If you ever visit Arnhem in the Netherlands and you like to see some exotic animals, there is a really nice and big ZOO, which is definitely worth visiting. It’s called the Burger’s ZOO – it is named after it’s first owner and founder Johan Burgers.
It is not a typical ZOO – the animals are placed in the imitation of their natural habitat and they have plenty of space to walk around. It is surrounded by a forest and there is a big parking lot in front of it.
Inside the ZOO, you can find all different types of natural habitats such as savannah, rain forest, desert and the sea world. The ZOO is divided into seven sections – Park, Safari, Desert, Bush (tropical rainforest), Mangrove (Asian mangrove), Rimba (Malaysian tropical rain forest) and the Ocean. Each has the adjusted temperature and moisture, so you really feel how it is to be in these types of habitats.
Tropical Rainforest (Bush)
Tropical rainforest (Bush) area, for example, is really warm and the air is full of moist. There is also a beautiful waterfall (also the largest waterfall in The Netherlands :)) and plenty of tropical rainforest plants. Exotic birds fly around freely and in the middle of the rainforest, you can sit in a cute restaurant and enjoy some food or a drink, while listening to the sounds of the jungle.
The desert, on the other hand, is very dry, but not extremely hot, because it imitates the Mexican-American rocky desert. There are cacti plants, desert animals and beautiful desert scenery.
Safari-Savannah
In the safari-savannah, you can see giraffes, zebras, rhinos, lions and leopards. There is also a restaurant, where you can enjoy some African dishes while watching the animals in the distance.
Park
In the park area, you can see penguins, elephants, meerkats, monkeys, racoons, all types of different birds, flamingos and much more.
Rimba
In the Rimba area, you can see some beautiful Asian tigers and there is only a glass wall between you and them. It is really cool to see them so close while knowing that you are still safe. 🙂
Mangrove
Mangrove is an Asian type of a tropical forest. It consists of more than 30 mangrove plants and there are around 20 animal species living in this area, such as different types of fish, birds, lizards and turtles.
The Ocean
And my favourite part – the Ocean – is simply magical. The number of different fish species and all the sea world animals is huge and you can see it all through the high and thick glass walls of the water tanks. It resembles the life in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. In the deepest pool, you can also see the sharks and big mantas, swimming around the shipwreck. In the Burgers’ Ocean, there is also the largest living coral reef in aquariums outside of Australia. They accurately copied the ecosystem of the coral reefs, which is not an easy task, since the corals need very special circumstances to grow and survive.
Price: The ticket for the ZOO costs 21€ for adults and 19€ for kids from 4-9 years old. Kids aged 0-3 have a free entrance.
You can buy the ticket online (I recommend doing this since you skip the line and you also get them at a discounted price) or at the entrance of the ZOO.
Time: You will need to save 3-4 hours for the ZOO visit if you really want to see everything.
I hope you like this post about Burger’s ZOO. Would you like to visit it?
What type of habitat is your favourite? Let me know in the comments.
Happy travels!
