Working visit ZooParc's Steven at Paramaribo Zoo

ZooParc's chief zookeeper Steven van den Heuvel was a guest at Paramaribo Zoo for several weeks in the summer of 2023. He visited this zoo to learn even more about the animals in South America: their care, natural habitats and challenges. He was also able to support and advise the zoo in the care of their animals.

ZooParc has had a separate expedition area entirely dedicated to South America since 2021: Madidi. Here, among others, live sloths, golden lion monkeys and white-faced lemurs. Of this last monkey species, which is found in Suriname, among others, Steven is the coordinator of the European management program.

During his stay, Steven wanted to learn even more about South American nature and the animal species found there. He was also able to advise the zoo on education, accommodations and enrichment of the animals. Steven recorded several vlogs during his stay.

What exactly he was going to do and with what to do Steven tells himself here:

Paramaribo Zoo is a green oasis in the city. There live mainly animals from South America. The park takes in lots of animals that, for example, come from the trade or were found orphaned along the road. This was Steven's first impression:

During his stay, Steven immediately set about making some improvements:

Steven also visited Zoo de Guyane, in neighboring French Guiana. This zoo is affiliated with EAZA, which means the park works intensively with zoos in Europe. Hopefully this visit was the start of a nice cooperation between the two zoos.

Some educational signs have been replaced and some animal enclosures have also been refurbished and enlarged.

This visit was just the start of a beautiful bond between ZooParc and Paramaribo Zoo. Hopefully we can do even more together in the future to further improve the welfare of the animals and further increase our knowledge about the species and their care.