Reviews - Zoos in Europe

Amsterdam zoo, Artis, is one of the oldest in zoo history. It is an authentic city zoo. When it was founded the grounds consisted of a mix of footpaths between cottages, pubs and run-down small and large factories, on the East-side of the expanding city (source: Zoo was artis, zo is artis by J.G. Nieuwendijk). A few of the original buildings still exists. Though, used for another purpose, of course. For example, the old pub called 'Eik en Linde' first turned into the wolf-house, but nowadays visitors can observe African painted dogs here. A new pub 'Eik en Linde' has been established in 1967 at the Plantage Middenlaan, just across the zoo, about 100 meters from the entrance. (More historic details to be added)

A sad but well-known fact in the zoo's history is the death in 1883 of the last quagga in the world.

Artis Masterplan
A masterplan has been designed (2005) to expand and modernise the zoo. An important part of the blueprint is the building of an underground parking lot, where the original parking lot is above ground, still. This allows for additional enclosures to be used for big felines and others. When this final stage of the expansion has been realised, Artis will measure 14 ha.
Preparatory actions were started in 2008, and the works should be finalised in 2014. If no budgetary issues arise.

Some results of this Masterplan and new ideas about how to keep zoo animals and present them to the visitors of Amsterdam Zoo are recorded in a documentary entitled 'Het Nieuwe Artis' (The New Artis). This documentary of 2018 follows the birth of the first ever elephant calf born in Amsterdam and the new modern elephant enclosure. Moreover, it gives transparent insight of how the public relation department discusses the strategy of how to exploit the newborn calf most successfully, as it 'must' generate more paying visitors.

In the beginning of the documentary Haig Balian - Amsterdam Zoo director from 2003 until 2017 - wonders if it's still acceptable to keep animals in captivity nowadays. Although it is obvious that, being the Zoo director, Balian thinks it is acceptable under the right conditions, he is at the same time critical about the knowledge zoo visitors have about nature and animals in the wild. To bring across this knowledge better and the related conservation message it was decided in 2015 that Amsterdam Zoo would keep the names of their animals secret from the public. When animals are given names this triggers the innate human tendency to anthropomorphize the animals which is expected to hamper the Zoo's effort educating the visitors about nature, wild animals, biodiversity, ecosystems, the threats and the need of conservation to prevent potential extinctions.

A few exemplary scenes of the documentary concerning Amsterdam Zoo's mission can be seen below:

(Source: 2Doc - Het Nieuwe Artis, director Willemiek Kluijfhout)

Gorilla Jaap is given a bath, in 1938

In the spring of 1936 there was great news in Amsterdam Zoo, Natura Artis Magistra. For the first time ever in the Zoo's history a gorilla was on display. His name was Jaap, or more affectionately Japie.

The gorilla was sourced from Cameroon and came to the Netherlands with steamship 'Reggestroom Jacquot'. The great ape was a gift from the 'Vereeniging Artis-fonds' (Artis-fund society) and a real rarity in zoos in those days. Gorilla Jaap was 18 months old when he came to Amsterdam Zoo.

Jaap's physical condition was well monitored after his arrival. His growth was meticulously registered on graph paper, and even in the newspaper it was mentioned that his weight increased from 12.5 kg to 13.65 kg in four weeks time. At the end of 1936 there was a little dip in his growth curve. The suggestions that were given were observations and reasons that varied from 'bad stools', 'little appetite' to the more anthropomorphic 'weakness, dizziness'. However, in the first month of 1937 Jaap recovered and his growth curve did too.

In 1940 a film was recorded which showed the behaviour of gorilla 'Jaap' as well as that of chimpanzee 'Tommie' and orangutans 'Pim' and 'Piet'. They used the film to explain the behaviour to the visitors. The film was part of the series of biological Artis-movies made by the famous Head zookeeper A.F.J. Portielje and filmmaker H.C. Verkruysen.

A more popular film of gorilla Jaap is the one where 'Japie' is given a bath:

The monkey house, of which the first design dates from 1851 (by F. Markelbach), still gives you the feel of the architecture of that period. Steel joists and wide arches support and distribute the long rectangular room with cages on both sides. The monkeys are really at display, and have limited access to places where they can hide from all the “peeping Tom's”. All cages have a sufficient supply of accessories to climb and play. It is striking that only moderate use is made of natural materials like tree trunks and branches, just steel tubes are visible. Comparable with some outside enclosures in London Zoo which have cages with a complete web of steel pipes to the ceiling. In one large cage there are living together two meerkats, one white-eared marmoset and a squirrel monkey. A somewhat peculiar combination, but especially socially undesirable, in my opinion.

