I like to include the full title because firstly the Jardin des Plantes is more than just the Menagerie, it also includes a botanic garden and three museums, and secondly because it very much is an old style Menagerie.
It would be fair to say there is not a single major exhibit built in this zoo since the Second World War, and that many date back to the 19th Century. In fact it was nominated in another thread as a zoo museum, and certainly this is not an unfair description.
Having said that on my visit I only saw evidence of first class husbandry, with many notable species breeding.
This is not a zoo where you will see many of the typical zoo animals. There are no lions or tigers, bears, giraffes or elephants. Rather the management have obviously made a decision to downsize to house animals that are more comfortable in the confines of the small 19thC enclosures. Thus what I presume was a bear pit houses a family of binterongs. It was a delight to watch the cubs climb their artificial "tree". Likewise the large traditional cat house has been modified to give reasonable enclosures for leopards, and they have successfully bred clouded leopards there. Overall they seem to concentrate on program species as well, and there are quite a number of unusual species.
The only areas I felt at all uncomfortable with some of the enclosures from the point of view of the animals welfare was around the primate house, and some of the bird aviaries.
The reptile house is quite remarkable, with the original wooden cabinets still in place. And the walk through aviary, about the same age as the reptile house (1880's?) is of quite a beautiful design.
This is a zoo that all zoo enthusiasts should visit if they get a chance, to see how things used to be, without feeling the inhabitants are suffering because of it.
I should add this is a very small zoo, only 9 acres (3.6 ha) and reputedly the oldest public zoo in the world, having been established during the French Revolution.
Travel trip: You can get to the zoo easily on the Batobus, a boat that runs up and down the river and stops at a number of other monuments as well.
It would be fair to say there is not a single major exhibit built in this zoo since the Second World War, and that many date back to the 19th Century. In fact it was nominated in another thread as a zoo museum, and certainly this is not an unfair description.
Having said that on my visit I only saw evidence of first class husbandry, with many notable species breeding.
This is not a zoo where you will see many of the typical zoo animals. There are no lions or tigers, bears, giraffes or elephants. Rather the management have obviously made a decision to downsize to house animals that are more comfortable in the confines of the small 19thC enclosures. Thus what I presume was a bear pit houses a family of binterongs. It was a delight to watch the cubs climb their artificial "tree". Likewise the large traditional cat house has been modified to give reasonable enclosures for leopards, and they have successfully bred clouded leopards there. Overall they seem to concentrate on program species as well, and there are quite a number of unusual species.
The only areas I felt at all uncomfortable with some of the enclosures from the point of view of the animals welfare was around the primate house, and some of the bird aviaries.
The reptile house is quite remarkable, with the original wooden cabinets still in place. And the walk through aviary, about the same age as the reptile house (1880's?) is of quite a beautiful design.
This is a zoo that all zoo enthusiasts should visit if they get a chance, to see how things used to be, without feeling the inhabitants are suffering because of it.
I should add this is a very small zoo, only 9 acres (3.6 ha) and reputedly the oldest public zoo in the world, having been established during the French Revolution.
Travel trip: You can get to the zoo easily on the Batobus, a boat that runs up and down the river and stops at a number of other monuments as well.
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