DierenPark Amersfoort

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DierenPark Amersfoort

Siberian tigers: Kira with a daughter
Date opened	22 mei 1948
Location	Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Major exhibits	Exotic animals; Theme areas Savanna, Night, Stad der Oudheid
Website

DierenPark Amersfoort is a zoo, located on the West side of Amersfoort, on the edge of the bunch area Birkhoven.

[edit] History

The zoo was founded on 22 May 1948 by Mr. Tertoolen and Mr. Knoester. Initially it was a very small zoo with a monkey, a bear, a camel and some farm animals. In the years afterwards the first carnivore arrived, and in 1956 the elephants Indra and Rani. In 1960, One of the zoo's founders daughters end her husband took over the manegement of the zoo, Mr. and Mrs. Vis-Tertoolen. Also, the first chimpanzees arrived. In 1979, 2 completely white lions were born, but while growing up they became normally coloured. In 1982 seven cheetahs were born! In 1988, the park got a savanna area and "De Ark van Amersfoort" (Amersfoort's Arch) was opened. The zoo currently has an area of approx. 10 hectares; there are more than hundred different kinds of animals and has about 650.000 visitors a year.