Kolmården Wildlife Park
Encyclopedia
Kolmården Wildlife Park (Swedish: Kolmårdens djurpark) is a zoo
that opened in 1965 overlooking Bråviken
bay in Sweden
. It includes the first dolphinarium in Scandinavia
, which opened in 1969 with a daily show (also gave its name to the nearby basketball
team Norrköping Dolphins
).
The polar bear
facility opened in 1968 with 6 polar bears—one of the largest polar facilities in the world. The dolphinarium
opened in 1969, and in 1972 the zoo became home to brown bear
s. 1972 also saw the opening of the drive-through safari park
, as well as the Tropicarium, which exhibited snakes and crocodiles in an outdoor facility.
In 1993 the zoo opened Dolphin Lagoon. In 1997 the zoo was turned over from municipal ownership to private ownership. Bamses värld, devoted to the cartoon character Bamse
, was opened in the following year.
Parks and Resorts Scandinavia took over operation of the zoo in 2001 and has since been making many changes. Tiger World, where visitors can get "scary close" to tiger
s, was completed in 2007, and in 2008, the dolphinarium was extended into a new Marine World. In 2009, a family friendly roller-coaster called "The dolphin express" (Delfinexpressen) opened in Marine World.
The safari park that originally opened in 1972 was closed to drive-through visitors in 2010, but was replaced by a low-going cableway in 2011.
s given to the king of Sweden
by Thailand. Kolmården Zoo has the only gorilla
s, bottle-nosed dolphins
, bush dog
s, addax antelope
s, Asian elephant
s, dhole
s and ibex in Sweden.
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
that opened in 1965 overlooking Bråviken
Bråviken
Bråviken is a bay of the Baltic sea that is located near Norrköping in Östergötland, Sweden....
bay in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It includes the first dolphinarium in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, which opened in 1969 with a daily show (also gave its name to the nearby basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team Norrköping Dolphins
Norrköping Dolphins
Norrköping Dolphins is a basketball team from Norrköping, SwedenHead CoachKelly Grant-Depth chart:...
).
History
The zoo was conceived in 1962 by Ulf Svensson as a means of reviving the Kolmården Municipality, and was opened in 1965 with 210 animals in residence.The polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
facility opened in 1968 with 6 polar bears—one of the largest polar facilities in the world. The dolphinarium
Dolphinarium
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a large pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or for public performances...
opened in 1969, and in 1972 the zoo became home to brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
s. 1972 also saw the opening of the drive-through safari park
Safari park
A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals...
, as well as the Tropicarium, which exhibited snakes and crocodiles in an outdoor facility.
In 1993 the zoo opened Dolphin Lagoon. In 1997 the zoo was turned over from municipal ownership to private ownership. Bamses värld, devoted to the cartoon character Bamse
Bamse
Bamse – Världens starkaste björn is a Swedish cartoon created by Rune Andréasson. The highly popular children's cartoon first emerged as a series of television short films as well as a weekly half page Sunday strip in 1966, before being published periodically in its own comic magazine since...
, was opened in the following year.
Parks and Resorts Scandinavia took over operation of the zoo in 2001 and has since been making many changes. Tiger World, where visitors can get "scary close" to tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, was completed in 2007, and in 2008, the dolphinarium was extended into a new Marine World. In 2009, a family friendly roller-coaster called "The dolphin express" (Delfinexpressen) opened in Marine World.
The safari park that originally opened in 1972 was closed to drive-through visitors in 2010, but was replaced by a low-going cableway in 2011.
Animals
The zoo houses two elephantElephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s given to the king of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...
by Thailand. Kolmården Zoo has the only gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s, bottle-nosed dolphins
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
, bush dog
Bush Dog
The bush dog is a canid found in Central and South America, including Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru , Ecuador, the Guianas, Paraguay, northeast Argentina and Brazil...
s, addax antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
s, Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
s, dhole
Dhole
The dhole is a species of canid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the only extant member of the genus Cuon, which differs from Canis by the reduced number of molars and greater number of teats...
s and ibex in Sweden.