Antwerp Zoo

Antwerp Zoo
Entrance gate of the Antwerp Zoo
51°12′59″N 4°25′24″E / 51.21639°N 4.42333°E / 51.21639; 4.42333
Date opened	21 July 1843 (181 years old) [1]
Location	Antwerp, Belgium
No. of animals	5000 [2]
No. of species	950 [2]
Annual visitors	1,100,100 [3]
Memberships	38,000
Website	http://www.zooantwerpen.be

Antwerp Zoo (Dutch: ZOO Antwerpen) is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.

Since its foundation, the park has been controlled by De Koninklijke Maatschappij voor Dierkunde van Antwerpen, a society originally called Société Royale de Zoologie d'Anvers (The Antwerp Royal Society for Zoology). This also became the popular nickname for the zoo, "De Zoologie". The initial objective was to encourage

In its early years, the size of the park grew from less than 1.59 hectares (3.9 acres) to more than 10.5 hectares (26 acres). Notable buildings from that period are the Egyptian temple (1856) and the antelope building (1861) in Oriental style, which now houses the okapis.^[1]

The zoo has also a cultural function. Originally, concerts were held in the garden of the zoo. The museum building was demolished to build a concert hall. The hall then became the residence of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the symphonic orchestra of Flanders. The museum collections were moved to the second floor.^{[citation needed]}

For the 1920 Summer Olympics, a specially built stadium at the Zoo's zoology hall hosted the boxing and wrestling events.^[4][5]

After

On 1 January 1983, the animal park was classified as a monument. Ten years later, its 150th anniversary was celebrated. In 1997, Vriesland (Freezeland) was opened. It houses subantarctic penguins and in the past also Alaskan sea otters. In spring 1999, the elephant compound was expanded. In 2003, many animals, including hippos, Malayan tapirs, and a number of swamp birds received a new home in Hippotopia.^{[citation needed]}

Together with its sister park Planckendael, Antwerp Zoo houses over 7,000 animals of about 950 species. Over 1.6 million people visit the zoo and Planckendael each year, and the zoo has around 200,000 supporting members.^[6][7]

Some exhibits and species in the park include:

• Vriesland with king penguins, macaroni penguins, and gentoo penguins. In the past, a couple of sea otters were also housed here, but they were replaced by seals after the last one died.
• Aquaforum with California sea lions, used to house bottlenose dolphins up until 1999.
• Reptile house, renovated in 2005 with many species of snakes, lizards, turtles, and frogs, as well as caimans
• The over a century old renovated aquarium, with renovations completed in 2015, housing many species of saltwater and freshwater fish
• Savannah aviary with African buffalos and several bird species including guineafowl, ibisess and Abdim's storks
• Egyptian temple with Asian elephants, Hartmann's mountain zebras and giraffes,
• Aviaries and bird house with many birds species including military macaws, turacos, toucans, peafowls, pheasants and a large collection of songbirds.
• Hippotopia with
  coypus
  and a couple of bird species
• Bearcanyon with spectacled bears, and coatis
• Cat enclosures with Amur leopards, lions and jaguars
• Flemish garden
• Kangaroo house with koalas and a tree-kangaroo
• Moorish temple with okapis
• Monkey house with
  javan lutungs, emperor tamarins, black-headed spider monkeys, golden-headed lion tamarins, pygmy marmosets, mandrills, ring-tailed lemurs and black lemurs
• Ape house with
  chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas and the world's only eastern lowland gorilla
  in captivity outside of Africa.
• Birds of prey including snowy owls, spectacled owls, crested caracaras, Keas and several vultures
• Other enclosures featuring
  harbour seals, bongos, meerkats, red pandas, North American porcupines, American flamingos and African penguins

The zoo used to have a dolphinarium called the Aquaforum. At the time of its construction, it was one of the most modern of its kind. Over the years, however, the infrastructure was considered far too small and dated. The zoo's urban location prevented any expansion and meant the society could not build a new one. In 1999, the two dolphins were relocated to Duisburg Zoo in Germany because of the new national standards for exhibits, with the exhibit too shallow to keep housing dolphins. The Aquaforum is now home to sea lions, which are much less demanding.

Antwerp Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the world, established in 1843. Many buildings are very well preserved. Some of them have received new functions throughout the years.

• Entrance of the zoo (1843)
• Egyptian temple (1856)
• Moor temple (1885): it still houses okapis. Antwerp Zoo became the world's first zoo with okapis in 1918.
• Bird building (1948)
• Nocturama (1968)
• Reptile building (1901): this building looks like a Greek temple.
• Aquarium (1910): designed by Emile Thielens.
• Winter garden (1897): a tropical greenhouse.

On 1 January 1983 the entire park (architecture and garden) was listed as a monument.

Antwerp Zoo has played its role in preservation and

• In 1952, the society in control of the zoo bought the
  nature preserve De Zegge in Geel, because nature preservation is an important part of its mission statement. It is an area that spans 96 hectares (240 acres) and receives international wildlife protection.^[8]
• In 1956, the same society bought the Domein Planckendael in Muizen, near Mechelen. It covers an area of 40 hectares (99 acres) and has become a full-grown animal park.^[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antwerp Zoo.

• Official website (in Dutch and French)
• Website of domain Planckendael (in Dutch and French)
• Center for Research and Conservation
• List of animals of Zoo Antwerp