Rhenen Zoo, Ouwehands Dierenpark Rhenen

It has been five years since I last visited Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen, and the 2020 visit was essentially nothing more than a brief photo session. The 2018 visit was a more thorough one. So, if any comparisons are made, they are with this visit in 2018. Most important objective of today is the koala exhibit, as of last year (2024) Rhenen Zoo became the first and only zoo in the Netherlands to house koalas. Three of them, in fact. So, on a chilly, overcast December day in 2025, I finally made good on my plan and travelled to the Zoo in Rhenen.

Signage and information

My first observation after entering the grounds is the change of the information panels. I had several remarks on the old panels, and the overhaul of the panels addresses some of my complaints about the amount and depth of information on the species on display and the languages used. The new type of information panels show great improvement, and fortunately they refer to the IUCN (Internation Union for Conservation of Nature) concerning the conservation status of the species. I have never understood why so many zoos wants to present the IUCN status in their own style and not use the Red List logo – as the latter is very well known to those interested in conservation and easily recognisable. Ouwehands Dierenpark also has its own depiction of the IUCN red list status.

But anyway – the panels provide good information about habitat, geographical origin, nutritional requirements (feed), and peculiarities. Unfortunately it is nearly 100% in Dutch. Did the old panels provide summaries in English and German, the new ones only provide the species name in English and German, including the scientific name of course. Another advantage with the new style of information depth level is the fact that is made clear what subspecies is on display. So this time the panel at the orangutan enclosure actually reads Bornean orangutan. In my opinion that is an edu cational step forward.

What bothers me though, is the use of nonsense icons for specific characteristics of the species. For instance they use icons for self-reliance and endurance, which do not speak for themselves and are not universally accepted as far as I know, and thus will not be recognised.

The Koala Forest (or Koalia)

Naturally, the koalas should have been the highlight of the visit. Unfortunately, they are not! This is partly due to my expectation of this brand new exhibit. The new building, dubbed Koalia - a name that, if I’m honest, sounds like something only the Dutch could come up with. The English version, Koala Forest, rolls off the tongue a bit better, but even that doesn’t quite match what I found. Each of the three koalas (two males, one female) is kept separately, and the bare tree branches in either enclosure (and if my eyes didn’t deceive me they were as artificial as they were bare) hardly qualifies as a forest. Still, there they were, the stars of the zoo, perched in their minimalist habitat. To check if my expectations were off, I did some online research and this added up to the information in the box below.

Koala Habitat
Koalas in the wild live in a range of bushland habitats in Australia, from coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low inland woodlands. Suitable habitats are those that show the presence of tree species preferred by koalas (usually eucalypts, but also some non-eucalypts) and the presence of other Koalas as the two main factors.
Koalas are mostly nocturnal and are generally solitary animals. Although they live in societies, and need to be able to come into contact with other koalas, they normally stick to a distinct home range, unless they look for a partner to breed with. Home ranges may overlap, while the size of these home ranges can vary depending on the quality of the habitat and the koala’s sex, age, and social position. On average, a koala’s home range includes around a dozen trees, of which one is the preferred tree.

Koalas in zoos
To maintain and breed koalas successfully in captivity it is important to understand their diet preference, which is a challenge. Due to their one-sided diet of eucalyptus leaves zoos need to establish plantation-grown eucalyptus trees, for each koala 500 – 1,000 trees of 5 or 6 eucalypt species. The koalas should be provided daily fresh eucalyptus leaves. These will, when eaten, provide the animals with the required amount of water - like in the wild.
Koalas in captivity benefit from a habitat that closely resembles what they experience in the wild. They are sensitive to surrounding noise, temperatures and lighting. Their environment should have lighting which resembles wild light cycles and temperatures of around 22°C. UV exposure once or twice a week ensures healthy bone growth. Substrates can be used on floors to ensure a soft landing if they should fall. This should be changed regularly to prevent bacterial build up.
Koalas primarily live in trees. Therefore, the enclosure should contain vertical and horizontal branches that connect together. Available tree trunks should fork to create spots where the koalas can sleep or sit in. The vertical branches should be higher than 1.5 metres. Koalas should be encouraged to climb around the branches freely and also be able to get to the ground whenever they want to as well. Trees should not be painted on nearby walls as koalas can mistake them for real trees and injure themselves attempting to climb them.
Koalas are very sensitive to noise and disturbance. They can become stressed easily when they don’t feel safe within their environment. Consistent loud noises can cause a koala to stop eating through stress, meaning that they start to loose weight. Human interaction can also be a contributor to stress and eating disorder.

