Apenheul
Encyclopedia
Apenheul Primate Park is a zoo
in Apeldoorn
, Netherlands
. It specializes in ape
s and monkey
s. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where apes and monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just a few species, now it displays more than 30 different primates, among them bonobo
, gorilla
and orangutan
.
In summer 2011, three adult male proboscis monkeys joined the collection from Singapore Zoo
to commemorate the zoo's fortieth anniversary. They are the only known living specimens outside Southeast Asia
.
in the 1960s, when it was legal for private citizens to own monkey
s. Mager, who himself had several monkeys as pets, believed both humans and primates would benefit from housing the animals in a more natural forest-like environment. He created the apen-heul (from apen meaning monkeys, and heul, an old Dutch word for a safe haven).
Apenheul Primate Park opened in 1971 as a small but revolutionary park housing wool-monkeys and other species. It is located in the nature park of Berg en Bos (Mountain and Wood) and proved popular with visitors and primatologists alike, leading to subsequent expansions. In 1976, gorilla
s were introduced to Apenheul Primate Park, with the first gorilla baby being born three years later. This was only the second healthy baby that had born in captivity in the Netherlands
and the third in the entire world. The baby was raised by its own mother, which remains a rare event.
A major setback occurred in 1981 when the cabin in which Apenheul Primate Park began burned to the ground, killing 46 monkeys. The building was subsequently replaced.
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
in Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It specializes in ape
Ape
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
s and monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where apes and monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just a few species, now it displays more than 30 different primates, among them bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
, gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
and orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
.
In summer 2011, three adult male proboscis monkeys joined the collection from Singapore Zoo
Singapore Zoo
The Singapore Zoo , formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares of land on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of S$9m granted by...
to commemorate the zoo's fortieth anniversary. They are the only known living specimens outside Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
History
Apenheul Primate Park was conceptualised by photographer Wim MagerWim Mager
Wim Mager was a Dutch photographer who is mainly known for founding the Apenheul Primate Park near Apeldoorn of which he was the director until 1997. When he had found a successor he moved to France and started a similar primate park near Poitiers called La Vallée des Singes.Apenheul was the...
in the 1960s, when it was legal for private citizens to own monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s. Mager, who himself had several monkeys as pets, believed both humans and primates would benefit from housing the animals in a more natural forest-like environment. He created the apen-heul (from apen meaning monkeys, and heul, an old Dutch word for a safe haven).
Apenheul Primate Park opened in 1971 as a small but revolutionary park housing wool-monkeys and other species. It is located in the nature park of Berg en Bos (Mountain and Wood) and proved popular with visitors and primatologists alike, leading to subsequent expansions. In 1976, gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s were introduced to Apenheul Primate Park, with the first gorilla baby being born three years later. This was only the second healthy baby that had born in captivity in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the third in the entire world. The baby was raised by its own mother, which remains a rare event.
A major setback occurred in 1981 when the cabin in which Apenheul Primate Park began burned to the ground, killing 46 monkeys. The building was subsequently replaced.