The end of the meteorological winter (28 February) coincides with welcome news from ZOO Planckendael on the outskirts of Brussels.
It reports that storks are already clapping above the park, and that started extra early this year.
The first returnees were welcomed at the beginning of January and more than 150 storks have already returned.
That represents some three quarters of the entire colony at the park.
Storks are nest faithful and reoccupy their nest from the previous year. If the nest is occupied, a battle ensues between the intruder and the rightful owner. And the winner? They redesign the nest and strengthen it with branches.
It means that it won’t be long before the largest stork colony in the country will be complete again.
The park is also doing its bit to safeguard the future for dune gazelles.
With only about 500 dune gazelles left in nature, action is urgently needed to preserve them and ZOO Planckendael is contributing to a very important breeding programme in Tunisia with expertise, support and its own animals. As early as 1999, it sent two dune gazelles to Tunisia, which helped create the largest genetically diverse population in the world.
Meanwhile, work on the park’s brand new entrance is progressing.
The impressive bamboo tower yet is 28 meters tall and towers above the park making it an unmissable highlight – literally.
A park spokesman said, “Once the work is completely completed, we will be able to receive our visitors even better.
- From March 1, the start of the spring break, the park gates will remain open an hour longer, until 5 p.m.