Another cage contained a very excited black crested macaque with a very large skin wound (loose skin flap) on its left thigh, probably the result of a recent fight. Animal keepers were busy isolating the individual animal, I suppose to treat the wound (suturing). The inside enclosures are attached to fairly large outdoor areas, which the animals avoided during my visit because of bad weather (rain). In the monkey house there are black spider monkeys and Mandrills to see as well. There is a mandrill breeding group consisting of one male and three females and young of October 2008. It also looks as if one female is pregnant.

As a building, the old predator gallery has more or less stand the test of time. This cannot be said of the way how predators should be kept in captivity. The cages are old-fashioned, and seperate cages have been merged to provide a more modern (larger!) animal shelter. Decisions have been made to reduce the number of species to keep and exhibit. As a result the zoo houses just the following big cats: two jaguars, one Amur leopard, and two servals. Nevertheless, there is generally a lack of hiding places for the animals. But I have to admit that the jaguars (1 black, 1 fur) do have a nicely furnished enclosure. A tree trunk hung up high provides the animals a place to observe the environment as most felines like to do, and there is a (very) small water pond. Next to the predator gallery African lions are kept in an area, which does not reflect ideas of modern zoo. Especially when you compare it to the Delhi zoo enclosure, which is a huge area with differences in level, you feel a bit sorry for the lions. A large moat filled with water borders a rather elongated but narrow and very barren outdoor space. The island of lemurs, just across the lions' den is a nice new asset. In good weather the lemurs go out freely, and a real "close encounter" is possible.

Western lowland gorillas form a major breeding group in Amsterdam (1 male, 3 females and 3 young). They have indoor and outdoor space at their disposal, but they have to share it with other monkeys and meerkats.

The two wolves that I could spot (I doubt if there are more) have a nice enclosure, pretty well shielded from the busybodies, the public. And there are some shelters provided. Considering the concept of wolf packs, most of us are familiar with, two wolves seems a small number of animals for a full development of social behavior. But new insights (L. David Mech, 1999) on the social life of the wolf, which is slowly gaining ground, a total number of two could meet their natural requirements.

The chimpanzees' inside enclosure is very old but is connected to a new outside enclosure by a kind of bridge. The group of eight animals, at least that was the number I could identify, have access to lots of toys and climbing facilities, and a kind of stork nests for “chilling”. The African wild dogs (two animals seen, m + f) have a very dull area around the 'wolve house' (which do not house wolves anymore, by the way). In the small mammals house many animals have been put together. This seems like a natural environment, but the animals do not have a lot of square meters at their disposal. Therefore, avoiding each other is not always possible, and stress inevitable?

The two oriental small claw otters do not have access to an outdoor enclosure, which seems a little too protective for these playful and robust animals. The maned wolf is a very shy animal, which needs places to hide. But unfortunately these are very limited in Artis. As a consequence you have a good chance to see the animals, in contrast to the situation in Rotterdam zoo, where you often look at an empty enclosure.

In general the the large ruminant enclosures are very small, measured to the need for big pastures of such large beasts while covering big distances. Of course, there are not a lot of zoos able to meet those requirements, especially in a city zoo of just 14 hectares, as is the case in Artis. A perfect example of the controversy between nature/biodiversity conservation and welfare.

The savannah, the new area which has been developed beyond the original boundaries of the zoo at the Doklaan, is a relief. A new philosophy has been executed perfectly. Wildebeests, meerkats, guinea fowl and other African species are housed together in a beautiful area with a pond surrounded by public trails above water. This must be great for the residents of the beautifully renovated warehouses on the other side of the watercourse, because they have nice views on the savannah.

The zoo is absolutely crowded with city herons, similar to the raptors in Delhi zoo. Probably caused by the easy way the birds get access to feed.

The breeding programme of the wisent is one of the oldest within the EEP system, and Artis is part of it from the beginning.

The New Artis, 2018

Is it still acceptable to keep animals in captivity in 2018? What is the task of a zoo? These are dilemmas that the management of Amsterdam Zoo - or Artis (as it is called by all Dutch people) - is struggling with.

