Construction of a new red kangaroos enclosure

Animal news | 20 July 2022

It’s not just the orangutan house that is currently under construction at the zoo; another new development is also taking shape across from the South America enclosure. The area around the old antelope house is being repurposed for our red kangaroos, transforming into a spacious, sunny oasis for these Australian marsupials.

The plan is to create a walk-in facility for visitors with natural features such as large boulders, sandy areas, a green meadow for grazing, feeding platforms and a shelter.

The curved visitor path, which provides views of the kangaroos close up, is bordered on one side by a 1.2 m high fence made of black locust wood and on the other by planting that resembles the outback.

The small size of the current indoor and outdoor enclosures and above all the lack of sun were key factors in the decision to build a new enclosure for the red kangaroos. The current enclosure is too shady for these sun-loving animals. The new area will also enable the zoo to keep a larger group of kangaroos in the future.

Nevertheless, the current enclosure will continue to be used by our two remaining giant kangaroos for the time being, as a move is not an option for our ageing male kangaroo, Quincy, who is a little past his prime.

A group of three or four young females will move into the new enclosure. They will be given a good long time to settle in, before being joined by a male, probably next year, and after that hopefully producing offspring.

Construction project summary

→ Start of construction: July 2022

→ Completion: September 2022

→ Project costs: 175,000 Euros

→ Enclosure area: 850 square metres