Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
On a nice sunny day, just 2 days before autumn would officially begin, I went to the zoo in Rotterdam, called Diergaarde Blijdorp. I went with my mom and dad, since they hadn't been to this zoo in a long time as well as me. The last time we were there was about 10 years ago, because of my parents wedding anniversary.
During those years, there have been several major changes in the zoo, with the addition of the "Oceanium", a big hall where the majority of the sea life can be seen. All kinds of fish, including sharks, stingrays and very colourfull fish swim around there, while you walk underneath them through a tunnel.
The polar bears, elephants and several other animals had also gotten new living areas, where theey have more freedom to roam and play.
Unfortunately the gorillas with the big male Bokito, who made international headlines back in 2007 when he escaped from the island where the gorillas lived on, attacked and severly injured a woman, were nowhere to be found. There were no signs of any monkeys at the monkey house, which left us puzzled, since there was no sign that informed us to why the monkeys and gorillas were not at their usual locations.
I took my camera with me and shot close to 300 photos on this day, capturing the animals in their "natural" environment, while they were playing, resting, sleeping or eating, with the majority of the photos taken of the following (favorite) animals: Meerkats, Penguins, Elephants, Groundhogs, Red Panda, Polar Bears, Giraffes and the fish in the "Oceanium".
The zoo is home to a big variety of animals from all the continents of the world. There are 3 different routes you can follow, taking you to all the animals, with the zoo being divided in several areas, including Asia and Africa. For more information about the zoo, click on this link: www.blijdorp.nl
