ZooParc Overloon celebrates opening Madidi with arrival of tamanduas and caimans

At ZooParc Overloon, the new South America Madidi area has opened. The new expedition section was immediately occupied by two tamandua, tree anteaters, who moved into the park this week.

Two spectacled caimans rescued from a home in Lithuania have also arrived at their new place from the shelter in Belgium. In total, as many as 22 animal species will be on display in the nearly 1 hectare area. Eleven of these are new to ZooParc. A number of animals within ZooParc are also moving to Madidi, such as giant anteaters and two-fingered sloths.

Part of the new area is a 700-square-meter building in which a tropical rainforest can be visited year-round. The tropical climate ensures that both South American animal and plant species feel completely at home here, even in winter.

Great desireThe new area is a great asset to the park, believes general manager Roel Huibers: "We have worked very hard on it over the past few months, but it has turned out super nice," he says. "Visitors really get a South America experience here."

The Amazon Rainforest, which covers much of South America, is home to 10 percent of the world's plant and animal species. It is home to many special animal species found nowhere else in the world. Due to destruction of the rainforest, including for the construction of plantations, this area is under severe pressure.

AwarenessSays Huibers, "We hope that visitors to Madidi experience how beautiful and important this piece of the world is and, in doing so, also realize that we really need to work to protect and preserve it for the future."

ZooParc itself is also actively committed to this cause, including participating in the management programs, also known as breeding programs, of vulnerable or endangered species from South America, such as the golden lion monkeys. Huibers: "In total, Madidi will soon have ten species that are part of a European management program."

One is the southern tamandua. This tree anteater can be recognized by its narrow, elongated head and powerful tail, which is bare on the underside. This species, found east of the Andes, lives in different types of forests, such as rain forests, but also in the mountains up to an altitude of 1,600 meters. There the tamandua feeds on termites and ants, among other things, which it eats about 9,000 a day.

NaturalThe first phase of Madidi, an aviary that houses more than 40 Chilean flamingos, as well as puna ibis and tufted grouse, among others, was completed in September 2020.

Huibers says he wants to create an even more beautiful, better and natural environment for South American species with Madidi. "That is nice for our guests, but certainly also for our animals. They now have a brand new shelter that meets all of today's requirements."