Apenrots undergoes renovation this autumn at ARTIS Zoo
- 10 October 2024
The Apenrots, built in 1966, will become the new abode of the endangered red panda and the Asian small-clawed otter.
ARTIS Zoo recently found a new home elsewhere for the group of Japanese macaques, which inhabited the Apenrots in recent decades.
The minimalist rock remains a landscape element, but now becomes part of a green island connected to the surrounding tree canopy. Landscape architect Thijs de Zeeuw is responsible for the new design.
The new design does away with outdated views on animal welfare, without completely erasing the Apenrots. The Apenrots will no longer be isolated from its surroundings, but part of a larger enclosure with different height levels and vegetation. The island will be planted with grasses and a few trees surrounded by a water landscape of boulders, aquatic plants and dead wood for the Asian small-clawed otter. With several connections and a dead tree as a focal point, the tree crowns of the surrounding trees are connected. Ideal for the red panda as an agile climber, the animal decides for itself whether or not to be visible.
Different role within species conservation
Within a European species conservation programme, several zoos together ensure a stable and healthy population. This includes animals that do not reproduce. Therefore, zoos are needed that can house, for example, higher-aged couples or same-sex groups. ARTIS Zoo will soon be that place for both the red panda and the Asian small-clawed otter.
DSeries of renovations in ARTIS Zoo
The Apenrots is one of the renovations ARTIS Zoo is realising in the park this autumn, alongside the restorations of the monumental Kerbertterras, Duivenhuis and Moeflonstal. The renovation of Apenrots will start in November and the animals are expected to take up residence in early spring 2025.
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