Primates in European Zoos

hjkr

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Hello, I'm hoping to start travelling to some zoos in mainland Europe (from the UK) next year. My first trip will include Antwerp to (hopefully) see the Eastern gorilla, and possibly Pairi Diaza/others.

I'm looking for zoos with good enclosures and a decent collection of primates, bonus if they have a couple of rare species.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?
 
Hello, I'm hoping to start travelling to some zoos in mainland Europe (from the UK) next year. My first trip will include Antwerp to (hopefully) see the Eastern gorilla, and possibly Pairi Diaza/others.

I'm looking for zoos with good enclosures and a decent collection of primates, bonus if they have a couple of rare species.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?

At some point next year, Pairi Daiza will get golden snub-nosed monkeys. No indication of when they will go on display though!
 
Hello, I'm hoping to start travelling to some zoos in mainland Europe (from the UK) next year. My first trip will include Antwerp to (hopefully) see the Eastern gorilla, and possibly Pairi Diaza/others.

I'm looking for zoos with good enclosures and a decent collection of primates, bonus if they have a couple of rare species.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?

Mainland Europe is quite big, so I will focus on zoos that lie in the same corner as Antwerp ;).

As @oflory mentions, Pairi Daiza will receive golden snub-nosed monkeys at some point next year, so is interesting. Their enclosure quality is often not the best, but it is an intriguing zoo that is quite unique ;)

A must see for you seems to be Apenheul, which houses >30 primate species in good to very good (walk-through) enclosures. By car it is some 2-3 hours from Antwerp. It would also be a shame to leave out Burgers' Zoo if you are in that area. It might not have a huge primate collection (but it has Peruvian squirrel monkeys, pig-tailed macaques & golden-bellied mangabeys), but it is a zoo with some of the highest exhibit standards in Europe. Other Dutch zoos are also all worth a visit, but it really depends on how much time you have & what you want to see.

In Western Germany, Zoo Cologne is the primate hotspot, with a large an varied collection, including quite some rarities. This is a very solid allround city zoo, well worth a visit. There are plenty of other large zoos worth visiting in that area, but none that stick out for a primate lover.

So in the end it all depends on how much time you have (and mode of transport), how far you are willing to travel and what exactly you want to see. For Belgium, Netherlands & Germany Zootierliste is generally up-to-date, especially for primates, so that is a good tool.
 
I would suggest prolonged weekend covering Berlin Zoo, Berlin Tierpark, Leipzig (and possibly Dresden). Those are some of the finest european zoos, each with +-20 primate species on show (Dresden has fewer of them but a very nice brand new orang exhibit). Both Leipzig and Dresden are day-trips by train from Berlin.
 
At some point next year, Pairi Daiza will get golden snub-nosed monkeys. No indication of when they will go on display though!

Further thought - Beauval is also getting golden snub-nosed monkeys at some time in 2025 and also hold red-shanked douc, so you could potentially tick two rare (and beautiful) monkeys at the same time.
 
Mainland Europe is quite big, so I will focus on zoos that lie in the same corner as Antwerp ;).

As @oflory mentions, Pairi Daiza will receive golden snub-nosed monkeys at some point next year, so is interesting. Their enclosure quality is often not the best, but it is an intriguing zoo that is quite unique ;)

A must see for you seems to be Apenheul, which houses >30 primate species in good to very good (walk-through) enclosures. By car it is some 2-3 hours from Antwerp. It would also be a shame to leave out Burgers' Zoo if you are in that area. It might not have a huge primate collection (but it has Peruvian squirrel monkeys, pig-tailed macaques & golden-bellied mangabeys), but it is a zoo with some of the highest exhibit standards in Europe. Other Dutch zoos are also all worth a visit, but it really depends on how much time you have & what you want to see.

In Western Germany, Zoo Cologne is the primate hotspot, with a large an varied collection, including quite some rarities. This is a very solid allround city zoo, well worth a visit. There are plenty of other large zoos worth visiting in that area, but none that stick out for a primate lover.

So in the end it all depends on how much time you have (and mode of transport), how far you are willing to travel and what exactly you want to see. For Belgium, Netherlands & Germany Zootierliste is generally up-to-date, especially for primates, so that is a good tool.

To be honest I am hoping to go on multiple trips haha, I know Europe is quite a vague area to be looking into. My first trip I am planning around 7 days. I will be travelling by public transport (trains, buses and taxis) so I need to take this into consideration.

Apenheul was on my list of possibilities. Germany is somewhere I'd like to explore. Munich is on my list (not just for the zoo, but I do plan to go there). Cologne is one I planned to look into more so I will definitely do that. I will check out Zootierliste too. Thank you.
 
Although i didn't count the number of species, i think that Wroclaw, Opole und Ostrava would be another good option.
 
Further thought - Beauval is also getting golden snub-nosed monkeys at some time in 2025 and also hold red-shanked douc, so you could potentially tick two rare (and beautiful) monkeys at the same time.
As well as Moustached Monkeys and Red Howlers. A very strong primate lineup, of over 30 species.
 
how are the Drills doing at Zoo Saarbrücken?
is that group still intact, or are some animals to be relocated?
are there plans for the future of their Drill group?
 
how are the Drills doing at Zoo Saarbrücken?
is that group still intact, or are some animals to be relocated?
are there plans for the future of their Drill group?

Should be 1.4 in the group with Youma (*2023) certainly being relocated elsewhere within the next two years.

There is a new masterplan for the zoo with an investment value of 100 mio Euro. Not sure if everything already is final. Supposedly one of the first things to do is a new drill enclosure. Plans exist, when and if they are realized i don't know.
 
someone knows? fromwhere has Pairi Daiza , Belgium received their Drills?
how is that group consisted, from where did they come?
 
How are the breeding results from the Bearded Guianan Saki, in European collections?

It is already some years ago, Apeldorn got one breeding succes. Unknown if that one represent a male or female.

Anyone more news on this monkey?
 
No further breeding of the bearded sakis. Paris has 1.1 (no breeding), Berlin 2.0, Apenheul 1.1.1 (infant not sexed?) and Colchester 3.1 (last offspring in 2022).
This species has a multi-male/multi-female structure in the wild, and zoos keep them in pairs. Maybe that is the problem?
 
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