Rotterdam Zoo Rotterdam Zoos Future Plans...

[Toddy]

@ Toddy: And asia isnt even finished There are planns to give the rhino's a new indoorenclosure under the hymalyan-moutain, and expand the outdoorenclosure. Also there thinking of getiing urangutans back. (and of course the hymalyan section still has to be updated

Why? I like the current Asia house with rhinos, elephants, tapirs and the others. But i like the idea of getting the orangs back.

 

[Trebaruna]

Why? I like the current Asia house with rhinos, elephants, tapirs and the others. But i like the idea of getting the orangs back.

That house (Taman Indah) is gonna stay. But the rhinos are probabaly moving out in the future. The inside display site for rhinos is rather small and a lot of people who don't realize there is a whole lot more space behind the scenes think its sad for the animals. The outside enclosure is probably going to cover the whole side between taman indah and the hymalyan mountain. (so the sikadeerenclosure has to go. It is an option that the deer are going to be kept in the same enclosure as the rhinos. Now there are 2 outdoor enclosures and i think they want to make that 3, so they can keep 1,2 breeding rhinos instead of 1,1. (the orangs is very long term planning i'm afraid...)

 

[Toddy]

What will they do with the Himalaya mountain, and nore importantly, what species will live there?

 

[Trebaruna]

What will they do with the Himalaya mountain, and nore importantly, what species will live there?

The mountain itself is pretty old, but for the time being its ok, so renovation will be one of the last building projects in blijdorp.
Now there is still 1 sechuan takin (a male called Benny). He lives together with some rhesus macaques. The future collection is still very vague but the will probably keep takins (if they can't get a female sechuan they might go back to mishmi). And surely the red pandas will be part of the hymalayan exhibit. There are probably some bird now on other places in the zoo that fit the hymalayan theme like imperial pheasants etc.
Other species are not certain. Once i heared snowleapards, and of course the chinese snubnosed monkeys (Small chance that will even happen but we can't loose hope )

 

[Pertinax]

It is ideed impressive. But as bokito is still growing i'm not 100% convinced I think it would be best if they would aslo put some electrical wire around the edges. be honest i like the new enclosure better than the old one And also very important, it is gonna be a combination from now on with the whitenosed monkeys [(/QUOTE]

I think when Bokito escaped previously in Berlin Zoo(twice?) it was by climbing a wall- so even this very big one may not be beyond him. It could prove very difficult to stop this habit.

I think its certainly better than with the watermoat- less dangerous for the animals and they have a larger area to use. Good that they are adding monkeys too.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Ok thanks. With wandaloo, she is fine. The're not bothering to take it away.

@ Toddy: And asia isnt even finished There are planns to give the rhino's a new indoorenclosure under the hymalyan-moutain, and expand the outdoorenclosure. Also there thinking of getiing urangutans back. (and of course the hymalyan section still has to be updated

The rhinos moving into the Himalaya exhibit is - I think - a long while off (it will be the last Asian themed exhibit I believe in 2009/2010). Talk of new orangs remains persistant and if I am correct they are seriously thinking of Tamah Indah as their future residence, though this is previewed for not earlier than after 2010 (previously ideas were put forward to site it next to the Sumatran tiger exhibit across from the bridge, but I guess that has fallen on deaf ears with cultural heritage people).

It is also interesting to learn what will happen with the giraffe part of the Riviera Hall. I still bet on the okapis, bongos and bush pigs moving over from their present location to complete the rainforest exhibit (already in place with gorillas, white-nosed cercopithecines and pygmy hippo). The lion enclosure is to go up somewhere behind the Henri Martin House (though they are still fretting themselves over whether they will retain Asians or go back into an African purebred subspecies (as originally was the case with West African lions).

 

[Trebaruna]

previously ideas were put forward to site it next to the Sumatran tiger exhibit across from the bridge, but I guess that has fallen on deaf ears with cultural heritage people.

thats right. They wanted to make a structure with a lot of high poles for the orangs to climb, but that was (of course) not approved by the heritage-thingy. (once there were also plans to put the tapirs on that spot, so that they could swim through the whole pond )
But as i said, orangs, hymalaya & rhinos is long term planning.

