Sure looks like old Castor finally kicked the bucket. Let's hope my suspicions are wrong, it's always sad to lose an iconic animal like Castor. He has been living there for many years and at least the majority of his offspring (11 or more) have been reintroduced in the wild.
Planckendael Planckendael News thread
- Thread starter kiang
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- 2015 belgium planckendael zoo news
If it is indeed the case that Castor is no more - and it could definitely be, he's been around for a long time - I am glad I saw him for the first time in years a while ago.
And if they don't have a beaver anymore it remains to be seen what they will do with the exhibit, and whether it will just be for the birds housed in the European aviary, or will get some interesting new inhabitants.
Sad news from Planckendael today 
Free-roaming and unsupervised dogs entered the park last week and attacked and fatally injured two of the park's five guanacos. The three remaining animals are doing well and are back in their outdoor paddock.
How the dogs entered the park is not yet known. The dogs were caught by park staff (as they were still on site when keepers arrived) and surrendered to the police. The sad event was reported to the police who are conducting an investigation.
According to social media reports free-roaming, unsupervised dogs are regularly seen in the area, but whether those are the same dogs that entered Planckendael is unknown.
So, so sad, this could have absolutely been avoided if someone had been more responsible and had made sure to adequately contain and/or supervise their dogs. Planckendael and its staff could and should have been spared this unnecessary blow in this horrible year and now the park is sadly again closed.
I hope the police can find the responsible dog owner to make them pay serious compensation to Planckendael and to make sure those dangerous dogs cannot again harm any person or animal (I think they should probably be euthanized for safety reasons - dogs that can kill a large ungulate might kill a human next time).
DPG Media Privacy Gate
Free-roaming and unsupervised dogs entered the park last week and attacked and fatally injured two of the park's five guanacos. The three remaining animals are doing well and are back in their outdoor paddock.
How the dogs entered the park is not yet known. The dogs were caught by park staff (as they were still on site when keepers arrived) and surrendered to the police. The sad event was reported to the police who are conducting an investigation.
According to social media reports free-roaming, unsupervised dogs are regularly seen in the area, but whether those are the same dogs that entered Planckendael is unknown.
So, so sad, this could have absolutely been avoided if someone had been more responsible and had made sure to adequately contain and/or supervise their dogs. Planckendael and its staff could and should have been spared this unnecessary blow in this horrible year and now the park is sadly again closed.
I hope the police can find the responsible dog owner to make them pay serious compensation to Planckendael and to make sure those dangerous dogs cannot again harm any person or animal (I think they should probably be euthanized for safety reasons - dogs that can kill a large ungulate might kill a human next time).
DPG Media Privacy Gate
Unfortunately, stray dog packs that enters zoo ground and kill its animals is not so rare even in Europe, we had similar case in Prague few years ago. A pack of unsupervised dogs who were owned by people living in nearby anarchist squat had jumped the fence early morning and killed many pygmy sheep and goats in a petting zoo.
However I don´t agree with the assumption such dogs are more prone to attack people. Pray drive is normal in many dog breeds and nothing to worry about (as long as owners have good control of their dogs). No need to call for authanasia. Just let the owners pay the damages and fines, investigate their circumstances and way they work with the dogs and if you find it is prone to happen again, just seize the dogs. They should be adopted by better owners.
However I don´t agree with the assumption such dogs are more prone to attack people. Pray drive is normal in many dog breeds and nothing to worry about (as long as owners have good control of their dogs). No need to call for authanasia. Just let the owners pay the damages and fines, investigate their circumstances and way they work with the dogs and if you find it is prone to happen again, just seize the dogs. They should be adopted by better owners.
Female bonobo Kianga has given birth to a son named Vyombo.
The bonobo group now numbers 7 males and 12 females. Another female, Nayembi, is expected to give birth around New Year.
Pasgeboren bonobobaby verrast verzorgers in Planckendael
The bonobo group now numbers 7 males and 12 females. Another female, Nayembi, is expected to give birth around New Year.
Pasgeboren bonobobaby verrast verzorgers in Planckendael