A new world in the zoo of superlatives

Pairi Daiza, located in the Belgian municipality of Brugelette in the province of Hainaut, is one of the most extraordinary zoos in Europe. Scientific director Steffen Patzwahl talks about species conservation, rising costs, and the new Edenya experience area.

Pairi Daiza is considered one of the best zoos in Europe and experienced its most successful season ever last year, 2025, with almost 2,9 million visitors. We asked Steffen Patzwahl , scientific director of the Belgian zoo, about the reasons for this success and how the zoo plans to develop further.

DHB: How many visitors did Pairi Daiza have in 2025 and what target have you set for 2026?
Place selection: With nearly 2,9 million visitors, a resort almost fully booked, and exceptional births of rare animals, 2025 was the most successful season in our history. For us, however, this success is not an end point, but a great responsibility. Over the next 10 to 20 years, we want to further develop Pairi Daiza into a place where animal welfare, environmental protection, immersive storytelling, and hospitality reinforce each other. This will take the form of new worlds and resort experiences. Our guiding principle is: not growth for the sake of growth, but development that makes a positive contribution to biodiversity and the relationship between humans and nature. We are cautious about making specific forecasts for 2026, as quality always takes precedence over quantity for us. Visitor satisfaction and animal welfare are our top priorities. The pre-opening of our new Edenya area was very well received, but any future growth must be responsible. This means that we will keep a close eye not only on the park's capacity, but also on aspects such as mobility, access, and providing visitors with advance information.

Photo: © Paira Daiza

DHB: What percentage of the budget goes directly into species conservation projects and how much is spent on park maintenance?
Place selection: We generally do not disclose the exact costs of the park's ongoing maintenance. However, I would like to emphasize that we specifically raise funds for species conservation through our Pairi Daiza Foundation. This foundation recorded a record number of donors and contributions in 2025. As a result, we were able to invest almost two million euros directly in a total of 75 important nature conservation projects worldwide.

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Photo: © Paira Daiza

DHB: How many animal species were born at your facility last year, and was there a birth that was particularly significant for you?
Place selection: Since the beginning of 2026, we have recorded several births in the park of species with a very high conservation value on the IUCN Red List. Of particular note are two golden snub-nosed monkeys. Pairi Daiza is the only institution in Belgium and one of very few outside of China that keeps this rare and endangered species. We were also delighted by the birth of two Vietnamese pheasants, a species considered potentially extinct in the wild. Two bearded vultures were also born, part of a successful European reintroduction program in France and Germany, including at Berchtesgaden National Park. In addition, four ring-tailed lemurs, a critically endangered lemur species from Madagascar, were born.

Photo: © Paira Daiza

DHB: What is currently the biggest economic challenge for the park?
Place selection: The biggest economic challenge is to continue investing at a very high level in animal welfare, species conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure, and the visitor experience, while simultaneously ensuring the park remains affordable for as many people as possible. Pairi Daiza is a very long-term project. Every new habitat, every veterinary facility, and every improvement requires significant investment. Moreover, the costs of energy, materials, animal feed, transportation, and specialized care have risen considerably in recent years. So, we are not just focused on purely economic growth, but on sustainable growth. The park must develop in a way that remains financially sound, respects the animals, is beneficial for species conservation, and holds profound meaning for the public. This philosophy has also significantly influenced the creation of our new Edenya area and the selection of materials used there. Large structures like these quickly become massive energy consumers. That's why we have developed an ambitious concept to minimize energy consumption from the ground up and conserve natural resources. Our strategy is based on reducing consumption, using efficient technologies, and continuous monitoring. Edenya was designed like a living organism: its heart beats to the rhythm of heat pumps, hybrid ventilation systems, and a smart network that captures heat and redistributes it according to the season. The impressive glass roof consists of 1.320 tons of steel, supported by 25 reinforced concrete columns. The special glass insulates five times better than conventional greenhouse glass, yet allows vital UV rays to pass through for plants and animals, preventing overheating. Thanks to the parking areas covered with photovoltaic panels, 100 percent of the required electricity comes from solar energy. Rainwater is also collected on the 40.000-square-meter roof, stored in tanks with a capacity of 1.400 cubic meters, and used for irrigation. Wastewater is carefully treated and continuously recycled via a closed-loop water system before finally being discharged, purified, into the River Dender.

DHB: Which areas or enclosures will you renovate or expand in the next two years, and what are the reasons for this?
Place selection: Mobility will be a key focus of the upcoming investments. A new road connection is planned, linking the park directly to the motorway. In addition, Cambron-Casteau train station will be completely redesigned between 2026 and 2028. This project aims to make the park more easily accessible by train and provide a sustainable solution to traffic challenges. A second park entrance will be created on the south side of Pairi Daiza, directly accessible from two new, longer platforms. An underpass with stairs and ramps will provide barrier-free access to the platforms. This redesign implements the recommendations of the Walloon Region's Mobility Plan. We want to actively encourage our visitors and staff to travel by train by offering them a more direct, safer, and environmentally friendly journey.

Photo: © Paira Daiza

DHB: What new technologies do you use to improve animal welfare or the visitor experience?
Place selection: Technology is never used as an end in itself. It always serves to improve animal welfare, visitor comfort, and the park's environmental responsibility. A key part of this approach is our goal of managing our natural resources more independently and becoming 100 percent green by 2034. A significant milestone in this regard was the commissioning of a large-scale photovoltaic system above our parking lots in 2019. Today, 93.786 solar panels produce approximately 39.800 megawatt-hours of green electricity per year, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 11.350 households. This makes the park completely energy self-sufficient and generates a substantial surplus of green electricity – around 50 percent in 2024 – which is fed into the public grid. Since January 2023, an on-site biological wastewater treatment plant has also been operational, capable of ecologically treating the wastewater of a small town of 10.000 inhabitants. At the same time, we are continuously optimizing energy consumption and integrating sustainable technologies such as LED lighting, heat exchangers, high-efficiency glazing, heat pumps, and geothermal energy into new and renovated projects. These technologies directly impact the quality of the habitats. In the "Land of the Cold" experience, for example, the cooling energy from the penguin rocks is reused to heat the resort's hotel rooms. Throughout the park, state-of-the-art technology is used to monitor energy, water, and geothermal energy consumption daily, ensuring stable conditions for animals, visitors, and staff. This system also supports our sustainability efforts, such as the meticulous sorting of approximately 50 different types of waste, which relies heavily on visitor cooperation and contributes to cleaner operations.

DHB: Have you changed your strategy in light of the recent societal debates about zoos and aquariums in recent years?
Place selection: The debates of recent years have not changed our fundamental mission, but they have shown us how important it is to clearly communicate this mission and continuously improve how we work. We are aware that opinions about zoos and aquariums have become more polarized. Some people see animals in human care primarily as a problem, while others recognize the essential role that modern conservation parks can play. We believe that the best response to this debate is not slogans, but hard facts, transparency, and concrete results. Pairi Daiza's role is not simply to show animals to visitors. It is to make a genuine contribution to conservation, scientific collaboration, education, and animal welfare. Our policies are constantly evolving based on veterinary expertise, behavioral research, scientific findings, and changing public expectations. This means that we continuously invest in larger and more complex habitats, behavioral enrichment, careful social integration, preventative healthcare, and participation in European and international breeding and reintroduction programs. The debate reminds us that we must remain transparent, rigorous, and humble: Every decision must be justifiable, above all, from the perspective of the animals and the preservation of species.

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