Gaiazoo
| Gaiazoo | ||
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| place | Dentgenbachweg 105 6468 PG Kerkrade |
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| surface | 25 ha | |
| opening | July 1, 2005 | |
| organization | ||
| Member of | EAZA , NVD | |
_01.jpg) Common housing of giraffes and zebras |
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| www.gaiazoo.nl | ||
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Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 9 ″ N , 6 ° 2 ′ 54 ″ E
The Gaiazoo ( spelling : GaiaZOO , until 2010 GaiaPark ) is an animal park located in Kerkrade in the southeast of the Dutch province of Limburg near the German border near Aachen .
The official opening of the park was on July 1st, 2005. This makes the Gaiazoo one of the few zoos in Europe built in the 21st century. Built on the basis of the concept of the Apenheul Monkey Park in Apeldoorn, the approximately 25 hectare park is dedicated to the so-called Gaia idea . Thus, the visitor sees the habitats presented in the park as a whole (animal, landscape and human).
facts and figures
The construction costs of the project came to around 20 million euros , and the park is still sponsored by the municipality of Kerkrade, the Apenheul Foundation and other private owners.
The Gaiazoo also employs around 50 permanent employees and 120 temporary workers during the main season. The Gaiazoo shows almost 160 animal species (27 of which are in an EEP program ) from the three large areas of Europe , Africa and America . In addition, the park deals with prehistoric times in a separate area.
Europe
_21.jpg)
In Europe, on the one hand, well-known wild animals from the local meadows and forests (for example owls, lynxes, otters, wolves) and, on the other hand, special forms of domestic animals on a Limburg show farm (donkeys, horses, cattle, rodents, ...) are shown.
America
The American area is divided into two areas: the Amazon and the Tundra . While the tundra shows the animal inhabitants of North America (musk ox, wolverines, ...), the Amazon area is dedicated to the South American fauna (for example monkeys, tapirs, capybaras, birds, ...).
Africa
The large area of Africa also comprises two larger areas: Namibia and the Congo . The Congo sub-area gives the visitor the feeling of walking through the African rainforest. There he meets a wide variety of animals from this habitat (for example gorillas, pygmy hippos, bongos, ...). When visiting the artificially created territory of Namibia, the visitor finds himself in the African steppe. There you can meet animals such as lions, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs and rhinos.
DinoDome
The zoo has had the DinoDome, an indoor playground, since 2009 . The building designed by Arc2 Architects from Almere is characterized by a wooden geodesic dome. With an area of 2,500 square meters, it is Europe's largest indoor playground (2009).
future
The new park is planning further new facilities (e.g. for seals) in the course of the next few years, despite the large investments made since the opening.
traffic
The zoo can be reached by car via the Buitenring Parkstad Limburg N300 .
Web links
- Zoo homepage (German, Dutch, English, French)