The New Artis, a documentary by Willemiek Kluijfhout, gives a look behind the scenes of the oldest zoo in the Netherlands, which has welcomed visitors for more than 175 years. Kluijfhout not only shows how much attention and care is paid to the animals, but also shows how people think about the role of the zoo in the present time.

Can and should a zoo, for example, intervene in the survival of an endangered species? A dead serious, but at the same time ridiculous scene shows how a whole team of zookeepers helps in the reproduction process of a rare crocodile species - the false or Malayan gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii).

Marketing also plays an increasingly important role in the zoo. How can the upcoming birth of an elephant be exploited the best? Will the birth take place before the autumn holiday begins? That would certainly boost the number of visitors.

At the same time, the zoo tries to shift the visitor's attention. Where once the focus was on large, exotic animals, the zoo now focuses more and more on entire ecosystems. Not only exotic giraffes should attract visitors, but also the world of bacteria and viruses gets attention.

In addition, the experience of the animal is becoming increasingly important. But how do people relate to animals? Are they able to imagine - let alone assess - what animals experience in their artificial environment? The New Artis provides an interesting and transparent insight into the world behind the zoo fences. Unfortunately, the documentary is in Dutch and doesn't provide subtitles. Therefore I selected a few exemplary scenes of the documentary and provided them with English substitles:

(Source: 2Doc - Het Nieuwe Artis, director W.J.A. Kluijfhout)

The full documentary (in Dutch) can be seen here.

Zoo - a short film by Bert Haanstra

This historic black-and-white film raises the question: who is watching who in the zoo? Are the visitors watching the animals, or do the animals consider the visitors to be entertaining. In 1961, Dutch renowned filmmaker Bert Haanstra used the candid camera for the first time in the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam to film both the reactions of animal and man to each other.

A nice jazz soundtrack accompanies this observational documentary. People milling around watching the animals that are in turn watching them. People knit, they draw, they chat - as do the parrots. Monkeys, penguins, zebras and other species are just as unaware of the camera as the children and their parents. So expressions are recorded as natural as can be. How alike they sometimes are! Do humans differ from the big cats when cuddling? And there are similarities when considering eating habits it appears! And the domesticated tabby cat is attracted to its big brother to a level that could make the cat into a snack.

As the day moves along, the humans start to yawn, getting tired and fractious, while the animals seem oblivious to the fact that they are the ones in cages and not those bipeds. The score and the editing make this an opportunity to observe how the visual confrontation may entertain the humans and the animals alike. There's some humourous photography, a teeny bit of science and some sunshine before the sense of inevitability creeps in. Some have to go home, while some are already home. And a final answer to the question of who is watching whom is a matter for debate.

(Source: archive.org and imdb.com, both accessed on 02.10.2024)

Some additional information, such as contact details and involvement in breeding programmes.

directions to Amsterdam Zoo - Natura Artis Magistra

Amsterdam Zoo, or Artis as is it is called by the Dutch, is located in the heart of Amsterdam at Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, only a 25-minute walk or a 10 minute tramride from Dam Square. Artis has its own parking lot and is also easy to reach by public transport.

Address:
Plantage Kerklaan 38-40
1018CZ
Amsterdam
Netherlands

public transport

Trams 9 (from Amsterdam Central Station) and 14 (from Dam Square) stop close to Artis at the Artis stop. Tram 10 also stops within walking distance of Artis. The closest metro station is Waterlooplein. It is a 10-minute walk from the metro station to the Zoo entrance.

Check 9292.nl for travel directions from door to door. For train timetables to Amsterdam, visit NS.nl. Details on routes and timetables of tram or metro lines can be found on GVB.nl

If you want to go all the way as a tourist you might want to arrive at Artis by tour boat. Visit the websites of the Artis Royal Zoo Express for more information on prices, ticket offices and departure times.

By bicycle

Riding a bicycle is the best and eco-friendly way to cover distances in Amsterdam and make the most of your visit. There's a plethora of bike rental shops in Amsterdam, such as MacBike and Rent a Bike Amsterdam. So, why not rent a bicycle and find your way to Artis on two wheels. You can park your bicycle close to the entrance of the Zoo.

By car

Artis has its own parking lot. Artis visitors can use the cheaper Artis parking rate. The parking lot is only 150 meters from the zoo entrance. The entrance to the meeting rooms is another 300 meters down the street, around the corner at Plantage Middenlaan 41a-43.

Download the zoo map here.