Zoo Rating: Dolfinarium Harderwijk

Dolfinarium Harderwijk

Harderwijk, The Netherlands

 

About the zoo

The Dolphinarium in Harderwijk is the biggest marine mammal park in Europe. They’ve got about 20 species of animals. They attract a lot of visitors with their 11 shows/presentations.

1. Species

A couple of the species that Dolfinarium houses aren’t that special in captivity. The Dolfinarium is the only park in The Netherlands that has (bottlenose) dolphins, however those aren’t that special on a global level. Their Stellar’s sealions, harbour porpoises and walruses are a bit more special though.

Score: 7

2. Animal welfare

The care for the animals at Harderwijk is top notch. They’ have very close bonds with the Dutch rehabilitation center “SOS Dolfijn”, which is on the same terrain. Sometimes,  dolphins or porpoises which can’t go back to the open sea, are permanently housed at the Dolfinarium. Other than that, the tanks are big and meet al requirements.

Score: 8

3. Construction

All enclosures are very open and it’s impossible not to find the animals. The dolphins and walrusses even got an underwater viewing area. The park gives a sort of woody atmosphere.

Score: 7.5

4. Accommodations

Having 10 restaurants/carts and 4 souvenir shops, you can’t say a bad thing about the accomodations in Harderwijk. They’ve also got 10 different playgrounds. There are 3 stadiums in the park.

Score: 9

5. Education

With a big exposition near the SOS Dolfijn building, and various other signs at the park, you really get to learn something at the park.

Score: 8

6. Interaction

Dolfinarium Harderwijk has a shark and rays tank, where you can pet the rays. The shows are without interaction.

Score: 7

Total Score: 7.8

Dolfinarium Harderwijk is definitly worth visiting for a day, but that’s it. The park doesn’t house that much species, so you’ll have time to visit all the shows. When you’ve seen those, well, then there isn’t a reason to come back very soon. Besides that, the entrance fee is rather high (it’s probably the most expensive zoo in the Netherlands). However, if you do go, you’ll almost definately have a nice day.

Gerben, 05/05/2014