(Source: website Australian Koala Foundation; International Fund for Animal Welfare, website Australia - Koala; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance library, Koala factsheet; website Wild Welfare, Care for Us – Koala)

Considering the koala’s natural habitat, the situation at Rhenen Zoo seems to reflect more or less what the zoological community has understood so far about the species’ needs. Although on a smaller scale - as always in zoos – the indoors artificial habitat allow the koalas to express natural behaviour. The birth of a joey in May 2025, about a year after the animals arrived at the Zoo, is kind of proof for that. It recently, mid-November had shown its head for the first time popping out of the pouch. And with that, my disappointment about the koalas was gone.

The outdoor facilities for the koalas lack the noise cancelling provided by the windows of the indoors, so, if the little fluffy grey marsupials are as relaxed as they are indoors is questionable.

Still the building as a whole and the way it is presented bears disappointment. While it claims to be dedicated to Australian biodiversity, the display is a joke - only two species, the koala and the Parma wallaby, are on show. There are information panels describing the biological diversity of Australia, and a wall features Aboriginal-style paintings, but that’s about it.

Additionally, during the construction of Koala Forest, management announced that a butterfly garden - a 170 m² "immersive indoor garden" - would be created in the central hall. Over a year after opening, however, there are still no butterflies in sight. It turned out, upon closer inspection, the space was unsuitable. To allow butterflies to fly freely in the hall, modifications to the indoor environment are needed to create the right climate for them.

Some highlights

Ouwehands Dierenpark has succeeded in creating the right environment for koalas to reproduce just a year after their arrival. Two other successful breeding results are worth mentioning. On 10 June this year, three cubs were born to the zoo's Amur tigers. The six-month-old cubs are doing well and are becoming increasingly independent. Even more impressive, however, is the birth of twin female clouded leopard cubs on 10 March 2023. The elusive clouded leopard is very particular about its habitat. It absolutely needs hiding places to protect itself from the prying eyes of the public, and as an adept climber, access to trees is essential. Apparently, the clouded leopard's enclosure at the Zoo tick all the boxes, because reproduction is an expression of good animal welfare and almost the ultimate reward for good care.

A short visit before attending the retirement function of a colleague held at the Zoo. I just took some pictures while walking around for half an hour. (See images)

It was about time to revisit Rhenen Zoo, because in five years time many zoos show minor or major changes. This counts for Ouwehands dierenpark in Rhenen as well. They altered the visitor's experience of the Bear Forest and introduced two clouded leopards in 2016, but this is trivial when compared with the enormous giant panda exhibit Pandasia that was opened on 30 May 2017. Trivial because of the enormous budget necessary to erect this grand building, but also because of the enormous hype that was created after the arrival of the two giant pandas was announced in October 2015.

However, not only the changes interest me. I hope to see one or more orangutans climbing the futuristic red poles that allow them to enjoy themselves high above the public 'outside' their enclosure. Unfortunately, like during my 2013 visit, no reddish hairy ape is willing to give me the satisfaction of showing how relaxed they are while residing on the poles. Another disappointment at the orangutan enclosure is the information panel that simply mentions orangutan without specifying the subspecies. The scientific name clarifies that it concerns the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), but the regular zoo visitor doesn't know that the scientific name provides more and therefore better information than the name of the species stated in Dutch, English and German. So, the Zoo may improve the educational value of the information panel.

Signage and information
In addition to the lack of information on which subspecies is actually on display there is no reference made to the conservation status according the IUCN Red List classification. For example the panel at the roloway monkey enclosure mentions that the species is very endangered, but this provides no credible reference to its Red List status, which is a classification system widely accepted by scientists, NGO's and governments. According the Red List the roloway monkey is Endangered. The name of the species is provided in Dutch, English and German, next to the scientific name.

