Strix
Well-Known Member
There are definitely some at Hamerton that are on the edge of too small, like the rusty-spotted cat, oncilla and jaguarundi cages, the former aardwolf enclosures and some of the lemur cages.
Snowleopard's 2022 Road Trip: Denmark, Sweden & Norway
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
DAY 3: Thursday, August 4th
Here is the 3rd of 4 zoological attractions that I visited on this day. I uploaded approximately 30 photos into the gallery.
Zoo/Aquarium # 3: Skaerup Zoo (Borkop, DK)
Skaerup Zoo is a family-owned attraction that claims to have more than 100 animal species and that is perhaps true if one includes the various birds around the park. The land was purchased by a couple in 1993 and by 2001 Skaerup Mini Zoo had opened to the public. Gradually, more exotic animals were added, and the name of the facility was changed to Skaerup Zoo in 2007. This place reminded me strongly of Zie-ZOO in the Netherlands. It’s a small, homemade, very stinky little zoo that is packed full of rarities. The primate collection is great, the number of small mammals that are not always seen elsewhere is impressive, and yet every single exhibit is a bit on the tiny side. There’s nothing terrible or nearly as awful as one would find in the roadside American zoos, but all the enclosures are merely adequate at best. But that collection…
Before a visitor even pays for admission and walks into the zoo, there are a trio of free exhibits to be seen for Darwin’s Rhea/Capybara, Golden Takin and Lowland Anoa, quietly informing the zoo nerd that Skaerup has some choice selection of animals. There is a long row of primate cages (where there are minimal barriers and visitors can stick their hands inside) that reminded me strongly of Santa Ana Zoo in California. Petting a Silvery Marmoset on its tail was exciting because the monkey genuinely appeared to like the attention, but I resisted shoving my fingers into any of the other cages. This is a zoo that doesn’t worry about fancy immersion exhibits, instead content to have various rare wallabies and a list of mammals that would make many zoo nerds salivate with delight. There aren’t many rare birds (two notable ones would be Burrowing Owl and Southern Screamer) or reptiles (a nice-looking Savannah Monitor), but mammals are the core of this home-made zoo. I wouldn’t recommend the place for those looking for Scandinavian Wildlife Park size enclosures, but I was surprised at how enjoyable it was to turn a corner and come across several species that are very rare in zoological facilities.
A comprehensive species list of the zoo’s mammals:
Primates (19 species): White-handed Gibbon, Toque Macaque, Lion-tailed Macaque, De Brazza’s Monkey, Mantled Guereza (Colobus) Monkey, Black-capped Capuchin, White-faced Saki, Goeldi’s Monkey, White Tufted-ear (Common) Marmoset, Silvery Marmoset, Geoffrey’s Marmoset, Black Tufted-ear Marmoset, Pygmy Marmoset, Cotton-top Tamarin, Red-handed Tamarin, Red-bellied Tamarin, Ring-tailed Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur and Senegal Galago.
Macropods (4 species): Parma Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Tammar Wallaby and Brown Dorcopsis (Brown Forest Wallaby).
Small Mammals (22 species): Visayan Warty Pig, Kirk’s Dik-Dik, Bush Dog, Fennec Fox, White-nosed Coati, Small-clawed Otter, Asian Palm Civet, Meerkat, Banded Mongoose, Common Cusimanse, Plains Viscacha, Rock Cavy, Muenster Yellow-toothed Cavy, Azara’s Agouti, Brazilian Guinea Pig, Greater Guinea Pig, Swinhoe’s Striped Squirrel, Prevost’s Squirrel, Chinese Hamster, Harvest Mouse, Barbary Striped Grass Mouse and Black Nile Spiny Mouse.
Felines (5 species): Jaguar, Altai Lynx, Bobcat, Fishing Cat and Ocelot. The first three all had kittens, which made the cats enjoyable to watch.
Golden Takin Exhibit (located before the zoo entrance):
Jaguar Exhibit:
Zoo Map:
Brown Dorcopsis Viewing Window:
Toque Macaque Exhibit:
A typically small primate exhibit. I counted 10 Red-handed Tamarins in this enclosure:
Asian Palm Civet Exhibit:
Swinhoe's Striped Squirrel Exhibit (a bunch of kids were all poking their fingers inside):
Assorted Primate Exhibits (the barrier on the left is only about a foot from the wire and so multiple visitors were feeding the monkeys or petting the animals):
Welcome back to Europe @snowleopard ! One of the best parts of your Road trip reports are up to date information and actual species lists for less visited and hard to reach places. I was bit sceptical to the ZTL, when it comes to the Skærup Zoo and it's interesting to see the actual species on display. Definitely on of the most unusual Scandinavian zoos. Looking forward to your next steps!
If a mammal species can thrive in temperate climate, is kept in a Central European zoo and has bred there, isn't too coveted among other zoos, and - most important of all - isn't kept elsewhere in Denmark, chances are that Skærup will get their hands on it sooner or later. It really is a nerd's zoo in that regard.
Maybe they're trying to compensate for how Denmark's other small, privately-owned zoos hardly ever bother to source unusual species and have highly homogenized collections - their philosophy seems to be "fill the exhibits with hundreds of domestics and then a few macaws, budgies, lynxes, meerkats, small-clawed otters and wallabies, and you're good to go".
I don't know about North American collections, but burrowing owl is the most common captive owl in Denmark by a landslide - it often pops up in smaller zoos and farm parks (keeping Eurasian eagle owls is outlawed in Denmark, and for some reason snowy owls - which are extremely common elsewhere - haven't really taken off here). It also seems relatively common in the rest of Europe.
Doesn't Skærup still have some relatively rare species in the wading bird aviary near the entrance? They had white-faced heron and Puna ibis when I last visited three years ago. They also had southern bald ibis in the African aviary (no. 41 on the map).
DAY 3: Thursday, August 4th
Here is a review of the 4th and final zoo that I visited on August 4th. I uploaded approximately 130 new photos of Givskud Zoo into the gallery and so there is an extensive set of fresh images for this Danish delight. Head to the ZooChat gallery for a comprehensive overview.
Zoo/Aquarium # 4: Givskud Zoo (Givskud, DK)
Givskud Zoo has changed a lot over the years. It opened as a drive-through in 1969 with only African Lions, before Asian Elephants were added in 1970, then 150 Olive Baboons (!!) were added to a drive-through section in 1973, and things took off from there. By 1975, visitors were taken through the baboon exhibit by tractor wagons as the pesky monkeys had destroyed too many automobiles. The zoo gradually expanded for decades, before beginning to flourish in the last 15 years.
Pulling into the city of Givskud, I saw two big stone lion statues (in separate locations) and a large advertisement for the zoo. The population of the village is less than a thousand people, so anyone visiting the town is heading straight to the zoo! The total land owned by the zoo is around 300 acres (121 hectares), with 160 acres (65 hectares) being the maintained grounds. That makes Givskud a large zoo, with approximately 50 species and 600 animals in total but on a significant acreage. There is a lot of space to utilize, and the zoo does a fantastic job in terms of having spacious enclosures for its inhabitants.
Givskud Zoo has basically no reptiles, amphibians or fish, with only a few birds. This is a big zoo on a sprawling acreage that has almost exclusively popular ABC mammals. It’s a zoo that I was a bit unsure on at first, but in truth I loved my time there and without once stopping to eat, drink or sit down, it took me more than 4 hours to see it all. This is a zoo with some of the largest and best exhibits I’ve ever seen for particular species, and very little in the way of poor enclosures. About a decade ago, there was an announcement that the zoo would be known as ‘Zootopia’, and that is the technical name beneath Givskud Zoo, but the ambitious plans for a big overhaul seem to have fallen by the wayside. Still, the addition of Giant Otters (2013), a terrific Dinosaur Park (2015), the world’s largest Spectacled Bear complex (2019) and a 1.2-acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit (2022) have really improved the zoo.
It’s a bit odd when it comes to how people visit the facility. I think that there are only a couple of species that cannot be seen via walking around like a traditional zoo, thus probably half the families there had parked outside and just walked all day. However, the other half did what I did and drove into the zoo and parked in P1. From there, you get out and walk around and see a group of exhibits in the near vicinity. Then you drive through Safaris 1, 2, 3 and 4, before parking in P2 and once again walking around at your leisure. After that, you go back to your car and drive through Safaris 5 and 6 before parking in P3 for a final walk-around. Then you are done and drive home!
If I ever visit Givskud Zoo again then I’d just park at the main entrance and walk the whole thing, as drive through experiences are usually close to the bottom of my list of exciting zoological attractions. (They are just above butterfly walk-throughs, which are ridiculously humid and boring) The drive-through section of Givskud has four Safaris all in a row, which is basically driving through South America for 5 minutes (Guanaco, Capybara, Rhea), then North America for 5 minutes (American Bison, White-tailed Deer), then an African area (Common Eland, Ostrich) and finally another African section (giraffe, zebra, ostrich) and you are done. Safari #5 is simply a road that goes past the huge African Savanna (which can be seen a million times better on foot) and Safari #6 is into the African Lion exhibit, which is many acres of space and contained exactly 6 lions on my visit (I asked). The problem with drive-through aspects of zoos is that trundling along in a car doesn’t allow a generous amount of time to view animals and take photos. Then an eland or an ostrich wanders across the road and immediately a dozen cars all slam on their brakes and you have to sit there patiently while the animal scratches itself or shoves its head into a car window. It’s all very tedious, maddeningly tedious for a veteran zoo nerd. Other than perhaps the giraffes and zebras, all the species at Givskud Zoo can be easily seen on foot. There is also a Safari Bus option, but those things run for 1.5 hours and are so slow that as I type this, many days later, I suspect that some passengers are still sitting there watching an eland take a leak on the grass.
Okay, onto the good stuff. Givskud Zoo has what is surely the largest Spectacled Bear complex on the planet. Apart from perhaps Zurich, it is the best around. Set in a quiet corner of the park, there are three extremely large exhibits with a dizzying array of viewing opportunities. There are overhead views, through fencing, glass, in a cave, in a tree trunk, etc., and with 5 bears between the trio of habitats, and plenty of detailed interpretative material, I was hugely impressed. This exhibit just opened in 2019 and is brilliantly done. It’s a lot of acreage and investment, but the zoo had never once had bears and now they have a wonderful area for a neat, relatively unknown species for the average zoo-going muggle.
World-class Spectacled Bear exhibits:
The brand-new Humboldt Penguin exhibit just opened this year, is 1.2 acres in size, and magnificent. It could be the largest penguin enclosure in the world. There are around 60 birds in what is a walk-through complex, although the penguins cannot come onto the visitor pathway. There are large sandy sections, underwater viewing and a ton of space that the birds will probably not even use.
World-class, 1.2 Acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit:
The Giant Otter House (2013) is another amazing addition to the zoo. The otters have a spacious outdoor exhibit, filled with dense foliage and a large pool, and the indoor area has separate sections and an immersive feel with woodchips on the floor. I’ve never seen a larger otter setup, although I know that Doue is famous for its Giant Otters.
