The Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park ( no, Kristiansand Dyrepark) is a zoological garden and amusement park situated in of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is Norway's most frequently visited attraction, covering an area of . Established in 1966, it has been owned by Braganza since 2004. The Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park has Norway's largest collection of animals. It consists of over a hundred species of animals from around the world, that move freely on a relatively large area. Amusement attractions include Cardamom Town ( no, Kardemomme by), which is made to look like the town in the book by

Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children includ ...

, and Captain Sabertooth and pirate village Abra Havn (Abra Harbor), which is taken from a theatre act by the singer and actor Terje Formoe.

History

The operating company was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1993. Ludv. G. Braathens Rederi became a partial owner in 1996. Its successor company Braganza gradually bought up shares until reaching a forty-percent stake in 2004. That year it made a successful deal to buy the entire company and the company was subsequently delisted.

The zoo

The zoo department of the park contains animals from different climate conditions, from all over the world. There are built own houses for animals that are sensitive to cold weather. Animals from the Nordic countries are located in a separate department. The collection of animals in the park is the largest in Norway and the animals have relatively large spaces to move around.

Animals

* Nordic wilderness - Nordic animals like

wolve The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in ...

es, lynxes and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

s. * Tropical department - Amphibian house with snakes,

crocodiles Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant memb ...

and more. + The chimpanzee Julius and many other monkeys in the trees, also on the outside. *

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

- African savannah, including

giraffes The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

, lions,

cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

and other African animals. *

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

- Siberian tigers as well as

orangutans Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ' ...

, gibbons and

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

s. * ''Heia'' - Area including

boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

and daisies. * ''KuToppen'' - Farm, opened in 2009, with regular Norwegian farm animals, based on the Norwegian children's TV series with the same name. Some of the animals in the zoo department (Gallery): File:Panthera Leo Kristiansand Zoo 02.JPG, Lions File:Bk antelope, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway.jpg, Antilope File:Bk giraffe, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway.jpg, Giraffe File:Bk lemur, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway.jpg,

Lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

File:Bk Bactrian Camel, Kristiansand Zoo, Norway.jpg,

Bactrian camel The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dro ...

File:Lynx lynx kristiansand dyrepark IMG 4061.JPG,

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

File:Wolverine, Kristiansand Zoo.jpg,

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

Cardemom Town

For those who know Thorbjørn Egner's story about the picturesque small town, it is very easy to recognize. The author has designed the small town as it appears. Here is the weather forecast tower, the robber's housing, police office with jail, bakery, small shops and a tram line with a singing tram driver. It is possible to sleep over in this part of the park. In the high season there are theatrical performances in Norwegian.

Captain Sabertooth World

In 1995 a Captain Sabertooth themed section of the Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park was opened. The area has a pirate village theme and contains various attractions, restaurants, and shops that are centered around the character. In the summer the park holds several shows and features, including one that allows guests to ride on Sabertooth's ship ''The Black Lady'' (in Norwegian: ''Den sorte dame'').

Attractions

* Kaptein Sabeltanns skattkammer, a small exhibition of treasures and weapons from the Captain Sabertooth stories. * Miriams forheksede hus, a haunted house attraction. * Grusomme Gabriels gang * Smokkariumet, a small room in the Captain Sabertooth castle where children that have stopped using pacifiers can place them in a coffin along with those left by others. *Sjøslag på Grashavet, a daily event where ''The Black Lady'' and the ''Countess'' will battle each other.

Restaurants

*Sjørøvergrill, a pirate themed grill restaurant located next to the Kaptein Sabeltanns skattkammer. *Piratproviant, a kiosk that serves burgers, fries, and other foods. *Pizzabakeriet, a sit-down pizza restaurant located in the Pirate Theater. *Kanelbakeriet, a bakery located within the pizza restaurant. *Hevnen er SØT, a small storefront that sells cotton candy, popcorn, and other treats.

Shops

*Havnehandelen, a port themed shop that sells Sabertooth themed merchandise. *Benjamins Bengalske Bazar, a shop that sells general pirate themed merchandise. *Kaptein Sabeltanns Sjørøvermagasin, a shop that sells costumes, hats, and swords. *Kapteinens Karibiske Marked, a shop that sells books, CDs and DVDs. *Maga Khans Marked, a shop that sells bags, hats, and other merchandise.

The pirate village

*Abra Havn, a scenic pirate village surrounded by tall walls. *Accommodation in family apartments.

Badelandet water park

This

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

is affiliated with the area, but it requires a separate ticket. Here are water slides in many varieties both indoor and outdoor, swimming pools and a separate beach. The water park is open from mid-May to mid-September.Badelandet Aqua Park in Dyreparken Kristiansand
www.visitnorway.com

References

External links

* (with limited information in English)
English version, dyreparken.no

Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park
www.visitnorway.com * {{authority control Amusement parks in Norway Companies formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Tourist attractions in Kristiansand Buildings and structures in Kristiansand Zoos in Norway Tourism in Kristiansand