28-01-2004, 12:08 PM
This is part of a review I had to do on the Noorder Dierenpark in Emmen, The Netherlands. Thought it might interest a few people here:
Emmen Zoo is located in the centre of a small town and is built on 32 acres of land plus an extention on the outskirts of town. With approximately 1.800,000 visitors per year, it is one of the most popular zoos in Europe.
The approach of Emmen Zoo is to keep fewer species of animal and to keep them in large, sometimes very large, natural groups. Striking examples were a group of several hundred sacred baboons, a herd of fifteen Asian elephants with numerous calves of different ages and an African Savannah exhibit with a large herd of giraffes mixed with white rhinos, zebras, ostriches, gnu, impala, springbok, Elipsen waterbuck, crowned cranes and guinea fowl. The new penguin exhibit with a flock of hundreds of Humboldt penguins was also very impressive. The husbandry challenges and solutions were of great interest to the Dublin team.
Emmen Zoo is also a zoo that communicates with its visitors in an innovative, informative and fun manner. Throughout the Zoo there are cheerful signs, interactive information points and fascinating objects relating to the animals exhibited. Information is provided in a very enjoyable manner, yet maintains integrity. The Zoo was very much designed with children in mind.
A visit to Emmen Zoo was time well spent. The biggest lesson learnt was that budget and space are not necessarily the only ingredients for a successful, exciting and challenging zoo, innovative design and a willingness and ability to think outside the box are of equal importance.
Emmen Zoo is located in the centre of a small town and is built on 32 acres of land plus an extention on the outskirts of town. With approximately 1.800,000 visitors per year, it is one of the most popular zoos in Europe.
The approach of Emmen Zoo is to keep fewer species of animal and to keep them in large, sometimes very large, natural groups. Striking examples were a group of several hundred sacred baboons, a herd of fifteen Asian elephants with numerous calves of different ages and an African Savannah exhibit with a large herd of giraffes mixed with white rhinos, zebras, ostriches, gnu, impala, springbok, Elipsen waterbuck, crowned cranes and guinea fowl. The new penguin exhibit with a flock of hundreds of Humboldt penguins was also very impressive. The husbandry challenges and solutions were of great interest to the Dublin team.
Emmen Zoo is also a zoo that communicates with its visitors in an innovative, informative and fun manner. Throughout the Zoo there are cheerful signs, interactive information points and fascinating objects relating to the animals exhibited. Information is provided in a very enjoyable manner, yet maintains integrity. The Zoo was very much designed with children in mind.
A visit to Emmen Zoo was time well spent. The biggest lesson learnt was that budget and space are not necessarily the only ingredients for a successful, exciting and challenging zoo, innovative design and a willingness and ability to think outside the box are of equal importance.