I can usually give or take dinosaur areas, much like other zoo nerds, but if I’m with my wife and 4 kids then dinosaurs are popular attractions. Givskud Zoo has one that is really well done, even though there aren’t any animatronic creatures. It’s free with zoo admission, contains over 50 dinosaurs of 26 different species, and most of the dinosaurs are able to be touched and that adds a different layer to the experience. All of that made this a very popular section of the zoo during my visit, and this 2015 addition helped drive up attendance numbers.
Argentinosaurus:
Besides the Spectacled Bears, Humboldt Penguins, Giant Otters and dinosaurs, all amongst the best of their kind, Givskud Zoo has plenty of other notable attractions. A real highlight for me was the Bongo exhibit, acres in size and with a dozen animals in a thickly forested, very quiet part of the zoo. Magnificent. Then there’s the main African Savanna, with 6 White Rhinos, a dozen Black Wildebeest, a dozen Sable Antelope and at least 10 Gemsbok all together on acres of greenery. There are even signs for Cape Buffalo in the mix, although I didn’t see any on my visit.
Bongo exhibit:
The massive African Savanna includes 6 White Rhinos:
The zoo has an immersive Gorilla complex, with two exhibits and loads of viewing opportunities and a half-dozen of the apes. There’s a big walk-through Barbary Macaque exhibit with at least 25 monkeys, a large Banded Mongoose enclosure, two scenic Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a massive Ring-tailed Lemur walk-through, a forested European Grey Wolf exhibit near a log cabin and an Indigenous settlement with a real campfire burning. I saw a couple of Asian Elephants with a small herd of Blackbuck in an exhibit that’s fine for those animals, 8 Bactrian Camels in a long paddock, Przewalski’s Horses, Sulawesi Crested Macaques, Asian Water Buffalo and other delights. For those that complain that sometimes zoos make exhibits too big, Givskud’s answer is to have large numbers of animals in each habitat. For example, the multi-acre Asian hoofstock paddock is enormous, but with at least 10 Yak and 12 Nilgai all together, there are plenty of creatures to catch one’s attention.
Givskud Zoo is a high-quality zoo, with a number of exhibits that truly are amidst the largest I’ve ever seen. There are also plenty of big playgrounds and nice-looking restaurants, and even with an almost exclusive focus on mammals, this zoo is well worth visiting. My main complaint is that the zoo should shift away from its old drive-through reputation, which it already has done over the decades to some extent, and perhaps eliminate all the drive-through areas except for the original lion complex. By having three big parking lots in different zones within the grounds, it just creates unnecessary confusion and hassle for families loading and unloading strollers and kids on three separate occasions. Also, the parking lots are quite dangerous, with people pulling in for the walking sections while others are leaving at the same time, and with kids running everywhere. Other than that, Givskud certainly is a very good zoo with several world-class areas, and I expect it to be one of the highlights of this trip.
Baobab Restaurant entrance:
Pygmy Hippo exhibits (one on each side of the pathway):
Here is a review of the 4th and final zoo that I visited on August 4th. I uploaded approximately 130 new photos of Givskud Zoo into the gallery and so there is an extensive set of fresh images for this Danish delight. Head to the ZooChat gallery for a comprehensive overview.
Zoo/Aquarium # 4: Givskud Zoo (Givskud, DK)
Givskud Zoo has changed a lot over the years. It opened as a drive-through in 1969 with only African Lions, before Asian Elephants were added in 1970, then 150 Olive Baboons (!!) were added to a drive-through section in 1973, and things took off from there. By 1975, visitors were taken through the baboon exhibit by tractor wagons as the pesky monkeys had destroyed too many automobiles. The zoo gradually expanded for decades, before beginning to flourish in the last 15 years.
Pulling into the city of Givskud, I saw two big stone lion statues (in separate locations) and a large advertisement for the zoo. The population of the village is less than a thousand people, so anyone visiting the town is heading straight to the zoo! The total land owned by the zoo is around 300 acres (121 hectares), with 160 acres (65 hectares) being the maintained grounds. That makes Givskud a large zoo, with approximately 50 species and 600 animals in total but on a significant acreage. There is a lot of space to utilize, and the zoo does a fantastic job in terms of having spacious enclosures for its inhabitants.
Givskud Zoo has basically no reptiles, amphibians or fish, with only a few birds. This is a big zoo on a sprawling acreage that has almost exclusively popular ABC mammals. It’s a zoo that I was a bit unsure on at first, but in truth I loved my time there and without once stopping to eat, drink or sit down, it took me more than 4 hours to see it all. This is a zoo with some of the largest and best exhibits I’ve ever seen for particular species, and very little in the way of poor enclosures. About a decade ago, there was an announcement that the zoo would be known as ‘Zootopia’, and that is the technical name beneath Givskud Zoo, but the ambitious plans for a big overhaul seem to have fallen by the wayside. Still, the addition of Giant Otters (2013), a terrific Dinosaur Park (2015), the world’s largest Spectacled Bear complex (2019) and a 1.2-acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit (2022) have really improved the zoo.
It’s a bit odd when it comes to how people visit the facility. I think that there are only a couple of species that cannot be seen via walking around like a traditional zoo, thus probably half the families there had parked outside and just walked all day. However, the other half did what I did and drove into the zoo and parked in P1. From there, you get out and walk around and see a group of exhibits in the near vicinity. Then you drive through Safaris 1, 2, 3 and 4, before parking in P2 and once again walking around at your leisure. After that, you go back to your car and drive through Safaris 5 and 6 before parking in P3 for a final walk-around. Then you are done and drive home!
If I ever visit Givskud Zoo again then I’d just park at the main entrance and walk the whole thing, as drive through experiences are usually close to the bottom of my list of exciting zoological attractions. (They are just above butterfly walk-throughs, which are ridiculously humid and boring) The drive-through section of Givskud has four Safaris all in a row, which is basically driving through South America for 5 minutes (Guanaco, Capybara, Rhea), then North America for 5 minutes (American Bison, White-tailed Deer), then an African area (Common Eland, Ostrich) and finally another African section (giraffe, zebra, ostrich) and you are done. Safari #5 is simply a road that goes past the huge African Savanna (which can be seen a million times better on foot) and Safari #6 is into the African Lion exhibit, which is many acres of space and contained exactly 6 lions on my visit (I asked). The problem with drive-through aspects of zoos is that trundling along in a car doesn’t allow a generous amount of time to view animals and take photos. Then an eland or an ostrich wanders across the road and immediately a dozen cars all slam on their brakes and you have to sit there patiently while the animal scratches itself or shoves its head into a car window. It’s all very tedious, maddeningly tedious for a veteran zoo nerd. Other than perhaps the giraffes and zebras, all the species at Givskud Zoo can be easily seen on foot. There is also a Safari Bus option, but those things run for 1.5 hours and are so slow that as I type this, many days later, I suspect that some passengers are still sitting there watching an eland take a leak on the grass.
Okay, onto the good stuff. Givskud Zoo has what is surely the largest Spectacled Bear complex on the planet. Apart from perhaps Zurich, it is the best around. Set in a quiet corner of the park, there are three extremely large exhibits with a dizzying array of viewing opportunities. There are overhead views, through fencing, glass, in a cave, in a tree trunk, etc., and with 5 bears between the trio of habitats, and plenty of detailed interpretative material, I was hugely impressed. This exhibit just opened in 2019 and is brilliantly done. It’s a lot of acreage and investment, but the zoo had never once had bears and now they have a wonderful area for a neat, relatively unknown species for the average zoo-going muggle.
World-class Spectacled Bear exhibits:
The brand-new Humboldt Penguin exhibit just opened this year, is 1.2 acres in size, and magnificent. It could be the largest penguin enclosure in the world. There are around 60 birds in what is a walk-through complex, although the penguins cannot come onto the visitor pathway. There are large sandy sections, underwater viewing and a ton of space that the birds will probably not even use.
World-class, 1.2 Acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit:
The Giant Otter House (2013) is another amazing addition to the zoo. The otters have a spacious outdoor exhibit, filled with dense foliage and a large pool, and the indoor area has separate sections and an immersive feel with woodchips on the floor. I’ve never seen a larger otter setup, although I know that Doue is famous for its Giant Otters.
I can usually give or take dinosaur areas, much like other zoo nerds, but if I’m with my wife and 4 kids then dinosaurs are popular attractions. Givskud Zoo has one that is really well done, even though there aren’t any animatronic creatures. It’s free with zoo admission, contains over 50 dinosaurs of 26 different species, and most of the dinosaurs are able to be touched and that adds a different layer to the experience. All of that made this a very popular section of the zoo during my visit, and this 2015 addition helped drive up attendance numbers.
Argentinosaurus:
Besides the Spectacled Bears, Humboldt Penguins, Giant Otters and dinosaurs, all amongst the best of their kind, Givskud Zoo has plenty of other notable attractions. A real highlight for me was the Bongo exhibit, acres in size and with a dozen animals in a thickly forested, very quiet part of the zoo. Magnificent. Then there’s the main African Savanna, with 6 White Rhinos, a dozen Black Wildebeest, a dozen Sable Antelope and at least 10 Gemsbok all together on acres of greenery. There are even signs for Cape Buffalo in the mix, although I didn’t see any on my visit.
Bongo exhibit:
The massive African Savanna includes 6 White Rhinos:
The zoo has an immersive Gorilla complex, with two exhibits and loads of viewing opportunities and a half-dozen of the apes. There’s a big walk-through Barbary Macaque exhibit with at least 25 monkeys, a large Banded Mongoose enclosure, two scenic Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a massive Ring-tailed Lemur walk-through, a forested European Grey Wolf exhibit near a log cabin and an Indigenous settlement with a real campfire burning. I saw a couple of Asian Elephants with a small herd of Blackbuck in an exhibit that’s fine for those animals, 8 Bactrian Camels in a long paddock, Przewalski’s Horses, Sulawesi Crested Macaques, Asian Water Buffalo and other delights. For those that complain that sometimes zoos make exhibits too big, Givskud’s answer is to have large numbers of animals in each habitat. For example, the multi-acre Asian hoofstock paddock is enormous, but with at least 10 Yak and 12 Nilgai all together, there are plenty of creatures to catch one’s attention.
Givskud Zoo is a high-quality zoo, with a number of exhibits that truly are amidst the largest I’ve ever seen. There are also plenty of big playgrounds and nice-looking restaurants, and even with an almost exclusive focus on mammals, this zoo is well worth visiting. My main complaint is that the zoo should shift away from its old drive-through reputation, which it already has done over the decades to some extent, and perhaps eliminate all the drive-through areas except for the original lion complex. By having three big parking lots in different zones within the grounds, it just creates unnecessary confusion and hassle for families loading and unloading strollers and kids on three separate occasions. Also, the parking lots are quite dangerous, with people pulling in for the walking sections while others are leaving at the same time, and with kids running everywhere. Other than that, Givskud certainly is a very good zoo with several world-class areas, and I expect it to be one of the highlights of this trip.
