In today’s plog we have Dierenrijk. Me (Lana), my sister and Mandy visited this zoo during the autumn break. Dierenrijk is a relative new zoo (it opened in 2004) and focuses most on children. This zoo is located in Mierlo near Eindhoven and has around 60 different animal species. The zoo’s slogan is “De kinderdierentuin” (“the child zoo”) and this can be seen throughout the whole park.

This is the park map of Dierenrijk. As you can see they use illustrations of the animals and bright colors: perfect for children! There was a clear path pointed out on the map and in the park. Just follow the signs and you will see all of the animals.

The first thing you will see when you enter the park are the meerkats. My favorite! They had a big mountain of sand where they had a good view on all the visitors. I could stand there for hours but there were many other animals to discover!

Not all animals were as active or alert as the meerkats. The red ruffed lemur preferred a good power nap.

Everybody has their favorite animal that they needed to visit during a trip to the zoo. The red panda was on top of Mandy’s list and it didn’t take long before we found him.

Is it a raccoon? Is it a dog? No it is a raccoon dog! (Also known as Tanuki or mangut)

This is a great example on how to use a simple pic-nic table and create a memorable experience. Hopefully this bear is not teaching the children to sit on the table?

When you discover that your 2 boy polar bears, Nick and Simon, are actually 2 girl polar bears. That is what happened at Dierenrijk. This year they found out that their newly born polar bears were female and not male as they thought. Luckily they could change the names easily into Nicky and Simone.

Where is my Hogwarts letter?

Normally touching the animals is strictly prohibited but at Dierenrijk you can get a €100 spa treatment for free!

I think this lion was trying to play his own version of the lion king. Unfortunately they didn’t build a mountain in his enclosure.

Mandy donated 50 cents the Wildlife foundation and fed the raccoons. Even a wild skunk appeared.

This concludes the trip in Dierenrijk. I hope it made you smile and that you will visit Dierenrijk in the future. I think this park has a lot to offer and not only for children.

Thank you for reading and see you next time!