There is a worthwhile description, in Dutch, of the species on appearance, behaviour, dietary habits and threats, including basic information on biological features such as weight, gestation period, litter size and life span. Unfortunately, the description in English and German is shortened. The geographical origin in the wild is depicted on a world map, the only information made graphically available, which is a shame because that way of displaying information universally understood.

Giant panda
It took about 16 years of consultation and preparation - with the owner of Rhenen Zoo, M. Boekhoorn, as the driving force - to finally convince the Chinese government two giant pandas should be sent on loan to the Netherlands - more precise Rhenen Zoo. The Zoo in Rhenen is now one of few zoos worldwide outside China and the only zoo in the Netherlands where giant pandas are on display. They went to great lengths building a suitable enclosure, Pandasia, here in Rhenen, they even won an award for most beautiful giant panda enclosure worldwide, for what it's worth. Pandasia, comprises two buildings to separately house the male and female panda. The buildings are connected by a wooden bridge and surrounded by the outdoor enclosures. The traditional Chinese roof and frontage construction built by craftsmen from China resembles the design of a Chinese temple. The indoor accommodations have several night quarters, a nursery and a cold store for bamboo storage. In addition, there is an à la carte restaurant and a gift shop with a lot of panda merchandise. Adjacent to the Pandasia area (size of about 9000 m²) another new enclosure of considerable size houses red panda together with Reeves' muntjac. Unfortunately, the enclosure lacks large trees for the red panda to find a nice place to sleep high above the ground, their favourite.

The Bear Forest
This superb section of the Zoo has gone through some relevant changes since my last visit. This is reflected in the new name, Expedition Bear Forest. The expedition starts with things worth knowing about bears at the fictitious, nonetheless, picturesque hamlet Karpatica that emulates a small village in rural Eastern Europe - its name reminiscent of the Carpathian mountain range. The village square gives access to the Bear Forest via an archway. The elevated walkway runs inside a tunnel of wire mesh and crosses the enormous (2 ha) bear sanctuary in the middle. Another one of the changes is the separate enclosure for Malayan sun bears at the end of the expedition bear forest trail, near the 'Observation Post'. The two female Malayan sun bears came from Tierpark Berlin in Germany. At the Tierpark in Berlin it was obvious they couldn't house four Malayan sun bears in the small enclosure any longer, so they decided to move two of them to another zoo.

The 'Observation Post', opened on 25 August 2016 as the final stage of Expedition Bear Forest, is a mutipurpose building. It tells the story about threats to brown bears in Europe and has the skeleton of bear Mackenzie, one of the first inhabitants of the Bear Forest, on display for educational purposes. Furthermore the large viewing windows provide ample opportunity to observe the sun bears showing their natural behaviour (see video). Therefore, the hut is also available for researchers of Rhenen Zoo and students of universities. More information about the Bear Forest here.

In July 2017 the last of the original pack of four wolves that lived together with the bears, died. The Zoo immediately started a quest for a small pack of young wolves that can handle bears in an enclosed area such as the Bear Forest. The presence of the previous pack of wolves successfully stimulated natural behaviour in both species, so the Zoo wanted to continue to enrich the life of the bears by introducing wolves again. Apparently they succeeded, because when I visit the exhibit I see at least two wolves exploring the area. Hopefully it will not lead to the same confrontation as was registered on 30 October in Eindhoven Zoo (FKA Dierenrijk), where one of the wolves living with the brown bears in the same enclosure for enrichment was suddenly attacked and killed.

Bonobo
November 2017 the Zoo announced the expected arrival of 7 bonobo at some moment in the summer of 2018. A brand new enclosure will be built for the bonobos where previously the Bactrian camels and yaks were kept, close to the orangutans. Although the camels and yaks have gone and the jungle express, the local monorail, stopped running, the bonobo exhibit has not materialised yet. Due to the increased building costs the enclosure design must be changed, which leads to a considerable delay - the new date for opening is expected around Easter 2019. Therefore the foreseen construction site is temporarily turned into a large playing-field for children.

It had been a long time since I last visited Rhenen Zoo, I was still a child then. And to be perfectly honest I don't recognise much of the past, and that is a good sign. At least it proves that things have changed, modernised, hopefully for the best. For starters, the entrance is an absolute delight. Even before the ticket office there's already a plaza with enclosures on both sides, holding snowy owls and ring-tailed lemurs respectively. While a rectangular pond with koi leads you to the booth where you can part from a small amount of money.

