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Rotterdam ZOO Diergaarde Blijdorp – Behind The Scenes

I usually visit a ZOO when I’m travelling, but as it goes with things too close to home: I never visited the Rotterdam ZOO before. Let me take you behind the scenes of this amazing animal-buzzing place to show you what’s going on beyond the brochure. 

This post is part of the Beyond the Brochure: Rotterdam series on The Travel Tester. I invite you to follow me around this city using the hashtag #brortm

Tuktuk M.I.A.

As soon as we see the little blue tuktuk behind us dissappear around the corner, while we are going straight ahead, we know something has gone wrong. Half of our blogger group has taken a wrong turn and through tweets, instagram photos and other status updates, we hear from them that their driver has only started his job today and doesn’t know where he’s going.

I never had so much fun in a tuktuk before. We’re almost crying with laughter… eh, concern, of course. 

We’re on our way to the Rotterdam ‘Diergaarde Blijdorp ZOO’, by the way and luckily, after Kerwin used his phone GPS to help the driver out, they safely join us at the entrance gate, were our guide for the day, Constance, is waiting for us with great excitement.

The last we saw of travel bloggers Ali, Andrew, Udo, Kerwin and Robin, before their tuktuk went M.I.A.

A Zoo That Needs Your Support

Diergaarde Blijdorp is one of the oldest zoos in The Netherlands and celebrated it’s 155th aniversary last year. The original Rotterdam ZOO was lost in the bombing of Rotterdam during the Second World war. When the Zoo opened a new part, called Oceanium in 2001, the size of the park almost doubled.

Now, personally, I know the zoo best because of one event that got them in the news in 2007. Bokito, the Zoo’s silverback gorilla, escaped from his enclosure and seriously injured a female visitor that had been visiting him on an average of 4 times a week. She said she had a special bond with him, the monkey itself wasn’t too happy with that, or so it seemed.

Diergaarde Blijdorp has been strugling for funds the last years, as the city of Rotterdam decided in 2010 to reduce its yearly funding with about 3.7 million. Yes, that’s a lot and it’s still unclear if the zoo can continue to operate with this budget. All support is needed and they should get your help, because the park is simply amazing.

With A Little Help Of Friends

Luckily for the Rotterdam Zoo, they are supported by their visitors and even the association ‘Friends of Blijdorp’ has been founded to keep the Zoo expanding and improving. They’ve got a few highlights that we got to see on our tour, starting with the polar bears.

Recreating the natural habitat, ‘Arctica’ is a great space for the bears to play outside. If you walk into the ‘Ice cave’, you can see the bears from underwater, if they decide for a swim. If they don’t however, there is no worries, as they feature an interactive display where you can learn all about these amazing creatures.

One of the bears in particular can be a bit cheeky, as you can see in the video (they show this in the park too). Luckily, the glass proved to be very strong!

Vicks breaks a ‘small’ window

Under The Sea

‘Oceanium’ is the place where you can imagine yourself to be at the bottom of the ocean and admire the under water world in huge tunnels. You’ll see big schools of fish, sharks, rays and turtles. The tunnels is amazing, but what excited me was that we had to chance to see the other side of the glass to, as Constance took us on a behind the scenes tour. 

The peace you’ll find in front of the glass (if your zone out the many visitors), you’ll find behind the scenes too. Here and there we see breeding tanks with small plants and fish, but apart from a lady emerging from the waters in a diving suit, there isn’t much going here. We quickly go back to the real magic and walk a little while through the tunnels downstairs. 

And at lunchtime, we notice Constance getting a little nervous. She has a surprise for us. As Olli (the cute big elephant) is the zoo’s mascot, she treats us with a great picnic lunch and the best of all: an Olli-Lollie! It made my day. The best lollie EVER!

Amazonica: Butterfly Heaven

Whenever I see a butterfly, I feel like a child again. But the butterflies in Diergaarde Blijdorp are not childish at all. They’re massive, they’re beautiful and they’re especially flown in from Costa Rica to amaze you.

Newly built Amazonica is a striking domed building of approximately 2,500 square meters. It’s nice and warm inside, so perfect when you’re caught in one of Holland’s rains. You’ll be surrounded by hundreds of colourful South American butterflies instantly and to add to your tropical feeling, there are beautiful flowers, turtles, snakes (don’t worry, they’re in an enclosure, haha) and other animals to see inside as well. Even an entire river runs through the building. When we were there, the piranhas hadn’t arrived yet, but you should be able to see them in the water when you visit.

I absolutely loved this place and it’s definitely a highlight of the park. 

Amazonica (Only in Dutch, but the views are great!)

Did you know they send the butterfly cocoons by mail?! They do!

See you next time!

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to see the entire park, but what I’ve seen so far was a lot of fun. Diergaarde Blijdorp is an amazing park, with a lot of space for the animals and special buildings where you can get up close and personal with the animals. 

If you would like to plan your own visit, you can find all information below. Or you can scroll down to see what I’ll be talking about next time. Thanks so much for reading!

The Practical

Main entrance:

Blijdorplaan 8
3041 JE Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 900 1857 (€0,10 p/min)

Opening Hours:

From 1 april 2013 9.00-18.00
From 28 oktober 9.00-17.00

Admission 2013:

Children under the age of 3: free
3 to 12 years: € 16,50
13 years and older: € 21
Save up to € 2 per person when you buy your tickets online!

For more information, check the website of Diergaarde Blijdorp and for the latest news, follow them on FacebookTwitter and YouTube.  


View Beyond The Brochure: Rotterdam, The Netherlands in a larger map 

Next time, we’ll enjoy the good life and pay a visit to the Pelgrim Brewerey in the historical Delftshaven area.

Do you always pay a visit to a zoo when travelling? Would you want to visit the Diergaarde Blijdorp ZOO and which animal would you like to see first?

Disclaimer: I visited Rotterdam on invitation of Rotterdam Marketing and they arranged our tuktuk ride and visit to the Rotterdam ZOO. I would like to thank Constance Alderlieste for taking her day off to come and show us around the park. All thoughts and opinions are my own.