ABSTRACT
Antwerp became a constant target for flying bombs, which the Germans aimed at the port in an attempt to obstruct its use by the advancing Allied armies. The Zoo was hit several times. It was only after the First World War that Antwerp became prominent in the world of zoos. The Antwerp Zoo had first claim on captive specimens, which have bred there most successfully. The western side of the Zoo is dominated by the Jubilee building complex, which can be approached from the Reptile House over a bridge that spans an enclosure holding mountain sheep and cattle. The path from the bridge leads to the roof of the building and a garden, on either side of which are housed birds of prey. In 1936 the Antwerp Society bought a 90-acre estate called Plankendael, 20 miles to the south-west of the city, for use as a country zoo.