Directly after the ticket office you enter the premises while passing the Zoo shop on the left and one of the administration buildings on the right. The open air food court you arrive at is bordered on one side by several aviaries for hornbill subspecies - knobbed hornbill, wreathed hornbill, rhinoceros hornbill, great hornbill and the rufous hornbill. It looks great from a distance while having a coffee, but it is not one huge aviary. From a distance you just don't see the fences that divide the large area into smaller parts. As a consequence it doesn't really make sense for the hornbills to spread their wings, because flying is hardly possible. The design is great though, with the wooden beams in the front that support the whole wire mesh construction.

After I have finished my coffee I start my tour just around the corner of the Pássaro restaurant. There, I walk via an elevated walkway in between the tiger and the giraffe enclosure. The Amur tigers, male and female, alternate in their moated outdoor enclosure, which is a large forested and undulating meadow with many shelters. Most trees may be used as scratching posts and the moat that borders the walkway is filled with water. On the other side of the walkway the giraffes walk on a sandy substrate at ground level while the public walks one story higher, which allows close encounters with the giraffe's head. The four giraffes share the exhibit with helmeted guineafowl, and in the near future ostriches will be added to this mixed species exhibit as well. The ostriches will be housed in the former indoor enclosure for impala, a species that do not belong to the Zoo's collection anymore.

When I continue my tour, an enclosure appears on the left with a rare combination of species, meerkats (Suricata suricatta) and warthog. At least I have never seen an exhibit with such a mix of species before. On the opposite side the Chapman zebra together with helmeted guineafowl enjoy a spacious savannah-like enclosure that partly has sandy substrate and partly is paved with bricks. Although in separate enclosures they can see and smell the giraffe, but it would be great enrichment if both species could have access to the whole area and meet each other. It is possible that they've tried this, but it is not always that easy to mix species in one enclosure. Sometimes the individuals just don't like each other and mixing them creates stressful situations.

The Umkhosi playground, with the sounds of children playing and screaming, is situated in between the zebra and the lion exhibit. The playing children directly in front of the lion exhibit are an absolute nuisance in my opinion, and I wonder what the lions think of it. The lion pride of four adults (1 of them male) and 2 cubs of 5 months old are on display in a real Hagenbeck-style exhibit, bar-less with a wide water-filled moat and the grounds mimicking their original habitat. The enclosure is rather bare, with vegetation against a wire mesh rear fence, sandy substrate, some large artificial boulders and a high level wooden platform as observation post. A similar enclosure, though with a rock face rear wall, can be reached by the animals via a small bridge crossing the water-filled moat.

The current white lions, a rare recessive colour mutation similar to the tawny African Kruger lion (Panthera leo krugeri), came to Rhenen Zoo in 2010, though the Zoo keeps white lions since 2001. White lions have been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world, which includes inbreeding. The animals are therefore vulnerable for inbreeding depression (genetic defects, reduced fertility, and physical defects) although this has not yet been recorded in white lions in zoos as it has been in white tigers. As a matter of fact white lions are not yet regarded a separate subspecies, and do not appear on the IUCN Red List. Therefore, keeping white lions in captivity does not contribute to conservation efforts to alleviate the fate of endangered lions in the wild. Furthermore, some critics state that white lions should not be introduced in the wild because of the inbreeding that has taken place over zoos and breeding camps. However, ethical reintroduction programs such as The Global White Lion Protection Trust have ensured through the use of scientific methodologies that the lions in their program are not inbred¹.

Although the current owner runs the Zoo like a regular business, and has started an extensive refurbishment programme as of 2000, the Zoo's history is not forgotten and still appreciated. They show where they came from with reminders such as old photographs on large panels and remembrance plaques. And of course with a bust of Cornelis Ouwehand - the founder - close to the entrance.

Conservation and education
Well, talking about the current owner - business man and multimillionaire Marcel Boekhoorn - I had my doubt if due to his objective to create the most beautiful zoo annex children's playground the education and conservation efforts of the Zoo would survive (see more info for information on the playgrounds). Much to my surprise there's still a lot of attention paid to education and conservation, although most of the conservation efforts are focussed on ex-situ projects for instance by taking part in several European captive breeding programmes.

Considering the educational aspects, they have the inevitable feeding shows with zookeepers providing useful background information. Furthermore, there is an education centre and the use of signage of course. These information panels at the enclosures are providing adequate information in three languages, but it lacks information about the species' conservation status and whether or not the Zoo is contributing to the species' breeding programmes (which they actually do in more than a few cases). The latter is compensated for by the Zoo's website where there is a list of species taking part in European Endangered species breeding Programmes (EEP), and these species are marked on the zoo map that is complementary with your ticket. Moreover, Rhenen Zoo is an Arctic Ambassador Center, which means they belong to a group of zoological facilities worldwide working together to conserve polar bears and the sea ice they depend on.

Nevertheless, I believe there's room for improvement regarding the educational value of their animal collection. Not only by focussing more on adults with the information that is provided, in addition to what they do for children, but also by taking time to reconsider the grouping of their animal collection. At the moment the grouping is not clearly by geographical region, nor by habitat, nor by taxon. It is neither flesh nor fish, so to speak. For instance keeping Amur tigers opposite the giraffe is a rather odd message. I understand that many older zoos need time and money to make a decent transition, but I sure hope that the educational value of the grouping of the animal collection will be considered in future renovation projects at Rhenen Zoo.

I continue my tour, and have a look at the African-style designed enclosure for the mandrill. The three interconnected fake mud houses with thatched roofs have a small outdoor peninsula, and all have plenty of environmental enrichment comprising a wooden rack, platforms and ropes. On my way to the Bear Forest I pass a few exhibits that differ in the 'degree of fit-for-purpose'. The gibbon island opposite the terrace of the jungle restaurant lacks large trees, which these canopy acrobats would like to have to express their natural behaviour - swinging around at great heights.

I am really amazed about the number of reindeer, that normally live in large herds, but here at the Zoo there are only three specimens - a male, a female and a recently born calf. The enclosure looks nice though, being a fenced off part of the forest which ends in a shore of the lake with the pelicans.

The Bear Forest
Then I arrive at the most impressive part of the Zoo, the Bear Forest. It is an animal sanctuary that provides an environment for bears that have been rescued from different kinds of miserable situations, such as abused dancing bears mostly from eastern Europe and bears from circuses. In this sense the Zoo is doing what several animal rights groups say must be done with zoo animals, give them a better life. Although animal rights activists don't want any animal to be confined. And of course these bears, 10 at the time of visit, are still kept in captivity, but within the two hectares they have better lives than ever before. They share the exhibit with a small pack of wolves, like they would do in their natural habitat, and the Zoo is trying hard (together with the Alertis organisation) to create an environment closely resembling their wild habitat. More information about the Bear Forest here.

An elevated walkway and a tunnel of wire mesh runs through the bear forest, called the bear forest experience. From which you have good views on the exhibit. Wolves I haven't seen and only three of the ten bears were within sight. Although a marvellous exhibit, there is something that bothers me. Even in this part dedicated to the bears - mimicking their natural environment, there's a small children's playground.

From the Bear Forest exit it is just a few steps to the largest of the three polar bear enclosures which contains a novelty, at least for me - live fish. There's a small open air tribune in front of the viewing windows of this enclosure which is situated at ground level. For the other two enclosures, where Victor the male is kept, you need to go upstairs. The two upper level enclosures have got a moat filled with water at the visitor's side, and large viewing windows as well. The artificial rock face construction seems like a dull environment. The ground level enclosure, however, provides a larger variety of environment with artificial rock face, a large pool and grass. Still, Freedom and Huggies the two adult females and the adolescent twin cubs Lucan and Lynn are visible from all vistas around this enclosure. But they are used to it and especially the cubs are only interested in each other (see video).

This corner of the Zoo has a mix of wonderful species on display, but it is an odd mix. As said, I came from the European brown bears when stumbling on the Arctic polar bears. Walking anti-clockwise around the polar bear pool I then pass an aviary comprising salmon-crested cockatoo (Indonesia) and hyacinth macaw (South America), followed by a large aviary with African birds of prey - the bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Verreaux black eagle (Aquila verreauxii). And a magnificent final of this mix is the exhibit with African elephants.

The African elephants exhibit houses five specimens. It consists of two large parts which slopes down towards the wall which surrounds the whole enclosure. Recently elephants from a German zoo have been introduced into the existing small herd of Rhenen Zoo. This still is cause for some stress in the group and a few hierarchy fights. (see video). The enclosure comprises a variety of enrichment features, such as large rocks and piles of tree trunks. Furthermore, there is a shower next to the pool, which I am not sure if the elephants may or can operate themselves, probably not. The enclosure is large enough for individuals to separate themselves from the group in stressful situations, but as you can see in the video that doesn't protect from harassment or attacks.

Close to this end of the elongated elephant exhibit a nice outdoor butterfly garden can be found. It's a nice little patch of Dutch nature with plants and a pond that attracts butterflies and dragonflies.

For my last two visits of the day I first retrace my steps to go to the gorilla exhibit opposite the upper level polar bear enclosures. This brand new exhibit, the Gorilla Adventure, opened its doors to the public in 2012. It is an atypical exhibit that comprises an outdoor enclosure of 2800 m², an indoor enclosure of 1800 m², and an adventure tunnel inside of 80 m long and 10 m high. The latter of course is specifically designed for children who may clamber through the tunnel, have views on the gorillas on various levels and play interactive educational games - a total gorilla package. For adults there's ample opportunity to see the bachelor troop of western lowland gorillas as well.

I suppose the fact that some gorillas come from Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, United Kingdom, has not influenced the extraordinary design of the exhibit. But it does remind me a bit of the design John Aspinall, the founder of Howletts, introduced in his zoo for the gorillas. When designing Aspinall's mind was totally focussed on the gorillas, and he didn't mind that visitors wouldn't have the best view. Here at Rhenen Zoo they have been less uncompromising, although the outdoor enclosure is not a bar-less open top landscape immersion exhibit. They use pre-composted French pine bark as ground cover, outdoors and indoors. This resembles the idea at Howletts of having straw as a substrate, resembling the leaves on the ground in the jungle. Quite the opposite of easy to clean concrete floors in many indoor gorilla enclosures you see in other zoos. There are many enrichment features (hammocks, platforms, ropes), while there's natural vegetation to make it all more attractive for the visitor. Besides the hammocks and all, there's weird enrichment which I would call anthropomorphic, such as a wooden staircase.

Then it is time for the grand final of my tour, the other one of the great apes they keep here at Rhenen Zoo - the Bornean orangutans. Unfortunately badly planned, because I expected the red apes to be outside enjoying themselves moving around high above ground level on the red poles while looking down on us human beings. But they were already inside again, in the house that is exactly what the Gorilla Adventure is not - an exhibit with lots of coated concrete constructions.

Knowing about the objectives of the owner of Rhenen Zoo to create the most beautiful zoo annex children's playground, I am pleasantly surprised about the way this has been handled so far. Yes, there are an awful lot of playgrounds on the premises, but they try to combine it with educational activities. More importantly, in my opinion, the Zoo is still involved in ex-situ and in-situ nature conservation projects. The absolute highlight is the Bear Forest and the active contribution to Alertis, the Foundation for Bear and Nature Conservation.

¹ Wikipedia

Permission granted, by the photographer, to use pictures from L.v.d.Zaan on aboutzoos.info

Amur tiger cubs are too lazy to play

Young animals are always fun to watch, especially when they have reached the age that they’re getting naughty. Feline species are a delight when chasing each other or bothering mom, but these Amur tiger cubs (Panthera tigris altaica), born on 10 June 2025, seem to have spent their energy already on running and chasing.

White lioness entertaining herself

This female specimen of the white lion pride of Rhenen Zoo is a bit restless and decided to measure her strength against a pole that has already had to endure a lot lately. White lions are not albinos, but the colour of their coat is a rare colour mutation.Their white colour is called leucism.

Giant panda messing around with a ball, but slowly

Giant pandas can be playful buggers, but are frugal with the energy they obtain from their bamboo diet. In other words they play slow!

Malayan sun bear on a quest for the last drop of honey

In a separate part of Expedition Bear Forest, the 2 hectare bear sanctuary of the Zoo, two female Malayan sun bears are kept. These bears arrived from a German zoo where the conditions of their enclosure were poor, in spring 2016. In the video you'll see the natural exploratory behaviour of one of the bears while she is checking whether the honeypot - one of the enrichment features - is really empty or not.

Brown bears exercising their fighting skills

In a friendly playfight these two brown bears keep themselves busy in the Bear Forest. On October 2018 10 rescued bears live together with a small pack of wolves on this 2 hectare of forested land. The bears' fighting skills are somewhat better than my camera skills that is for sure. Nonetheless, besides the out of focus footage of the bears, you may see the appearance of a wolf's back right at the end of the video.

Excitement at the elephant enclosure

Although the worst clash had already happened and the dust seemed to have settled, there is still lots of excitement and animosity between the African elephants when I arrive at the enclosure. One of the smaller females is the victim of group aggression, it seems. After she flees to another part of the enclosure and zookeepers come and investigate the situation, all is settling down after a while.

Polar bear twins roughhousing

On 1 December 2011 one of the female polar bears at Rhenen Zoo gave birth to triplets. Unfortunately, one of them didn't survive the first difficult moments in the 'new' world. The surviving two youngsters are alive and kicking as you can see in this video, where you see them playing to their heart's content. It is just a snapshot of the total time they played with each other -- they were tireless so it went on and on and on. This allowed me to switch position in the meantime, but the blue coloured viewing window -- built for close encounters with the bears -- was quite disastrous for the quality of the footage. Therefore I decided to make the video black&white.

At the moment, August 2013, the polar bear group of Rhenen Zoo comprises three adults (Victor the male, Freedom and Huggies the two females) and the adolescent twins, Luca and Lynn.

Snack time for the giraffes

A video to show the inventive nature of the zookeepers for feeding enrichment. By the way, these Rothschild's giraffes come close enough to be petted, when they are in the mood for it of course.

Warthog battle

Challenging each other that is what these warthog youngsters, born on 24 March 2013, like to do. Although one of them seems to be in the relax mode.

The Bear Forest

The Bear Forest project started in 1993 and was initiated by Rhenen Zoo together with Bears in Mind (previously known as Alertis), a fund for bears (and nature conservation). Bears in Mind protects the bear in the wild and helps captive bears in need.

View on the bear forest of Rhenen Zoo, a great place for traumatised and abused bears to become a normal bear again - living together with a small pack of wolves. (photography & copyright MoosMood)

In the Bear Forest brown bears, that have been mistreated and abused, are offered an untroubled and bear-friendly life again. In the Bear Forest the traumatised and abused former dancing and circus bears have access to a forested area that simulates the bears' natural habitat as accurately as possible in order to encourage the bears' natural behaviour. Together with a small pack of wolves they enjoy two hectares of forest with a waterfall, a small stream and a pond. The bears are the animal ambassadors for their relatives in the wild.

A unique project!

In the Bear Forest the bears' wild habitat is used as an example to stimulate the bears' natural behaviour. The inhabitants are joined by a pack of wolves, animals that coexist with bears in the wild. The captive bears receive a highly varied and seasonal diet, based on what is available in nature throughout the year, called the Natural Feeding Programme. Due to the seasonal variation in the amount of energy and the variety in food items the animal's body weight increases and decreases according to the season. After the start of the new diet in 2000, hibernation became more solid and stereotypic behaviour decreased. In other words, the bears started to behave more similar as they would have in the wild. It is considered that this improved the welfare of the bears.

The Bear Forest project started in 1993 and is the first bear sanctuary of its kind in Europe. At time of visit 10 brown bears are living in the Bear Forest, each with their own tragic history. In total 30 bears have lived in the Bear Forest since it first started.

(Source: Bears in Mind - Fund for Bears; website Rhenen Zoo)

Playgrounds and other entertainment

The founder of Rhenen Zoo, Cornelis Ouwehand, and his successors already knew that to be (economically) successful it was important to be attractive for children. Nevertheless, in the late nineties of the 20^th century the park was virtually bankrupt, with ever decreasing visitor numbers. Being an animal lover, businessman and multimillionaire Marcel Boekhoorn decided to buy the Zoo. He turned it into a success story again by running it like a regular business. His major objective, however, was and is to create the most beautiful zoo annex children's playground. The latter puts me off a bit, because this leads to entertainment attractions that - in my humble opinion - could distract from the more important missions of a good zoo, education and conservation.