Baobab Restaurant entrance:
Pygmy Hippo exhibits (one on each side of the pathway):
DAY 3: Thursday, August 4th
Here is a review of the 4th and final zoo that I visited on August 4th. I uploaded approximately 130 new photos of Givskud Zoo into the gallery and so there is an extensive set of fresh images for this Danish delight. Head to the ZooChat gallery for a comprehensive overview.
Zoo/Aquarium # 4: Givskud Zoo (Givskud, DK)
Givskud Zoo has changed a lot over the years. It opened as a drive-through in 1969 with only African Lions, before Asian Elephants were added in 1970, then 150 Olive Baboons (!!) were added to a drive-through section in 1973, and things took off from there. By 1975, visitors were taken through the baboon exhibit by tractor wagons as the pesky monkeys had destroyed too many automobiles. The zoo gradually expanded for decades, before beginning to flourish in the last 15 years.
Pulling into the city of Givskud, I saw two big stone lion statues (in separate locations) and a large advertisement for the zoo. The population of the village is less than a thousand people, so anyone visiting the town is heading straight to the zoo! The total land owned by the zoo is around 300 acres (121 hectares), with 160 acres (65 hectares) being the maintained grounds. That makes Givskud a large zoo, with approximately 50 species and 600 animals in total but on a significant acreage. There is a lot of space to utilize, and the zoo does a fantastic job in terms of having spacious enclosures for its inhabitants.
Givskud Zoo has basically no reptiles, amphibians or fish, with only a few birds. This is a big zoo on a sprawling acreage that has almost exclusively popular ABC mammals. It’s a zoo that I was a bit unsure on at first, but in truth I loved my time there and without once stopping to eat, drink or sit down, it took me more than 4 hours to see it all. This is a zoo with some of the largest and best exhibits I’ve ever seen for particular species, and very little in the way of poor enclosures. About a decade ago, there was an announcement that the zoo would be known as ‘Zootopia’, and that is the technical name beneath Givskud Zoo, but the ambitious plans for a big overhaul seem to have fallen by the wayside. Still, the addition of Giant Otters (2013), a terrific Dinosaur Park (2015), the world’s largest Spectacled Bear complex (2019) and a 1.2-acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit (2022) have really improved the zoo.
It’s a bit odd when it comes to how people visit the facility. I think that there are only a couple of species that cannot be seen via walking around like a traditional zoo, thus probably half the families there had parked outside and just walked all day. However, the other half did what I did and drove into the zoo and parked in P1. From there, you get out and walk around and see a group of exhibits in the near vicinity. Then you drive through Safaris 1, 2, 3 and 4, before parking in P2 and once again walking around at your leisure. After that, you go back to your car and drive through Safaris 5 and 6 before parking in P3 for a final walk-around. Then you are done and drive home!
If I ever visit Givskud Zoo again then I’d just park at the main entrance and walk the whole thing, as drive through experiences are usually close to the bottom of my list of exciting zoological attractions. (They are just above butterfly walk-throughs, which are ridiculously humid and boring) The drive-through section of Givskud has four Safaris all in a row, which is basically driving through South America for 5 minutes (Guanaco, Capybara, Rhea), then North America for 5 minutes (American Bison, White-tailed Deer), then an African area (Common Eland, Ostrich) and finally another African section (giraffe, zebra, ostrich) and you are done. Safari #5 is simply a road that goes past the huge African Savanna (which can be seen a million times better on foot) and Safari #6 is into the African Lion exhibit, which is many acres of space and contained exactly 6 lions on my visit (I asked). The problem with drive-through aspects of zoos is that trundling along in a car doesn’t allow a generous amount of time to view animals and take photos. Then an eland or an ostrich wanders across the road and immediately a dozen cars all slam on their brakes and you have to sit there patiently while the animal scratches itself or shoves its head into a car window. It’s all very tedious, maddeningly tedious for a veteran zoo nerd. Other than perhaps the giraffes and zebras, all the species at Givskud Zoo can be easily seen on foot. There is also a Safari Bus option, but those things run for 1.5 hours and are so slow that as I type this, many days later, I suspect that some passengers are still sitting there watching an eland take a leak on the grass.
Okay, onto the good stuff. Givskud Zoo has what is surely the largest Spectacled Bear complex on the planet. Apart from perhaps Zurich, it is the best around. Set in a quiet corner of the park, there are three extremely large exhibits with a dizzying array of viewing opportunities. There are overhead views, through fencing, glass, in a cave, in a tree trunk, etc., and with 5 bears between the trio of habitats, and plenty of detailed interpretative material, I was hugely impressed. This exhibit just opened in 2019 and is brilliantly done. It’s a lot of acreage and investment, but the zoo had never once had bears and now they have a wonderful area for a neat, relatively unknown species for the average zoo-going muggle.
World-class Spectacled Bear exhibits:
The brand-new Humboldt Penguin exhibit just opened this year, is 1.2 acres in size, and magnificent. It could be the largest penguin enclosure in the world. There are around 60 birds in what is a walk-through complex, although the penguins cannot come onto the visitor pathway. There are large sandy sections, underwater viewing and a ton of space that the birds will probably not even use.
World-class, 1.2 Acre Humboldt Penguin exhibit:
The Giant Otter House (2013) is another amazing addition to the zoo. The otters have a spacious outdoor exhibit, filled with dense foliage and a large pool, and the indoor area has separate sections and an immersive feel with woodchips on the floor. I’ve never seen a larger otter setup, although I know that Doue is famous for its Giant Otters.
I can usually give or take dinosaur areas, much like other zoo nerds, but if I’m with my wife and 4 kids then dinosaurs are popular attractions. Givskud Zoo has one that is really well done, even though there aren’t any animatronic creatures. It’s free with zoo admission, contains over 50 dinosaurs of 26 different species, and most of the dinosaurs are able to be touched and that adds a different layer to the experience. All of that made this a very popular section of the zoo during my visit, and this 2015 addition helped drive up attendance numbers.
Argentinosaurus:
Besides the Spectacled Bears, Humboldt Penguins, Giant Otters and dinosaurs, all amongst the best of their kind, Givskud Zoo has plenty of other notable attractions. A real highlight for me was the Bongo exhibit, acres in size and with a dozen animals in a thickly forested, very quiet part of the zoo. Magnificent. Then there’s the main African Savanna, with 6 White Rhinos, a dozen Black Wildebeest, a dozen Sable Antelope and at least 10 Gemsbok all together on acres of greenery. There are even signs for Cape Buffalo in the mix, although I didn’t see any on my visit.
Bongo exhibit:
The massive African Savanna includes 6 White Rhinos:
The zoo has an immersive Gorilla complex, with two exhibits and loads of viewing opportunities and a half-dozen of the apes. There’s a big walk-through Barbary Macaque exhibit with at least 25 monkeys, a large Banded Mongoose enclosure, two scenic Pygmy Hippo exhibits, a massive Ring-tailed Lemur walk-through, a forested European Grey Wolf exhibit near a log cabin and an Indigenous settlement with a real campfire burning. I saw a couple of Asian Elephants with a small herd of Blackbuck in an exhibit that’s fine for those animals, 8 Bactrian Camels in a long paddock, Przewalski’s Horses, Sulawesi Crested Macaques, Asian Water Buffalo and other delights. For those that complain that sometimes zoos make exhibits too big, Givskud’s answer is to have large numbers of animals in each habitat. For example, the multi-acre Asian hoofstock paddock is enormous, but with at least 10 Yak and 12 Nilgai all together, there are plenty of creatures to catch one’s attention.
Givskud Zoo is a high-quality zoo, with a number of exhibits that truly are amidst the largest I’ve ever seen. There are also plenty of big playgrounds and nice-looking restaurants, and even with an almost exclusive focus on mammals, this zoo is well worth visiting. My main complaint is that the zoo should shift away from its old drive-through reputation, which it already has done over the decades to some extent, and perhaps eliminate all the drive-through areas except for the original lion complex. By having three big parking lots in different zones within the grounds, it just creates unnecessary confusion and hassle for families loading and unloading strollers and kids on three separate occasions. Also, the parking lots are quite dangerous, with people pulling in for the walking sections while others are leaving at the same time, and with kids running everywhere. Other than that, Givskud certainly is a very good zoo with several world-class areas, and I expect it to be one of the highlights of this trip.
Baobab Restaurant entrance:
Pygmy Hippo exhibits (one on each side of the pathway):
That's some very generously sized exhibit there. The lack of rabbit and fox police though is false advertisement to the name "zootopia"
I’m alive and well and I haven’t abandoned this thread. I’ve been so busy visiting zoos that I simply haven’t had time to spend many hours uploading photos or typing up detailed reviews. I’ve only posted 4 reviews so far, meaning that when I get back to Canada I’ll have around 20 more to complete! My days have been very long and by the time I check into my pre-booked hotel (a first for me) it is sometimes midnight and time for bed.
It’s been a fantastic trip so far and I honestly think that Scandinavia represents the future of zoos. Less and less animals, which equals smaller collections, but enormous, natural-looking enclosures. There are a lot of world-class animal exhibits in Scandinavia and I’m looking forward to writing reviews and posting loads of photos.
Every single day I’ve seen enclosures that are honestly jaw dropping. Kolmarden has tiger, brown bear, snow leopard, wolverine and other exhibits that are stupendous. Boras has its iconic African Savanna, but also massive exhibits for brown bears, wolves and an entire lake for its seals! Nordens Ark has some feline habitats that are the best in the world. I also had a wonderful day with @twilighter and he’s a generous, kind man and we talked zoos all day long. It was awesome.
I’m seeing zoos with only 20 or 30 or 40 species (almost all mammals) and that might not appeal to some zoo nerds. However, some of the enclosures are more a slice of nature than an actual zoo exhibit. I’m sitting outside Kristiansand Zoo in Norway as I type this message on my phone, and I can’t wait to see what treasures this zoo has to offer. If you wait a few more days, then when I return to Canada the zoo reviews will flow.
P.S. Covid is never mentioned in Scandinavia. My best estimate is that 99.9% of all the people I see do NOT wear masks. Zoos are packed, hotels are at full capacity, and absolutely no one wears masks.
It’s been a fantastic trip so far and I honestly think that Scandinavia represents the future of zoos. Less and less animals, which equals smaller collections, but enormous, natural-looking enclosures. There are a lot of world-class animal exhibits in Scandinavia and I’m looking forward to writing reviews and posting loads of photos.
Every single day I’ve seen enclosures that are honestly jaw dropping. Kolmarden has tiger, brown bear, snow leopard, wolverine and other exhibits that are stupendous. Boras has its iconic African Savanna, but also massive exhibits for brown bears, wolves and an entire lake for its seals! Nordens Ark has some feline habitats that are the best in the world. I also had a wonderful day with @twilighter and he’s a generous, kind man and we talked zoos all day long. It was awesome.
I’m seeing zoos with only 20 or 30 or 40 species (almost all mammals) and that might not appeal to some zoo nerds. However, some of the enclosures are more a slice of nature than an actual zoo exhibit. I’m sitting outside Kristiansand Zoo in Norway as I type this message on my phone, and I can’t wait to see what treasures this zoo has to offer. If you wait a few more days, then when I return to Canada the zoo reviews will flow.
P.S. Covid is never mentioned in Scandinavia. My best estimate is that 99.9% of all the people I see do NOT wear masks. Zoos are packed, hotels are at full capacity, and absolutely no one wears masks.
As he mentioned, I had the honor to meet @snowleopard in Sweden yesterday and we spent a nice day at two legendary collections. I want to tank him for the kind words and to say that he very generously share his immense knowledge. It was an experience to touring zoos in his pleasant company and to share his excitement !
Small teaser: one of the biggest highlights of our yesterday trip - White Rhino charging Cheetah.
Small teaser: one of the biggest highlights of our yesterday trip - White Rhino charging Cheetah.
Attachments
Last edited:
Friday, August 5th, 2022
After my three flights and two days of traveling, I already posted zoo reviews of my first day in Denmark. I started off in a medium-sized aquarium known as the Kattegatcentret Center, then I ventured into the land of enormous native mammal exhibits at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park. After that, it was a home-made zoo of rarities known as Skaerup Zoo, and finally more than 4 hours at a terrific place called Givskud Zoo. All of those 4 facilities are located in the northern and central regions of Jutland, which is the big main “chunk” of Denmark when you look at a map. On this day, I would pull off a similar trick by again visiting 4 zoos in the same general area. I did do quite a bit of backtracking when spending the first few zoo days of the trip in Jutland, Denmark, primarily because of the opening hours of the attractions. I went to Kattegatcentret first because it opened at 9 a.m., an hour ahead of its contemporaries. The same would be for the Nordsoen Oceanarium on Saturday, again with an earlier opening time. Givskud Zoo on Thursday was last due to the late summer evening hours. Throughout many drafts of my itinerary, I edited my trip so that I could see as many zoos as possible while juggling the opening and closing hours of each establishment.
I uploaded approximately 60 photos of Ree Park Safari into the ZooChat gallery.
Zoo/Aquarium # 5: Ree Park Safari (Ebeltoft, DK)
Ree Park Safari is situated on 125 hectares (308 acres) and is owned by Carsten Ree, a Danish billionaire. Not all the land is used exclusively for the zoo’s grounds. Originally, it opened in 1991 as Ebeltoft Dyrepark, before being sold and renamed Ebeltoft Zoo in 1993. Then it was purchased by new owners and named Ebeltoft Zoo & Safari in 1998, before Karsten Ree took over ownership in 2006. The zoo is divided into 5 clear zones: Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Monkey Islands.
The term ‘Safari’ is everywhere at this facility, but it’s a bit misleading as Ree Park is a typical, walk-around zoo. In fact, you can see 100% of all the animals by walking, even though the zoo is highly commercial in terms of pushing “extras” at you. There is a train ride that goes directly through the American Black Bear exhibit, as this is Europe and there is a need to put visitors in peril at every zoo. Ha! There is also a very popular Safari Ride that sees three safari jeeps (all joined together to form a long line) go down the middle of the big African Savanna paddocks. This is, in my honest opinion, disappointing. It’s a fantastic money maker for the zoo because I was at the savanna a long time and saw many jam-packed trucks, and I’m sure that little kids love it, but as a zoo purist it’s alarming to see the herds of ungulates scatter each time the trucks roar through with their loud engines. What’s wrong with walking around looking at the savanna animals and seeing the large herds act naturally? Why have roads right through the exhibit, with everyone scattering every 10 minutes when a trio of jeeps crash through the middle? It’s inexplicably popular, fantastic and terrible all at the same time.
African Savanna:
Besides the train and the jeep rides, which I did not partake in, the zoo strongly urges families to spend the night. There is accommodation absolutely everywhere, literally in all 5 major zones of the zoo. Visitors can stay in tents, log cabin-type shelters, and a lot of rustic facilities and small buildings. When buying my entrance ticket, I watched as the cashiers really pushed the rides and overnight stays as all those items cost extra and I’m sure that the zoo makes a ton of money from such endeavours. Before the general public was allowed in, there were loads of families with sleeping bags and tired kids leaving the zoo. It was a bit surreal to arrive and be the very first visitor through the entrance gate, and yet the parking lot had a hundred vehicles already in it! People must really enjoy the overnight experience.
Overnight accommodation next to African Savanna:
Overnight accommodation near Giant Anteater exhibit:
So, what of Ree Park Safari in terms of animal exhibits? The big African Savanna is a real highlight, if one can ignore the annoying jeeps. There’s a lot of space, many vantage points along the track, and large herds of Rothschild’s Giraffes, Impala (at least 20), Common Eland, Blue Wildebeest (20), Defassa Waterbuck (20), Grant’s Zebras, several Ostriches and most shocking of all is that I saw a Black Rhino lumbering amongst the crowd. Not many zoos in the world add that rhino species to a big savanna setting. There are also huge, naturalistic exhibits for African Wild Dogs and Cheetahs, which are so large that seeing an animal is tricky. I lucked out with the dogs as the awful, putrid smell of a carcass being ripped to shreds permeated my nostrils. It's been an amazing experience to see many Danish zoos give their carnivores entire carcasses, which creates a gagging smell but is fascinating to see being devoured.
Black Rhino and Safari Jeep Ride (3 joined together) on African Savanna:
African Wild Dogs ripping apart a stinky carcass:
There is a fabulous Cheetah exhibit:
Staying with the African section, Ree Park has a famous lion exhibit. There’s a smaller side yard that had at least 8 lions in it on my visit (many cubs), plus a long, sloping boardwalk that is reminiscent of Cleveland Zoo’s wooden pathway that takes visitors up to its Primate, Cat & Aquatics building. At Ree Park, the lions are situated in a thickly wooded area that didn’t really work for me. It was a ton of walking to see a single male lion in an environment that looks nothing like their African homeland and is densely forested until the upper viewing area. Elsewhere, there is a walk-in aviary with African Crowned Cranes and Southern Ground Hornbills, alarmingly close to visitors with minimal barriers, Sand Cats, a huge Eurasian Eagle Owl aviary and a stupendous Bongo exhibit that is acres in size.
Bongo exhibit:
There is an enormous Lion exhibit (vantage point from top of long wooden boardwalk):
The North American animals at the zoo all have massive enclosures, which is a constant theme at Ree Park. The ‘Arctic’ Wolves have acres of space and are white dots in the distance, the American Black Bears have an equally large habitat that a train goes through, and there are some Black-tailed Prairie Dogs nearby. Elsewhere, a really exciting view was seeing 6 Moose all together in yet another massive habitat, including two youngsters that were just born this year.
Moose exhibit (3 of the enclosure's 6 animals are just visible in this photo):
Near the zoo’s entrance, there are a series of primate islands that are nicely done. White-handed Gibbons and Black Spider Monkeys have their own space, while Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys, Ring-tailed Lemurs and Red Ruffed Lemurs bounce around visitors in walk-through enclosures. There are some Asian species close by, including Bactrian Camels and Persian Onagers in a huge paddock that can be viewed from outside the zoo. There’s also a leopard exhibit (labeled as North Chinese), Red Pandas, Small-clawed Otters, Red-crowned Cranes and a superb Fishing Cat exhibit. A Yellow-throated Marten enclosure is much larger than most big cat exhibits, with that species displaying really well here. The South American, 'Inca Trail' zone has a walk-through domestic donkey exhibit that is many acres in size, plus a walk-through enclosure with Vicunas wandering around visitors and loads of Maras.
There is a really lovely Yellow-throated Marten exhibit:
North Chinese Leopard exhibit (cat is visible in photo):
A trio of White-handed Gibbons in tall trees was a real highlight:
I wasn’t in love with Ree Park Safari, due to its rampant push to spend more money and overnight time at the facility, and I also felt that the exhibits were occasionally arranged in a hodgepodge manner, even though technically the zoo is divided into geographic zones. However, there are some massive exhibits that are to be admired (Lions, African Wild Dogs, Cheetahs, Bongos, African Savanna, American Black Bears, Arctic Wolves, Yellow-throated Martens, Moose, etc.) and the zoo is a typical Scandinavian facility with a heavy focus on spacious mammal exhibits. I must say that almost all are of a very high standard. It’s a zoo that I have enjoyed more in my mind as time has elapsed, but during my visit I felt that the extra “experiences” of overnight accommodation, plus train and safari rides, were a bit overwhelming.
After my three flights and two days of traveling, I already posted zoo reviews of my first day in Denmark. I started off in a medium-sized aquarium known as the Kattegatcentret Center, then I ventured into the land of enormous native mammal exhibits at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park. After that, it was a home-made zoo of rarities known as Skaerup Zoo, and finally more than 4 hours at a terrific place called Givskud Zoo. All of those 4 facilities are located in the northern and central regions of Jutland, which is the big main “chunk” of Denmark when you look at a map. On this day, I would pull off a similar trick by again visiting 4 zoos in the same general area. I did do quite a bit of backtracking when spending the first few zoo days of the trip in Jutland, Denmark, primarily because of the opening hours of the attractions. I went to Kattegatcentret first because it opened at 9 a.m., an hour ahead of its contemporaries. The same would be for the Nordsoen Oceanarium on Saturday, again with an earlier opening time. Givskud Zoo on Thursday was last due to the late summer evening hours. Throughout many drafts of my itinerary, I edited my trip so that I could see as many zoos as possible while juggling the opening and closing hours of each establishment.
I uploaded approximately 60 photos of Ree Park Safari into the ZooChat gallery.
Zoo/Aquarium # 5: Ree Park Safari (Ebeltoft, DK)
Ree Park Safari is situated on 125 hectares (308 acres) and is owned by Carsten Ree, a Danish billionaire. Not all the land is used exclusively for the zoo’s grounds. Originally, it opened in 1991 as Ebeltoft Dyrepark, before being sold and renamed Ebeltoft Zoo in 1993. Then it was purchased by new owners and named Ebeltoft Zoo & Safari in 1998, before Karsten Ree took over ownership in 2006. The zoo is divided into 5 clear zones: Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Monkey Islands.
The term ‘Safari’ is everywhere at this facility, but it’s a bit misleading as Ree Park is a typical, walk-around zoo. In fact, you can see 100% of all the animals by walking, even though the zoo is highly commercial in terms of pushing “extras” at you. There is a train ride that goes directly through the American Black Bear exhibit, as this is Europe and there is a need to put visitors in peril at every zoo. Ha! There is also a very popular Safari Ride that sees three safari jeeps (all joined together to form a long line) go down the middle of the big African Savanna paddocks. This is, in my honest opinion, disappointing. It’s a fantastic money maker for the zoo because I was at the savanna a long time and saw many jam-packed trucks, and I’m sure that little kids love it, but as a zoo purist it’s alarming to see the herds of ungulates scatter each time the trucks roar through with their loud engines. What’s wrong with walking around looking at the savanna animals and seeing the large herds act naturally? Why have roads right through the exhibit, with everyone scattering every 10 minutes when a trio of jeeps crash through the middle? It’s inexplicably popular, fantastic and terrible all at the same time.
African Savanna:
Besides the train and the jeep rides, which I did not partake in, the zoo strongly urges families to spend the night. There is accommodation absolutely everywhere, literally in all 5 major zones of the zoo. Visitors can stay in tents, log cabin-type shelters, and a lot of rustic facilities and small buildings. When buying my entrance ticket, I watched as the cashiers really pushed the rides and overnight stays as all those items cost extra and I’m sure that the zoo makes a ton of money from such endeavours. Before the general public was allowed in, there were loads of families with sleeping bags and tired kids leaving the zoo. It was a bit surreal to arrive and be the very first visitor through the entrance gate, and yet the parking lot had a hundred vehicles already in it! People must really enjoy the overnight experience.
Overnight accommodation next to African Savanna:
Overnight accommodation near Giant Anteater exhibit:
So, what of Ree Park Safari in terms of animal exhibits? The big African Savanna is a real highlight, if one can ignore the annoying jeeps. There’s a lot of space, many vantage points along the track, and large herds of Rothschild’s Giraffes, Impala (at least 20), Common Eland, Blue Wildebeest (20), Defassa Waterbuck (20), Grant’s Zebras, several Ostriches and most shocking of all is that I saw a Black Rhino lumbering amongst the crowd. Not many zoos in the world add that rhino species to a big savanna setting. There are also huge, naturalistic exhibits for African Wild Dogs and Cheetahs, which are so large that seeing an animal is tricky. I lucked out with the dogs as the awful, putrid smell of a carcass being ripped to shreds permeated my nostrils. It's been an amazing experience to see many Danish zoos give their carnivores entire carcasses, which creates a gagging smell but is fascinating to see being devoured.
Black Rhino and Safari Jeep Ride (3 joined together) on African Savanna:
African Wild Dogs ripping apart a stinky carcass:
There is a fabulous Cheetah exhibit:
Staying with the African section, Ree Park has a famous lion exhibit. There’s a smaller side yard that had at least 8 lions in it on my visit (many cubs), plus a long, sloping boardwalk that is reminiscent of Cleveland Zoo’s wooden pathway that takes visitors up to its Primate, Cat & Aquatics building. At Ree Park, the lions are situated in a thickly wooded area that didn’t really work for me. It was a ton of walking to see a single male lion in an environment that looks nothing like their African homeland and is densely forested until the upper viewing area. Elsewhere, there is a walk-in aviary with African Crowned Cranes and Southern Ground Hornbills, alarmingly close to visitors with minimal barriers, Sand Cats, a huge Eurasian Eagle Owl aviary and a stupendous Bongo exhibit that is acres in size.
Bongo exhibit:
There is an enormous Lion exhibit (vantage point from top of long wooden boardwalk):
The North American animals at the zoo all have massive enclosures, which is a constant theme at Ree Park. The ‘Arctic’ Wolves have acres of space and are white dots in the distance, the American Black Bears have an equally large habitat that a train goes through, and there are some Black-tailed Prairie Dogs nearby. Elsewhere, a really exciting view was seeing 6 Moose all together in yet another massive habitat, including two youngsters that were just born this year.
Moose exhibit (3 of the enclosure's 6 animals are just visible in this photo):
Near the zoo’s entrance, there are a series of primate islands that are nicely done. White-handed Gibbons and Black Spider Monkeys have their own space, while Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys, Ring-tailed Lemurs and Red Ruffed Lemurs bounce around visitors in walk-through enclosures. There are some Asian species close by, including Bactrian Camels and Persian Onagers in a huge paddock that can be viewed from outside the zoo. There’s also a leopard exhibit (labeled as North Chinese), Red Pandas, Small-clawed Otters, Red-crowned Cranes and a superb Fishing Cat exhibit. A Yellow-throated Marten enclosure is much larger than most big cat exhibits, with that species displaying really well here. The South American, 'Inca Trail' zone has a walk-through domestic donkey exhibit that is many acres in size, plus a walk-through enclosure with Vicunas wandering around visitors and loads of Maras.
There is a really lovely Yellow-throated Marten exhibit:
North Chinese Leopard exhibit (cat is visible in photo):
A trio of White-handed Gibbons in tall trees was a real highlight:
I wasn’t in love with Ree Park Safari, due to its rampant push to spend more money and overnight time at the facility, and I also felt that the exhibits were occasionally arranged in a hodgepodge manner, even though technically the zoo is divided into geographic zones. However, there are some massive exhibits that are to be admired (Lions, African Wild Dogs, Cheetahs, Bongos, African Savanna, American Black Bears, Arctic Wolves, Yellow-throated Martens, Moose, etc.) and the zoo is a typical Scandinavian facility with a heavy focus on spacious mammal exhibits. I must say that almost all are of a very high standard. It’s a zoo that I have enjoyed more in my mind as time has elapsed, but during my visit I felt that the extra “experiences” of overnight accommodation, plus train and safari rides, were a bit overwhelming.
Last edited:
Fantastic review as always, snowleopard! I love the way the wild dog exhibit is designed in particular, normally with American zoos there's a planted berm before the ditch/haha that's meant to keep carnivores/hoofstock/apes/pachyderms in, and to have the fence literally adjoin the boardwalk is truly something else! The differences/similarities between American and European exhibit design truly are amazing to analyze, and I certainly doubt this kind of thing would fly with newer exhibits in the states (at least without said berm or a chain-link fence with an overhang). Slight correction with Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh doesn't have a Primates, Cats and Aquatics building - you're thinking of Cleveland. They do have an intricate boardwalk in Kids' Kingdom though!Friday, August 5th, 2022
After my three flights and two days of traveling, I already posted zoo reviews of my first day in Denmark. I started off in a medium-sized aquarium known as the Kattegatcentret Center, then I ventured into the land of enormous native mammal exhibits at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park. After that, it was a home-made zoo of rarities known as Skaerup Zoo, and finally more than 4 hours at a terrific place called Givskud Zoo. All of those 4 facilities are located in the northern and central regions of Jutland, which is the big main “chunk” of Denmark when you look at a map. On this day, I would pull off a similar trick by again visiting 4 zoos in the same general area. I did do quite a bit of backtracking when spending the first few zoo days of the trip in Jutland, Denmark, primarily because of the opening hours of the attractions. I went to Kattegatcentret first because it opened at 9 a.m., an hour ahead of its contemporaries. The same would be for the Nordsoen Oceanarium on Saturday, again with an earlier opening time. Givskud Zoo on Thursday was last due to the late summer evening hours. Throughout many drafts of my itinerary, I edited my trip so that I could see as many zoos as possible while juggling the opening and closing hours of each establishment.
I uploaded approximately 60 photos of Ree Park Safari into the ZooChat gallery.
Zoo/Aquarium # 5: Ree Park Safari (Ebeltoft, DK)
Ree Park Safari is situated on 125 hectares (308 acres) and is owned by Carsten Ree, a Danish billionaire. Not all the land is used exclusively for the zoo’s grounds. Originally, it opened in 1991 as Ebeltoft Dyrepark, before being sold and renamed Ebeltoft Zoo in 1993. Then it was purchased by new owners and named Ebeltoft Zoo & Safari in 1998, before Karsten Ree took over ownership in 2006. The zoo is divided into 5 clear zones: Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Monkey Islands.
The term ‘Safari’ is everywhere at this facility, but it’s a bit misleading as Ree Park is a typical, walk-around zoo. In fact, you can see 100% of all the animals by walking, even though the zoo is highly commercial in terms of pushing “extras” at you. There is a train ride that goes directly through the American Black Bear exhibit, as this is Europe and there is a need to put visitors in peril at every zoo. Ha! There is also a very popular Safari Ride that sees three safari jeeps (all joined together to form a long line) go down the middle of the big African Savanna paddocks. This is, in my honest opinion, disappointing. It’s a fantastic money maker for the zoo because I was at the savanna a long time and saw many jam-packed trucks, and I’m sure that little kids love it, but as a zoo purist it’s alarming to see the herds of ungulates scatter each time the trucks roar through with their loud engines. What’s wrong with walking around looking at the savanna animals and seeing the large herds act naturally? Why have roads right through the exhibit, with everyone scattering every 10 minutes when a trio of jeeps crash through the middle? It’s inexplicably popular, fantastic and terrible all at the same time.
African Savanna:
Besides the train and the jeep rides, which I did not partake in, the zoo strongly urges families to spend the night. There is accommodation absolutely everywhere, literally in all 5 major zones of the zoo. Visitors can stay in tents, log cabin-type shelters, and a lot of rustic facilities and small buildings. When buying my entrance ticket, I watched as the cashiers really pushed the rides and overnight stays as all those items cost extra and I’m sure that the zoo makes a ton of money from such endeavours. Before the general public was allowed in, there were loads of families with sleeping bags and tired kids leaving the zoo. It was a bit surreal to arrive and be the very first visitor through the entrance gate, and yet the parking lot had a hundred vehicles already in it! People must really enjoy the overnight experience.
Overnight accommodation next to African Savanna:
Overnight accommodation near Giant Anteater exhibit:
So, what of Ree Park Safari in terms of animal exhibits? The big African Savanna is a real highlight, if one can ignore the annoying jeeps. There’s a lot of space, many vantage points along the track, and large herds of Rothschild’s Giraffes, Impala (at least 20), Common Eland, Blue Wildebeest (20), Defassa Waterbuck (20), Grant’s Zebras, several Ostriches and most shocking of all is that I saw a Black Rhino lumbering amongst the crowd. Not many zoos in the world add that rhino species to a big savanna setting. There are also huge, naturalistic exhibits for African Wild Dogs and Cheetahs, which are so large that seeing an animal is tricky. I lucked out with the dogs as the awful, putrid smell of a carcass being ripped to shreds permeated my nostrils. It's been an amazing experience to see many Danish zoos give their carnivores entire carcasses, which creates a gagging smell but is fascinating to see being devoured.
Black Rhino and Safari Jeep Ride (3 joined together) on African Savanna:
African Wild Dogs ripping apart a stinky carcass:
There is a fabulous Cheetah exhibit:
Staying with the African section, Ree Park has a famous lion exhibit. There’s a smaller side yard that had at least 8 lions in it on my visit (many cubs), plus a long, sloping boardwalk that is reminiscent of Pittsburgh Zoo’s wooden pathway that takes visitors up to its Primate, Cat & Aquatics building. At Ree Park, the lions are situated in a thickly wooded area that didn’t really work for me. It was a ton of walking to see a single male lion in an environment that looks nothing like their African homeland and is densely forested until the upper viewing area. Elsewhere, there is a walk-in aviary with African Crowned Cranes and Southern Ground Hornbills, alarmingly close to visitors with minimal barriers, Sand Cats, a huge Eurasian Eagle Owl aviary and a stupendous Bongo exhibit that is acres in size.
Bongo exhibit:
There is an enormous Lion exhibit (vantage point from top of long wooden boardwalk):
The North American animals at the zoo all have massive enclosures, which is a constant theme at Ree Park. The ‘Arctic’ Wolves have acres of space and are white dots in the distance, the American Black Bears have an equally large habitat that a train goes through, and there are some Black-tailed Prairie Dogs nearby. Elsewhere, a really exciting view was seeing 6 Moose all together in yet another massive habitat, including two youngsters that were just born this year.
Moose exhibit (3 of the enclosure's 6 animals are just visible in this photo):
Near the zoo’s entrance, there are a series of primate islands that are nicely done. White-handed Gibbons and Black Spider Monkeys have their own space, while Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys, Ring-tailed Lemurs and Red Ruffed Lemurs bounce around visitors in walk-through enclosures. There are some Asian species close by, including Bactrian Camels and Persian Onagers in a huge paddock that can be viewed from outside the zoo. There’s also a leopard exhibit (labeled as North Chinese), Red Pandas, Small-clawed Otters, Red-crowned Cranes and a superb Fishing Cat exhibit. A Yellow-throated Marten enclosure is much larger than most big cat exhibits, with that species displaying really well here. The South American, 'Inca Trail' zone has a walk-through domestic donkey exhibit that is many acres in size, plus a walk-through enclosure with Vicunas wandering around visitors and loads of Maras.
There is a really lovely Yellow-throated Marten exhibit:
North Chinese Leopard exhibit (cat is visible in photo):
A trio of White-handed Gibbons in tall trees was a real highlight:
I wasn’t in love with Ree Park Safari, due to its rampant push to spend more money and overnight time at the facility, and I also felt that the exhibits were occasionally arranged in a hodgepodge manner, even though technically the zoo is divided into geographic zones. However, there are some massive exhibits that are to be admired (Lions, African Wild Dogs, Cheetahs, Bongos, African Savanna, American Black Bears, Arctic Wolves, Yellow-throated Martens, Moose, etc.) and the zoo is a typical Scandinavian facility with a heavy focus on spacious mammal exhibits. I must say that almost all are of a very high standard. It’s a zoo that I have enjoyed more in my mind as time has elapsed, but during my visit I felt that the extra “experiences” of overnight accommodation, plus train and safari rides, were a bit overwhelming.
Friday, August 5th, 2022
After my first stop of the day, at Ree Park Safari, I then had a very short 15-minute drive north to my next zoo. I uploaded 20 photos of this facility to the ZooChat gallery. Much like Ree Park, Munkholm Zoo seems like it's in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by rural countryside. There are farms in all directions and a real rustic feel to the land.
Zoo/Aquarium # 6: Munkholm Zoo (Munkholm, DK)
This zoo is a home-made concoction that is like the ‘De Paay’ of Denmark, even though it was packed on my visit. The staff are friendly, families were milling around feeding the animals with fresh produced purchased on site, but so many of the exhibits were of a very poor quality. There’s peeling paint, missing signs, a couple of empty enclosures, overgrown weeds, and a general sense of decrepitude. A lot of domestic animals dominate, but there are a few surprises along the way.
Way out in the country, accessed by a single-lane road and surrounded by crops, this family-run zoo was difficult to find even with a GPS system in my rental car. There’s a big grassy yard as a parking lot and the zoo itself is very small. I saw the whole thing in around 45 minutes, as I didn’t want to spend too long looking at sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and my daily dose of Ring-tailed Lemurs and Coatis. There’s also a lot of small mammals, such as Cotton-top Tamarins, Meerkats, Dwarf Mongooses, Zebra Mongooses, Small-clawed Otters, Indian Crested Porcupines, Raccoon Dogs, Raccoons (obese from visitor feeding), Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Bennett’s Wallabies and Azara’s Agoutis. The largest species are a quartet of Bactrian Camels and so the main focus is small mammals to cater to families with little kids.
Primates do poorly here, with subpar exhibits for Barbary Macaques, Emperor Tamarins and Patas Monkeys. As for highlights, there are a couple of Red-bellied Tree Squirrels, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before, an astonishing number of at least 50 Coypu in a foul-smelling pool, Brown Lemurs, Arctic Foxes (blue phase) and felines such as Servals, Fishing Cats and Altai Lynx. The biggest shock was right at the end, when I came across a half-decent exhibit for a couple of Chinese Dhole. One never knows what will show up at a small, privately-run zoo!
Chinese Dhole exhibit:
Barbary Macaque exhibit:
Fishing Cat exhibit:
Coypu exhibit with 50+ animals:
Red-bellied Squirrel exhibit:
Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit:
Bactrian Camel exhibit:
Zoo Map:
After my first stop of the day, at Ree Park Safari, I then had a very short 15-minute drive north to my next zoo. I uploaded 20 photos of this facility to the ZooChat gallery. Much like Ree Park, Munkholm Zoo seems like it's in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by rural countryside. There are farms in all directions and a real rustic feel to the land.
Zoo/Aquarium # 6: Munkholm Zoo (Munkholm, DK)
This zoo is a home-made concoction that is like the ‘De Paay’ of Denmark, even though it was packed on my visit. The staff are friendly, families were milling around feeding the animals with fresh produced purchased on site, but so many of the exhibits were of a very poor quality. There’s peeling paint, missing signs, a couple of empty enclosures, overgrown weeds, and a general sense of decrepitude. A lot of domestic animals dominate, but there are a few surprises along the way.
Way out in the country, accessed by a single-lane road and surrounded by crops, this family-run zoo was difficult to find even with a GPS system in my rental car. There’s a big grassy yard as a parking lot and the zoo itself is very small. I saw the whole thing in around 45 minutes, as I didn’t want to spend too long looking at sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and my daily dose of Ring-tailed Lemurs and Coatis. There’s also a lot of small mammals, such as Cotton-top Tamarins, Meerkats, Dwarf Mongooses, Zebra Mongooses, Small-clawed Otters, Indian Crested Porcupines, Raccoon Dogs, Raccoons (obese from visitor feeding), Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Bennett’s Wallabies and Azara’s Agoutis. The largest species are a quartet of Bactrian Camels and so the main focus is small mammals to cater to families with little kids.
Primates do poorly here, with subpar exhibits for Barbary Macaques, Emperor Tamarins and Patas Monkeys. As for highlights, there are a couple of Red-bellied Tree Squirrels, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before, an astonishing number of at least 50 Coypu in a foul-smelling pool, Brown Lemurs, Arctic Foxes (blue phase) and felines such as Servals, Fishing Cats and Altai Lynx. The biggest shock was right at the end, when I came across a half-decent exhibit for a couple of Chinese Dhole. One never knows what will show up at a small, privately-run zoo!
Chinese Dhole exhibit:
Barbary Macaque exhibit:
Fishing Cat exhibit:
Coypu exhibit with 50+ animals:
Red-bellied Squirrel exhibit:
Ring-tailed Lemur exhibit:
Bactrian Camel exhibit:
Zoo Map:
I'm actually a bit surprised that you were so disappointed with Munkholm which, in my opinion, has some of the best exhibitry standards among the small, family-owned Danish zoos. The monkey exhibits are indeed a bit subpar, and the reptile exhibits are pretty bad (though I've heard they were recently given a overhaul), but I feel like most exhibits for rodents, small carnivores and birds are pretty good, if basic - they are big for such a small zoo and are generally lush and green. The domestic hoofstock also have fairly grassy enclosures unlike many other zoos where they walk on dirt and sand.
Maybe I just have very low exhibit standards?
I also didn't feel like the zoo was that decrepit when I visited one year ago, but admittedly a lot of disrepair can happen in a year if the owners don't care about upkeep. They got new owners in late 2020, and these haven't been too ambitious about developing the zoo, instead preferring to stick with the status quo.
I'll agree with you, though, that the collection isn't too exciting, and that the zoo clearly panders the most to families with little kids.
Maybe I just have very low exhibit standards?
I also didn't feel like the zoo was that decrepit when I visited one year ago, but admittedly a lot of disrepair can happen in a year if the owners don't care about upkeep. They got new owners in late 2020, and these haven't been too ambitious about developing the zoo, instead preferring to stick with the status quo.
I'll agree with you, though, that the collection isn't too exciting, and that the zoo clearly panders the most to families with little kids.
Thanks for your comments @Hvedekorn and I owe you an extra thanks for your contribution to this website in regards to Danish zoos. I found your information on Denmark's zoos valuable when planning this trip.
Earlier you asked if there happened to be any rare bird species at Skaerup Zoo, but I did not take photos and make a list of bird species at that zoo. I stuck mainly to mammals there.
As for Munkholm, the zoo's entrance and first few exhibits are a bit of a chaotic shambles to be honest. I felt that it was clearly a superior zoo to the Dutch atrocity called 'De Paay', but in the end Munkholm was the weakest establishment that I visited in Scandinavia. It's funny to me that I thought the zoo was mediocre, and yet it was packed with visitors on a Friday afternoon. Obviously many families enjoy the place, even though it's in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by fields.
Earlier you asked if there happened to be any rare bird species at Skaerup Zoo, but I did not take photos and make a list of bird species at that zoo. I stuck mainly to mammals there.
As for Munkholm, the zoo's entrance and first few exhibits are a bit of a chaotic shambles to be honest. I felt that it was clearly a superior zoo to the Dutch atrocity called 'De Paay', but in the end Munkholm was the weakest establishment that I visited in Scandinavia. It's funny to me that I thought the zoo was mediocre, and yet it was packed with visitors on a Friday afternoon. Obviously many families enjoy the place, even though it's in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by fields.
This look way better than De Paay. The small mammals exhibit looks fine to me.
Friday, August 5th, 2022
Zoo/Aquarium # 7: AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark/AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Silkeborg, DK)
After visiting Munkholm Zoo, I drove an hour west to my next stop of the day. AQUA Aquarium describes itself on its website as a “family-friendly experience center about Danish nature. We are Northern Europe’s only freshwater aquarium”. The establishment opened in 1993 and it has a large, impressive looking building that serves as the aquarium, plus some outdoor trails with native species in excellent exhibits. I imagine that families could spend all day here, because there’s a superb playground outside that is of a significant size and it involves water activities alongside nature-based climbing structures. For me, I spent 1.5 hours at this enjoyable facility.
The entrance is at the main building and over 4 levels I was able to see what animal life is out there in Danish waterways. Beginning downstairs, there is a small basement that essentially consists of a single room devoted to eels. There’s a big tank with at least 25 wriggling eels in it, plus a smaller tank with yet more eels. Even the walls are full of eel literature and information, and it’s all very dark and eerie and I wasn’t able to take any decent photos in what is deemed a ‘Nocturnal Aquarium’. The main floor contains various tanks for local freshwater fish (Grayling, Common Minnow, Alpine Bullhead, Gudgeon, Common Rudd (not Paul Rudd!), Zander, Sturgeon, etc.) and there are several open-topped tanks. There’s a room for Water Beetles, plus exhibits for Marble Crayfish, Noble Crayfish and Signal Crayfish. The most spectacular of all would be the 10 or so viewing windows into a series of lake-themed habitats. There’s also underwater viewing for European Otters that is nicely done.
Aquarium entrance:
Danish Lakes exhibit:
European Otter underwater viewing:
The next floor up has Danish reptiles and amphibians in good-sized terrariums. I really enjoyed this section, and it contains the following 14 species: European Adder, Grass Snake, Smooth Snake, Slowworm, Sand Lizard, European Pond Turtle, Alpine Newt, Crested Newt, Smooth Newt, Common Frog, European Tree Frog, Natterjack Toad, Fire-bellied Toad and Common Toad.
Assorted terrariums:
The top floor of the building has an interactive gallery about the Gudena River, which is 160 km long and Denmark’s longest river. This section was a waste for me, and I walked through it in a few minutes. There’s very little English on the signs, there are zero live animals, and visitors are encouraged to do things like download an App, or use your iPhone, or watch video screens but the reptile and amphibian gallery a floor below is far superior.
After finishing up all 4 levels of the Aquarium building, I headed outside and encountered a top-notch European Otter exhibit. From there, I had a pleasant walk and saw many charismatic mammal species: Raccoon Dog, Coypu, Raccoon, Mink (although currently an empty exhibit), Beaver, European Badger, European Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Reeves’s Muntjac and Polecat. There’s also European Pond, Red-eared and Yellow-bellied Turtles, White Storks, Mute Swans, Muscovy Ducks and an aviary with at least 10 Cormorants.
European Otter exhibit:
Raccoon exhibit:
Beaver exhibit (with at least 8 beavers including kits!):
European Badger exhibit:
Danish Lakes exhibit (partial outdoor view):
Reeves's Muntjac/White Stork exhibit in front of Hotel & Conference Center:
AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, with all the exhibits being of a high quality and the playground area is superb for families. There’s a really nice representation of native wildlife, with about a dozen mammal species, 18 or so types of reptiles and amphibians, a few birds and lots of fish. Approximately 90,000 visitors arrive at the doors of this establishment each year and that is basically the exact same total as the local metropolitan population. It seems to me that they have a little gem on their hands. This is a relatively obscure facility even for zoo nerds, as I uploaded 27 photos to the gallery and those are basically the first photos of the place in 8 years.
Zoo/Aquarium # 7: AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark/AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Silkeborg, DK)
After visiting Munkholm Zoo, I drove an hour west to my next stop of the day. AQUA Aquarium describes itself on its website as a “family-friendly experience center about Danish nature. We are Northern Europe’s only freshwater aquarium”. The establishment opened in 1993 and it has a large, impressive looking building that serves as the aquarium, plus some outdoor trails with native species in excellent exhibits. I imagine that families could spend all day here, because there’s a superb playground outside that is of a significant size and it involves water activities alongside nature-based climbing structures. For me, I spent 1.5 hours at this enjoyable facility.
The entrance is at the main building and over 4 levels I was able to see what animal life is out there in Danish waterways. Beginning downstairs, there is a small basement that essentially consists of a single room devoted to eels. There’s a big tank with at least 25 wriggling eels in it, plus a smaller tank with yet more eels. Even the walls are full of eel literature and information, and it’s all very dark and eerie and I wasn’t able to take any decent photos in what is deemed a ‘Nocturnal Aquarium’. The main floor contains various tanks for local freshwater fish (Grayling, Common Minnow, Alpine Bullhead, Gudgeon, Common Rudd (not Paul Rudd!), Zander, Sturgeon, etc.) and there are several open-topped tanks. There’s a room for Water Beetles, plus exhibits for Marble Crayfish, Noble Crayfish and Signal Crayfish. The most spectacular of all would be the 10 or so viewing windows into a series of lake-themed habitats. There’s also underwater viewing for European Otters that is nicely done.
Aquarium entrance:
Danish Lakes exhibit:
European Otter underwater viewing:
The next floor up has Danish reptiles and amphibians in good-sized terrariums. I really enjoyed this section, and it contains the following 14 species: European Adder, Grass Snake, Smooth Snake, Slowworm, Sand Lizard, European Pond Turtle, Alpine Newt, Crested Newt, Smooth Newt, Common Frog, European Tree Frog, Natterjack Toad, Fire-bellied Toad and Common Toad.
Assorted terrariums:
The top floor of the building has an interactive gallery about the Gudena River, which is 160 km long and Denmark’s longest river. This section was a waste for me, and I walked through it in a few minutes. There’s very little English on the signs, there are zero live animals, and visitors are encouraged to do things like download an App, or use your iPhone, or watch video screens but the reptile and amphibian gallery a floor below is far superior.
After finishing up all 4 levels of the Aquarium building, I headed outside and encountered a top-notch European Otter exhibit. From there, I had a pleasant walk and saw many charismatic mammal species: Raccoon Dog, Coypu, Raccoon, Mink (although currently an empty exhibit), Beaver, European Badger, European Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Reeves’s Muntjac and Polecat. There’s also European Pond, Red-eared and Yellow-bellied Turtles, White Storks, Mute Swans, Muscovy Ducks and an aviary with at least 10 Cormorants.
European Otter exhibit:
Raccoon exhibit:
Beaver exhibit (with at least 8 beavers including kits!):
European Badger exhibit:
Danish Lakes exhibit (partial outdoor view):
Reeves's Muntjac/White Stork exhibit in front of Hotel & Conference Center:
AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, with all the exhibits being of a high quality and the playground area is superb for families. There’s a really nice representation of native wildlife, with about a dozen mammal species, 18 or so types of reptiles and amphibians, a few birds and lots of fish. Approximately 90,000 visitors arrive at the doors of this establishment each year and that is basically the exact same total as the local metropolitan population. It seems to me that they have a little gem on their hands. This is a relatively obscure facility even for zoo nerds, as I uploaded 27 photos to the gallery and those are basically the first photos of the place in 8 years.
Last edited:
I really like the look of this place, goes to show even small, commonly glossed-over countries such as Denmark, can have really nice looking collections of purely native wildlife if it is exhibited well. I think this place fits that perfectly.Friday, August 5th, 2022
Zoo/Aquarium # 7: AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark/AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Silkeborg, DK)
After visiting Munkholm Zoo, I drove an hour west to my next stop of the day. AQUA Aquarium describes itself on its website as a “family-friendly experience center about Danish nature. We are Northern Europe’s only freshwater aquarium”. The establishment opened in 1993 and it has a large, impressive looking building that serves as the aquarium, plus some outdoor trails with native species in excellent exhibits. I imagine that families could spend all day here, because there’s a superb playground outside that is of a significant size and it involves water activities alongside nature-based climbing structures. For me, I spent 1.5 hours at this enjoyable facility.
The entrance is at the main building and over 4 levels I was able to see what animal life is out there in Danish waterways. Beginning downstairs, there is a small basement that essentially consists of a single room devoted to eels. There’s a big tank with at least 25 wriggling eels in it, plus a smaller tank with yet more eels. Even the walls are full of eel literature and information, and it’s all very dark and eerie and I wasn’t able to take any decent photos in what is deemed a ‘Nocturnal Aquarium’. The main floor contains various tanks for local freshwater fish (Grayling, Common Minnow, Alpine Bullhead, Gudgeon, Common Rudd (not Paul Rudd!), Zander, Sturgeon, etc.) and there are several open-topped tanks. There’s a room for Water Beetles, plus exhibits for Marble Crayfish, Noble Crayfish and Signal Crayfish. The most spectacular of all would be the 10 or so viewing windows into a series of lake-themed habitats. There’s also underwater viewing for European Otters that is nicely done.
Aquarium entrance:
Danish Lakes exhibit:
European Otter underwater viewing:
The next floor up has Danish reptiles and amphibians in good-sized terrariums. I really enjoyed this section, and it contains the following 14 species: European Adder, Grass Snake, Smooth Snake, Slowworm, Sand Lizard, European Pond Turtle, Alpine Newt, Crested Newt, Smooth Newt, Common Frog, European Tree Frog, Natterjack Toad, Fire-bellied Toad and Common Toad.
Assorted terrariums:
The top floor of the building has an interactive gallery about the Gudena River, which is 160 km long and Denmark’s longest river. This section was a waste for me, and I walked through it in a few minutes. There’s very little English on the signs, there are zero live animals, and visitors are encouraged to do things like download an App, or use your iPhone, or watch video screens but the reptile and amphibian gallery a floor below is far superior.
After finishing up all 4 levels of the Aquarium building, I headed outside and encountered a top-notch European Otter exhibit. From there, I had a pleasant walk and saw many charismatic mammal species: Raccoon Dog, Coypu, Raccoon, Mink (although currently an empty exhibit), Beaver, European Badger, European Wild Boar, Fallow Deer, Reeves’s Muntjac and Polecat. There’s also European Pond, Red-eared and Yellow-bellied Turtles, White Storks, Mute Swans, Muscovy Ducks and an aviary with at least 10 Cormorants.
European Otter exhibit:
Raccoon exhibit:
Beaver exhibit (with at least 8 beavers including kits!):
European Badger exhibit:
Danish Lakes exhibit (partial outdoor view):
Reeves's Muntjac/White Stork exhibit in front of Hotel & Conference Center:
AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, with all the exhibits being of a high quality and the playground area is superb for families. There’s a really nice representation of native wildlife, with about a dozen mammal species, 18 or so types of reptiles and amphibians, a few birds and lots of fish. Approximately 90,000 visitors arrive at the doors of this establishment each year and that is basically the exact same total as the local metropolitan population. It seems to me that they have a little gem on their hands. This is a relatively obscure facility for even zoo nerds, as I uploaded 27 photos to the gallery and those are basically the first photos of the place in 8 years.
Thanks for the kind words.
Earlier you asked if there happened to be any rare bird species at Skaerup Zoo, but I did not take photos and make a list of bird species at that zoo. I stuck mainly to mammals there.
That's totally okay - I just wondered if they'd suddenly demolished their wading bird aviary, but seems like that's not the case.
Munkholm is easily a weaker establishment than the big-name Scandinavian zoos, we can agree on that. However, I'd personally rate it slightly higher than Jyllands Park Zoo that you also visited, but both have their strengths and weaknesses. If you had visited most of the other tiny, family-owned zoos in Denmark - especially the "farm zoos" which don't have proper zoo licenses - you'd probably find that most of them have generally lower exhibit standards than Munkholm.
It also sounds like you walked through the zoo counter-clockwise since the dhole exhibit was the last thing you saw. In that case, the first exhibits you saw would be the courtyard exhibits by the old farm buildings. These are indeed the oldest and poorest exhibits Munkholm has and could probably give a bit of a poor first impression.
Friday, August 5th, 2022
Up next is a review of Jyllands Park Zoo, which completes the first two days of my trip.
DAY ONE:
Kattegatcentret Center (Grenaa, DK)
Skandinavisk Dyrepark/Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Kolind, DK)
Skaerup Zoo (Borkop, DK)
Givskud Zoo (Givskud, DK)
DAY TWO:
Ree Park Safari (Ebeltoft, DK)
Munkholm Zoo (Munkholm, DK)
AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark/AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Silkeborg, DK)
Jyllands Park Zoo (Videbaek, DK)
Zoo/Aquarium # 8: Jyllands Park Zoo (Videbaek, DK)
After finishing up at AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park, I drove 45 minutes further west to my 4th and final stop of the day. This zoo was previously known as Haunstrup Dyrepark when it opened in 1969, with the establishment being sold to a couple and renamed in 1998. That couple still run the place, so the park has only had two owners in more than half a century! Jyllands Park Zoo is a real mixed bag of a zoo, with enclosure quality all over the spectrum and around 350 animals. Generally, it seems that when one is looking at the zoo’s map, there are a lot of newer, more modern exhibits on the far right-hand side as well as the far left-hand side. The central core of the zoo contains some enclosures that probably date close to the origin of the facility. I uploaded approximately 70 photos of the zoo into the gallery because the most recent photo is now 13 years old. Here is another zoo that is rarely visited by ZooChatters.
