ZOO Antwerpen Zoo Antwerpen News 2025

Crowthorne said:
Thank you @KevinB this is really helpful to know! If it had just been a small renovation area I might have waited, but for such a large area, and such a long time till it is done, I might as well visit sooner :)

I know about Amahoro, but are there any other interesting species not to be missed? Am mostly interested in mammals and birds. Always interested if there is a nocturnal area too, and historic buildings (from looking at the gallery, Antwerp looks like it has some good history and architecture like my favourite ZSL London)
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Some interesting mammals are the okapi, the babirussa, the pygmy hippo, the bongo, the markhor and the owl-faced monkey, and lots of others. Of course for birds there’s still a very nice collection.
 
Thank you @KevinB and @MClaeys :)

That's a real shame about the Nocturama, the photos look like it was right up my street.

Have never seen Markhor so these will be a must! As are the Owl-face Monkeys. Luckily my local London have a lot of the other species covered, though their Babirusa are a bit shy so will be good to try and see them somewhere different. Okapi and Bongo are always a must see wherever they are :)

Good to know the rest of the historic buildings are still viewable, and will be interesting to see how they are being used and reused
 
Paul.Haerle said:
Does Antwerpen still keep Barred Quails?
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If you mean barred buttonquails, then yes, they are currently kept in the three smaller and lower aviaries in the indoor aviary room in the bird house, where they are housed with passerines. They might be challenging to see or photograph though.
 
KevinB said:
If you mean barred buttonquails, then yes, they are currently kept in the three smaller and lower aviaries in the indoor aviary room in the bird house, where they are housed with passerines. They might be challenging to see or photograph though.
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Yes I meant Barred Buttonquails.
Thank you very much
 
Crowthorne said:
Thank you @KevinB and @MClaeys :)

That's a real shame about the Nocturama, the photos look like it was right up my street.

Have never seen Markhor so these will be a must! As are the Owl-face Monkeys. Luckily my local London have a lot of the other species covered, though their Babirusa are a bit shy so will be good to try and see them somewhere different. Okapi and Bongo are always a must see wherever they are :)

Good to know the rest of the historic buildings are still viewable, and will be interesting to see how they are being used and reused
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The bongos are usually at the back of their enclosure, but if you visit them in the early morning or at the end of the day, you will have the best chance of having a good look at them. otherwise the dik-dik's that are also in the same enclosure will give u something to look at.
 
On one of my busiest visits i've ever had at the zoo today, there were a few new things I noticed and some sad news.
-The sign for the baby canadian tree porcupine was removed and i only saw 2 of them seperated. one inside and one outside, so the little one probably got send to a different zoo? Does anyone know for sure?
-The father of zabari will be revealed on thursday.
-They are hoping for Mia (the other younger female chimpanzee) to become pregnant and they are actively testing it with a pregnancy test.
-the right side of the pygmy marmoset enclosure was closed due to constructions. It looked like they were just reorganizing the enclosure.
-the vietnamese pheasant couple is going to vietnam for a while so their eggs can be used for a reintroduction program.
-There is only one ostrich left. The other one(s) (I can't remember if there were 2 or 3 originally) have died. New ostriches will arive, but no specific date or plan yet.
-The changes in the indoor pygmy hippo enclosure for the fruit bats didn't seem to work as they are stil always in the top left corner of the skylight.
-The 'zoovertellingen' or zoo stories seem to be a huge succes. They are always packed with people and though they are mainly for kids, they also give some usefull information, like the pheasant couple moving to vietnam. Combined with the volunteers who give more specific information about certain species, the zoo offers a lot of entertaining and informative options in these summer vacation months.

I also had some question about some things I saw today and was hoping someone could give some answers:
-Whisker and the other lions are nearing an age where they can have offspring. Are there any known plans to move whisker or the females to a different zoo?
-I saw a green iguana in the mississippi sisters' enclosure on a branch almost on the ground. When i returned to look if it had moved it was already gone but it made me wonder if they ever come down to the ground and if anyone has ever seen that?