From what i've heared lions will not come on the giraffe-site (lions where the other option next to okapis) because for lions they would have to build some sort of a cage-like structure and that is not allowed, because the Rivierahall is (again) a monument. (for the lions i've heared another option and that is that they would go where the okapis are now. that way the border between africa and asia can shift a little and they can still keep the asian lions)
So for now i seems that okapis will move to this spot. (allthough i'm wondering how they will divide that outdoor enclosure to provide space for at least 1,3 adults...
Bongo's would have to move where the addax are now (addax would have to go somewhere where the okapi's and bushpigs are now.) etc

So there are a lot of options We'll probably have to wait and see what happens when the giraffes have moved.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I think it is well confirmed that the okapis should replace the giraffes when they move to the Savannah House. They coupled with bongo and bush pig should make up the new Central African rainforest theme at Blijdorp. I guess that the bongo and bush pig will occupy the current exhibit of the mhorr gazelles and that somehow the addax enclosure will become available for thingies ....

Where the addax will go .. I do not know at present (suggestions as you said on the present bongo/okapi landings .. but not sure). I am definite though that Blijdorp does not intend to go out of addax (a shame that some continental zoos seem to be content with just as we now have a real chance to resurrect the wild populations of addax by augmentation from the world's reknowned zoos).

 

[black-star]

The rhinos moving into the Himalaya exhibit is - I think - a long while off

correct, but they want to try to have the exhibit ready before there comes a new male Rhino.
And because the female is pregnant, that can take some time.

 

[Trebaruna]

I think it is well confirmed that the okapis should replace the giraffes when they move to the Savannah House. They coupled with bongo and bush pig should make up the new Central African rainforest theme at Blijdorp. I guess that the bongo and bush pig will occupy the current exhibit of the mhorr gazelles and that somehow the addax enclosure will become available for thingies ....

The plan was to get a species of waterbuck on the mhorrgazelle+greaterkudu site. That would be "visualy linked" to the zebra encosure and teh giraffe-enclosure to make some sort of a savanna. (kudus would move to the current bongo-enclosure. Next to that there is already a snack-thingy named after kudus).

Anyway i'm curious of what it will turn out to be. Cause in my opinion the "congo-theme" hasn't got the space for all those species (okapi, bongo, riverhog, hippo... would have to fit in the space of the current addax, giraffe, hippo, warthog...)

 

[Swedish Zoo Fan]

New bear exhibits with brown bears and giant pandas

Will this really happen in the future??
Brown bears =
Pandas = i hope so, but no.

 

[Trebaruna]

Will this really happen in the future??

Yes it will happen.. but only for the brown bear part (they will be housed in the old lion/tiger house. Nowadays there are lions and hyenas in there, but in a couple of years those will have moved to new enclosures)

Pandas are a rumours that comes back every couple of years, but til now nothing happend so don't count on it, just like with the chinese snub nosed monkeys

 

[Trebaruna]

I´ll post some pics of the latest improvements and buildingsites:

This was during the construction of the alligator enclosure:

And this is it now that its finished:

 

[Trebaruna]

The new pudu-enclosure on the left:

on the other side of the little house are the enclosures for the wild and domestic guinea pigs:

Across the road is the future south american aviary:

 

[Trebaruna]

Now some pics without it being very clear what we see...

The future savannahouse in the back:

Next to that is the future giraffehouse

For the polarbearexhibit, which is just one big pit untill now:

 

[Toddy]

Great! Thanks for providing those photos

 

[Writhedhornbill]

Whats going to be kept in the south american aviary?

 

[Pedro]

I've heard about red ibisses and seriamas but probably a few more species... Trebaruna will tell us

 

[Trebaruna]

Whats going to be kept in the south american aviary?

it's going to be 2 aviaries with the little building in the middle. one side will be a walk-through with red ibis and crested screamer, the other aviary is yellow/blue macaw ( the Ara ararauna species) and seriemas. Maybe more species but untill now i only heared of these 4.

 

[Trebaruna]

I saw i forgot about the most important latest additions to the zoo... the migratory bird aviary:

The dutch-side: