Travel Tips

I like cats and I like Africa.

I have it all just behind my backyard. There is the Noorderdierenpark ,one of the most beautifull zoo's in Europe,

So animals from different continents are our neigbours.
In the morning I hear the baboons, the burmese elephants and siberian tigers.
From the second floor I can see the giraffes, rhino's and zebra's on the african savanna. Best in spring, in summer there are too many leaves on the trees.

After Kira and Ratka were born in february 2002 they went outdoor with their mum from may 2002.
In that time I visited them nearly every sunday.
They played a lot in the bushes, in the water and with each other.

Now after two years they don't look anymore like babies, but like full-grown tigers. In the meantime Kira is moved to the Zoo in Amersfoort March 2004.

From Sri Lanka arrived in 2002 a female panther as new companion for the male panther, who lived allready in the zoo of Emmen.

Prrr, prrr, that's the way I try to communicate with her.
Sometimes she answers with the same of other soft sounds.

I like the african savanna and the big cats, but the best part of the zoo is the place with the elephants. There's a herd of 15 elephants.
The animals are very social, also the aunts look after the kids.
Also the older cousins do.

They small ones play in summer in the water and try to push each other or the adults in the water too.

Every year young elephants are born.
In the first year I know when, because I hear the herd make a loud noise in the night at the moment of birth.
The elephant stable is right behind our backyard.

The elephants came originally from
Burma. Every new-born elephant get a burmese name.
This is Aung Bo, born in spring 2001.

In the African savanna are giraffes, rhino's, impalas, wildebeasts, ostrichs, zebra's and.....

The original zoo is in the middle of the citycentre of Emmen.
At the edge of the centre
in 2002 opened a second part of the zoo. Here will come the south american section.

A huge pedestrian traverse connects the two parts through the centre

At the Playa Pinguďnos the visitors walk between the Humboldt pinguins in a peruvian landscape.
Also you can see the pinguins swimming under water.

In spring 2003 many pinguin couples built their nests.
It's a pity in this first year there were not many surviving little pinguins.
The zoo don't still know why.