Ouwehands Dierenpark

Ouwehands opened in 1932 on the slope of the Grebbeberg at Rhenen, which gives it more relief than most Dutch zoos, and it has two things that set it apart. Since 2017 it has held the only giant pandas in the Netherlands, on a fifteen-year loan from China, in a purpose-built Chinese-style enclosure that cost a great deal and was much discussed; a cub was born in 2020 and returned to China as the terms require. And the Berenbos, opened in 1993, is a wooded enclosure of several hectares for brown bears taken out of circuses, small cages and roadside keeping across Europe - animals that cannot be released and are given space here instead, with the history of each one displayed, which is a more honest presentation than most zoos manage. There is also a large wolf enclosure and a walk-through rainforest hall.

History

Cor Ouwehand moved from Rotterdam to Rhenen to start a cigar factory but instead set up a small chicken farm on the Grebbeberg in 1919, where his raccoons, peafowl and pheasants soon drew visitors. When the farm lost business in the Great Depression, he visited other European zoos for ideas and opened his zoo on 18 June 1932; the businessman Marcel Boekhoorn bought it in 2000, and giant pandas arrived on loan from China in 2017 (Wikipedia, Ouwehands Dierenpark).

What's there

• The only Dutch giant pandas - on loan from China since 2017 in a purpose-built enclosure.
• The Berenbos - several hectares of wood for brown bears rescued from circuses and cages.
• Each bear's history shown - where the animals came from, displayed plainly.
• A hillside site - relief on the Grebbeberg that most Dutch zoos do not have.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Things to know

Pandas are often asleep or indoors and there is no guarantee of seeing them. Busy in school holidays. The panda loan terms and cost were publicly contested. It is a zoo, with the questions that raises.

Nearby

Rhenen is below; Wageningen and the Rhine are west.

Key facts