near Asian aviaries, where train cars used to be, 2024-11-24

Construction and ground works near Asian aviaries, where train cars used to be, 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
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Not clear exactly what is being done here.

The construction of the new entrance now seems to be progressing quite well.

New entrance construction site, 2024-11-24

New entrance construction site, 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
  • Date added
Seems to be making good progress now.
New entrance construction site, 2024-11-24

New entrance construction site, 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
  • Date added
Seems to be making good progress now.

In the Australian aviary two crested pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes) were added recently, the species was not yet signed. Planckendael previously kept this species in the same aviary until 2017. Personally I find this beautiful Australian species a rather nice addition.

Crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), 2024-11-24

Crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), 2024-11-24

  • Media owner KevinB
  • Date added
Recently added to the Australian waterfront aviary, not yet signed. Planckendael previously kept...
 
A few updates from today at Planckendael:
  • The renovation of the European aviary has been completed. The aviary now has new poles and is now more open as a lot of the vegetation has been removed or seriously cut down. Currently the aviary houses Waldrapp, Eurasian wigeon, European turtle dove (not seen today) and Northern shoveler (not signed today, moved from the aviary near the snow leopards).
  • The construction of the new entrance is continuing well, the buildings actually look pretty big. It seems the new entrance will be pretty sizable.
  • I saw one of the Asian white-winged wood ducks in the aviary between the Asiatic lion exhibit and the orangutan greenhouse, this animal seemed to be a bit stressed.
  • The work where the train cars used to stand between the Asiatic lion exhibit and the aviaries seems to have made very little progress.
 
Perseus6 said:
The jaguar is Zora from Antwerp zoo she is 25 turning 26 in December. She moved due to the old enclosure being unsuitable, and them renovating. She is kept behind the scenes in the cages near the canal(with some luck and binoculars you can still spot her). She will not move back to Antwerp and live out her life in Planckendael behind the scenes. I know the Amur leopard Jarolim was on the surplus list and there once was talk of him moving due to a breeding opportunity. He died in 2021.
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Hi Perseus! I am new here, just starting on my journey in fascination with zoos. :) Do you know if Zora is still behind the scenes in Antwerp? Would love to catch a glimpse.
 
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