Bonus: I also saw the Komodo dragon climbing a tree and wanted to share it here.
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gibbonobongo said:
-The sign for the baby canadian tree porcupine was removed and i only saw 2 of them seperated. one inside and one outside, so the little one probably got send to a different zoo? Does anyone know for sure?
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Zoe/Zoey, the young born in 2024, moved to ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen earlier this year. This was the last offspring for the breeding pair. They are now of advanced age, so the zoo has decided to castrate the male. Since the enclosure no longer meets the requirements, it has also been decided not to bring in any new animals.
 
Hello,

I will be visiting the zoo for the first time in about a week from now. If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be happy to hear it :)

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Hello,

I will be visiting the zoo for the first time in about a week from now. If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be happy to hear it :)

~Thylo
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Do you have a specific interest in particular species and/or types of exhibits?

Just last week there was some discussion in this very thread about the rarities and the most noteworthy exhibits at Antwerp that might be helpful.
 
3 scaly-sided mergansers hatched, according to ZooSience. So I think the 3 that were mentioned earlier weren't adults from a different zoo, but hatchlings from the already present ones. Wonderfull news because they are really endangerd in the wild. The chicks will move to a different zoo in a few months when they are old enough.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I will be visiting the zoo for the first time in about a week from now. If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be happy to hear it
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Crowthorne said:
Good to know the rest of the historic buildings are still viewable, and will be interesting to see how they are being used and reused
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I really like Antwerp. I think the modernisation of their historic buildings is exemplary - particularly the Aquarium, the Bird House and the walk-through aviary/African buffalo exhibit (you've got to see it to believe it ;)).
I was there in July and I was impressed by the number of species that I hadn't seen before, particularly in the Bird House. The highlights for me were the European aviary with its nesting colony of bee-eaters and the collared pratincoles, the spangled cotingas and the different surgeonfishes in the big reef tank at the end of the Aquarium. I was also delighted to revisit the buttonquails, red & black elephant shrews and Amaharo (of course) after my brief visit in 2019.
One more point, there were a lot of guides and some keepers helping visitors around the zoo and I had quite long conversations, in English, with two of them - there was also a tenor singing sea songs near the Aquarium, which I enjoyed rather less.
 
KevinB said:
Sadly giraffe Buna - the phenotypically reticulated giraffe in Antwerp's small herd of hybrids - unexpectedly died this morning and was found deceased by keepers. Nothing indicated a medical problem in the preceding days. A necropsy will be performed at the university of Gent.

ZOO Antwerpen
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That’s a pity to hear. How many giraffes are there left now? 1 or 2 animals?
 
Tickets are all booked for Antwerp, excited to visit my first overseas zoo since Cologne and Duisburg back in 2018!

What is the food offer like at the zoo? Will likely be eating there on the day I visit (am vegetarian/pescetarian, but will eat meat if push comes to shove)

feel free to PM me if you'd rather not derail the thread with food discussion :)
 
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Crowthorne said:
Tickets are all booked for Antwerp, excited to visit my first overseas zoo since Cologne and Duisburg back in 2018!

What is the food offer like at the zoo? Will likely be eating there on the day I visit (am vegetarian/pescetarian, but will eat meat if push comes to shove)
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The restaurants other than the big restaurant Savanna are usually only open during the weekends outside of holiday periods. The "Grand Café Flamingo" next to the zoo's exit has a very good vegetable lasagna, but I doubt it will be open when you visit.

Most of the dishes in the restaurant are actually vegetarian, except for the fish and chips.

You can find a menu with allergens here:

Savanne restaurant - Antwerp ZOO

I have heard mixed reactions on the quality of the food. Apparently the veggie balls portions are pretty small. For the last couple of years when I have eaten in the big restaurant I always took fish and chips which I find pretty good. According to my brother their spaghetti is also okay.
 
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