So, in one corner of the Zoo grounds they have created an enormous jungle playground in a hall, 4000m² and 12 m high, which is the largest in Europe according the Zoo's website. The big hall is called RavotAapia, which could be translated as something like RompingApe. It's so big that it could be the sole attraction for parents to come to the Zoo. Thus, even when it's rainy weather parents can take their children to the Zoo for what children want and need to do most: play, without even getting wet. It is a good idea because it's a kids magnet of course. And when children get bored of the animals on display and the education that is provided, there's always RavotAapia waiting for them to romp around. As part of the entertainment there is also a monorail, the Monkeyrail, running a couple of metres above ground and that will take the passengers around the large hall, but outside as well, where you have good views on the surroundings from above.

Adjacent or partly inside this huge children's paradise they keep prairie dogs, squirrel monkeys and small-clawed otters. A bad choice if you ask me. A clear distinction between playing and showing respect for animals would be good education for the children I think, because due to the excitement of the roughhousing children easily forget to be quiet when close to the animals.

Also at this part of the Zoo there's a petting zoo and some other play equipment, while there's a restaurant in RavotAapia and a snack bar very close to it. So, this is indeed a great spot for parents to bring their young children whether the weather is bad or not.

Besides RavotAapia there are many other small or large playgrounds spread over the Zoo grounds as well, such as the Umkhosi playground, Gorilla Adventure and the small playground in the Bear Forest.

In addition, to the playgrounds there are two theatres suitable for a rainy day, the Blue Lagoon with daily sea lion shows, and the Theatre where Bamboo Bill the Zoo's entertainer, performs (check performance schedule on the Zoo's website).

(Source: Alles draait om dieren, 1932-2007 Ouwehands Dierenpark Rhenen, by Robert-Jan de Boer and others, 2007; website Rhenen Zoo; Wikipedia)

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

directions to Rhenen Zoo, Ouwehands Dierenpark

Centrally located in the Netherlands in the south-east corner of the province of Utrecht, Rhenen Zoo can be found on top of the hill that is called the Grebbeberg. During the invasion of the Netherlands by Germany in World War II, May 1940, the Battle of the Grebbeberg was fought here, and lost by the Dutch. All those who died, 799 military personnel (both Dutch and German) and 1 civilian, are buried at the Military War Cemetery Grebbeberg, a few hundred metres from the entrance of the Zoo.

Address:
Grebbeweg 111
3911 AV
Rhenen
the Netherlands

public transport

by train

It is fairly easy to get to the Zoo by train. Rhenen railway station is the end of the 40 minutes railway connection between Utrecht and Rhenen, and within walking distance (800 metres) of the Zoo entrance - just follow the signs. A railway routeplanner can be found here.

by bus

If you don't want to walk from the railway station you can take either bus Line 45, 50 or 87, which all stop in front of the Zoo's gates. Planner and time schedule can be found here, just enter 'Rhenen station' as your departure and 'dierentuin Ouwehands dierenpark, Rhenen' as your destination.

by bicycle

This part of the Netherlands along one of the main rivers (river Rhine) makes a great bicycle ride. Especially when you come from the west, from Amerongen. But please note: the Zoo is situated on top of the Grebbeberg which is a steep climb when coming from the east, from Wageningen. So when you're based at one of the campsites around Amerongen, or in a hotel on bicycle distance from the Zoo I recommend you take your bike and enjoy the typical Dutch river landscape. You should have no problem hiring a bicycle in this bicycle-friendly country. Or you can bring your own bike of course.

by car

Approach from the north

Via motorway A12 between Utrecht and Arnhem, exit 23a 'Veenendaal' - the Zoo is signposted. Follow N233 until Rhenen, then take a left turn on the N225 and follow the signs towards the car park.

Approach from the south

Via motorway A15 between Rotterdam and Nijmegen, exit 35 'Ochten' - the Zoo is signposted. Follow N233 until Rhenen, then take a right turn on the N225 and follow the signs towards the car park.

Parking
There are two large car parks close to the entrance (fee required).

Download the current zoo map here.