This is a place that would appeal to some zoo nerds, as it’s a rambling type of zoo with various exhibit styles, a hodgepodge layout and a few neat surprises here and there. I enjoyed this zoo and I feel that it’s a place trying to be better and that alone is an achievement, but there certainly are some very poor areas and there is a lot needed to upgrade most of the facility. Near the entrance there is a ghastly cement pit for Hamadryas Baboons that has a bit of natural substrate but not much for the monkeys to do. I wouldn’t be shocked, with its green walls and decaying appearance, if this baboon enclosure dates from the zoo’s opening day 53 years ago. There’s also a bizarre Lion exhibit with an enclosure on each side of a raised cage that can be seen from the zoo’s parking lot. There’s an old pool with peeling paint for South African Fur Seals that was drained due to the presence of a baby seal. These types of exhibits are all very poor and aesthetically awful.
A raised part of the Lion exhibit can be seen from the zoo's parking lot:
Old-fashioned Hamadryas Baboon pit:
South African Fur Seal exhibit (ugh!):
Also in the central part of the zoo are a Bird House and a Tropical House, both old structures that provide the zoo with a sense of its own history. The Bird House isn’t very large, but it has character, along with the following 6 species: African Grey Parrot, Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Yellow-naped Amazon, Salmon-crested Cockatoo, Goeldi’s Marmoset and Burmese Python. All those animals, aside from the python, have corresponding outdoor exhibits.
Bird House:
The Tropical House is right next door and has outdoor exhibits for Asian Palm Civets and Meerkats. Inside sees those species with indoor areas, plus the following: Six-banded Armadillo, Common Bulbul, Diamond Dove, Canary, Chaco Owl, Spectacled Caiman, Carpet Python, Green Iguana, Bearded Dragon, Corn Snake, Leopard Tortoise, Emperor Scorpion, Annam Walking Stick and Giant African Snail. Both the Bird House and Tropical House don’t have many species, but Asian Palm Civets and Chaco Owls are nothing to sniff at!
Asian Palm Civet exhibit with an interesting mural:
Tropical House:
Things look up as one heads east on the map. There’s a nice Burrowing Owl aviary, some Reindeer in a basic paddock, Bennett’s Wallabies in a grassy yard, plus Squirrel Monkeys on an island. Alpacas and Rheas share a long enclosure, as do Lowland Tapirs and Capybaras. Red-handed Tamarins, Servals, Prairie Dogs and Agoutis, along with various parrots, all have decent yet unspectacular exhibits. This whole area is actually a loop that leads visitors back to the central part of the zoo and the enclosures are all of a much more modern taste.
Burrowing Owl aviary:
Lowland Tapir/Capybara exhibit:
That leaves the western side of the zoo. As one heads in that direction, you pass unfortunate Patas Monkeys directly next to boisterous children at the playground, Coypus, a really nice aviary for Pink-backed Pelicans, Chilean Flamingos and White Storks, plus Banded Mongooses, Small-clawed Otters and Humboldt Penguins. This area has a lot of smaller animals that appeal to young families and the exhibits are of a decent quality.
Pink-backed Pelican (in tree!)/Chilean Flamingo/White Stork aviary:
The last part of the zoo begins with an exciting new building that is the Giraffe House. There’s a smallish yard connected to a brand-new structure that is just about finished. It only needs its inhabitants, who will then share a larger African Savanna space with Grant’s Zebras and Ostriches. Nearby are Caracals, Javan Macaques, Ankole Cattle, a walk-through enclosure with Sika Deer, and a Spotted Hyena exhibit. The hyenas had been given a goat carcass which was entirely intact except for the head! It must have just been delivered, as the two hyenas were savaging the dead goat and guts were shooting everywhere. This is something that you’d never see in a North American zoo, and it was quite intriguing except of course for the rancid smell.
Giraffe House (new in 2022 and not quite finished):
Giraffe House (new in 2022 and not quite finished):
Giraffe/Zebra/Ostrich savanna (with basic chain-link fencing):
Spotted Hyena exhibit (with two animals eating a goat carcass):
Jyllands Park Zoo has, overall, a number of unspectacular but solid exhibits spread throughout the grounds. Unfortunately, just about the first three things a visitor sees are the baboons, lions and fur seals, which makes for a truly awful first impression. If that middle core of the zoo was cleaned up and modernized, then it would be a far superior facility. As things stand, there are posters and images of the soon to arrive giraffes everywhere, and the new Giraffe House is certainly larger and more impressive than many similar buildings that I've seen at major zoos. That's a positive sign for Jyllands Park Zoo and hopefully this zoo can continue to improve its older structures.
Up next is a review of Jyllands Park Zoo, which completes the first two days of my trip.
DAY ONE:
Kattegatcentret Center (Grenaa, DK)
Skandinavisk Dyrepark/Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Kolind, DK)
Skaerup Zoo (Borkop, DK)
Givskud Zoo (Givskud, DK)
DAY TWO:
Ree Park Safari (Ebeltoft, DK)
Munkholm Zoo (Munkholm, DK)
AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark/AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Silkeborg, DK)
Jyllands Park Zoo (Videbaek, DK)
Zoo/Aquarium # 8: Jyllands Park Zoo (Videbaek, DK)
After finishing up at AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park, I drove 45 minutes further west to my 4th and final stop of the day. This zoo was previously known as Haunstrup Dyrepark when it opened in 1969, with the establishment being sold to a couple and renamed in 1998. That couple still run the place, so the park has only had two owners in more than half a century! Jyllands Park Zoo is a real mixed bag of a zoo, with enclosure quality all over the spectrum and around 350 animals. Generally, it seems that when one is looking at the zoo’s map, there are a lot of newer, more modern exhibits on the far right-hand side as well as the far left-hand side. The central core of the zoo contains some enclosures that probably date close to the origin of the facility. I uploaded approximately 70 photos of the zoo into the gallery because the most recent photo is now 13 years old. Here is another zoo that is rarely visited by ZooChatters.
This is a place that would appeal to some zoo nerds, as it’s a rambling type of zoo with various exhibit styles, a hodgepodge layout and a few neat surprises here and there. I enjoyed this zoo and I feel that it’s a place trying to be better and that alone is an achievement, but there certainly are some very poor areas and there is a lot needed to upgrade most of the facility. Near the entrance there is a ghastly cement pit for Hamadryas Baboons that has a bit of natural substrate but not much for the monkeys to do. I wouldn’t be shocked, with its green walls and decaying appearance, if this baboon enclosure dates from the zoo’s opening day 53 years ago. There’s also a bizarre Lion exhibit with an enclosure on each side of a raised cage that can be seen from the zoo’s parking lot. There’s an old pool with peeling paint for South African Fur Seals that was drained due to the presence of a baby seal. These types of exhibits are all very poor and aesthetically awful.
A raised part of the Lion exhibit can be seen from the zoo's parking lot:
Old-fashioned Hamadryas Baboon pit:
South African Fur Seal exhibit (ugh!):
Also in the central part of the zoo are a Bird House and a Tropical House, both old structures that provide the zoo with a sense of its own history. The Bird House isn’t very large, but it has character, along with the following 6 species: African Grey Parrot, Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Yellow-naped Amazon, Salmon-crested Cockatoo, Goeldi’s Marmoset and Burmese Python. All those animals, aside from the python, have corresponding outdoor exhibits.
Bird House:
The Tropical House is right next door and has outdoor exhibits for Asian Palm Civets and Meerkats. Inside sees those species with indoor areas, plus the following: Six-banded Armadillo, Common Bulbul, Diamond Dove, Canary, Chaco Owl, Spectacled Caiman, Carpet Python, Green Iguana, Bearded Dragon, Corn Snake, Leopard Tortoise, Emperor Scorpion, Annam Walking Stick and Giant African Snail. Both the Bird House and Tropical House don’t have many species, but Asian Palm Civets and Chaco Owls are nothing to sniff at!
Asian Palm Civet exhibit with an interesting mural:
Tropical House:
Things look up as one heads east on the map. There’s a nice Burrowing Owl aviary, some Reindeer in a basic paddock, Bennett’s Wallabies in a grassy yard, plus Squirrel Monkeys on an island. Alpacas and Rheas share a long enclosure, as do Lowland Tapirs and Capybaras. Red-handed Tamarins, Servals, Prairie Dogs and Agoutis, along with various parrots, all have decent yet unspectacular exhibits. This whole area is actually a loop that leads visitors back to the central part of the zoo and the enclosures are all of a much more modern taste.
Burrowing Owl aviary:
Lowland Tapir/Capybara exhibit:
That leaves the western side of the zoo. As one heads in that direction, you pass unfortunate Patas Monkeys directly next to boisterous children at the playground, Coypus, a really nice aviary for Pink-backed Pelicans, Chilean Flamingos and White Storks, plus Banded Mongooses, Small-clawed Otters and Humboldt Penguins. This area has a lot of smaller animals that appeal to young families and the exhibits are of a decent quality.
Pink-backed Pelican (in tree!)/Chilean Flamingo/White Stork aviary:
The last part of the zoo begins with an exciting new building that is the Giraffe House. There’s a smallish yard connected to a brand-new structure that is just about finished. It only needs its inhabitants, who will then share a larger African Savanna space with Grant’s Zebras and Ostriches. Nearby are Caracals, Javan Macaques, Ankole Cattle, a walk-through enclosure with Sika Deer, and a Spotted Hyena exhibit. The hyenas had been given a goat carcass which was entirely intact except for the head! It must have just been delivered, as the two hyenas were savaging the dead goat and guts were shooting everywhere. This is something that you’d never see in a North American zoo, and it was quite intriguing except of course for the rancid smell.
Giraffe House (new in 2022 and not quite finished):
Giraffe House (new in 2022 and not quite finished):
Giraffe/Zebra/Ostrich savanna (with basic chain-link fencing):
Spotted Hyena exhibit (with two animals eating a goat carcass):
Jyllands Park Zoo has, overall, a number of unspectacular but solid exhibits spread throughout the grounds. Unfortunately, just about the first three things a visitor sees are the baboons, lions and fur seals, which makes for a truly awful first impression. If that middle core of the zoo was cleaned up and modernized, then it would be a far superior facility. As things stand, there are posters and images of the soon to arrive giraffes everywhere, and the new Giraffe House is certainly larger and more impressive than many similar buildings that I've seen at major zoos. That's a positive sign for Jyllands Park Zoo and hopefully this zoo can continue to improve its older structures.
Ah so this is the Scandinavian version of America roadside zoo?