ZooParc de Beauval Zooparc de Beauval News 2020
- Thread starter Sneeuwpanter
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That's the indoor housing, but the outdoor viewing is also from a high-ish viewpoint.
Two videos of Akili's crate training for his transfer to Beauval :
We are planning a trip towards central France. Would a visit to Beauval be heavily affected by Corona-measures?
We are planning to see at least Beauval and from there towards the Elsace/German border and eventually back up through Germany. I’m also trying to fit Doue into the itinerary, would that be a good idea these (Corona)days? Any other tips in that area of France?
We are planning to see at least Beauval and from there towards the Elsace/German border and eventually back up through Germany. I’m also trying to fit Doue into the itinerary, would that be a good idea these (Corona)days? Any other tips in that area of France?
@jwer It depens on what you means by Corona-measures.
For Beauval, Doue and other zoos in this area you don't have to book online before your visit. Mask is required for the whole visit in Doue but just for indoor in Beauval and recommanded in la Haute Touche. All buildings are opened in Beauval. Reptile house in Doue is closed like the european pond turtles nursery in la Haute Touche. You will not missed a lot with this.
If you come to Beauval, do not hesitate to go to la Haute Touche wich is less than one hour drive far from. Of course, Doue is a must do and is two and a half hours drive far from Beauval.
In conclusion : for the moment, covid measures are not a problem here but the covid situation is going on the wrong side. So if you want to come, you must do it as soon as possible. The only problem I see is that the zoos are now full and, unfortunately, french people are not the best (if not more) to respect the rules...
Of course, if you need a guided tour in one of these zoos, I know someone who can help you
First of all, thanks for the great responce!
Hmm, looking at the map of France, our plans to end up in Germany at some point and the fact Doue makes you wear a constant face mask, made us decide to stay away from Doue (regrettably).
When you mentioned la Haute Touche, my mind went “maybe Obterre might also be an option”, before realising it’s the same
so for now, that’s probably now on the itinerary. Thanks for the tip! Perhaps I can sneak Besancon in on our way to Germany...
If you think that “guide” can handle a 1,5 year old toddler with a mind of her own, then he’s more than welcome to join us untill he’s fed up with us i’m just not sure yet when exactly we’ll visit, probably next week wednesday or thursday...
Hmm, looking at the map of France, our plans to end up in Germany at some point and the fact Doue makes you wear a constant face mask, made us decide to stay away from Doue (regrettably).
When you mentioned la Haute Touche, my mind went “maybe Obterre might also be an option”, before realising it’s the same
so for now, that’s probably now on the itinerary. Thanks for the tip! Perhaps I can sneak Besancon in on our way to Germany...If you think that “guide” can handle a 1,5 year old toddler with a mind of her own, then he’s more than welcome to join us untill he’s fed up with us
i’m just not sure yet when exactly we’ll visit, probably next week wednesday or thursday...
You're welcome @jwer
Sometimes childs are worsts than beasts but It could be interesting to see how much time I can keep calm
There is chance I will be busy next week on wednesday/thursday but tell me by private message when you come. It would be my pleasure to visit with you.
If you think that “guide” can handle a 1,5 year old toddler with a mind of her own, then he’s more than welcome to join us untill he’s fed up with us
Sometimes childs are worsts than beasts but It could be interesting to see how much time I can keep calm
There is chance I will be busy next week on wednesday/thursday but tell me by private message when you come. It would be my pleasure to visit with you.
Well then, after visiting Pairi Daiza for the third time last weekend, today my first ever visit to Beauval.
Both zoos rely heavily on the “if you build it, they will come” principle. This means that both zoos are situated near small towns in a rural setting and rely heavily on big ticket investments to draw the crowds. This is part of the charm, but also part of the dirty feeling they leave you with after your visit.
First of all, “they will come” is not a joke. Where Pairi Daiza’s Corona measures were a joke (1,5 meters was not possible in over 50% of the park), Beauval took this to a whole different level. The whole zoo seemed to be 1 big cue. Normally, a busy zoo annoys me but in a country with big Corona problems, Beauval isn’t afraid to not be part of the solution. Just plain odd.
The zoo itself is impressive enough though. It still has it’s old core, with some decent or well done enclosures like the gorilla islands, monkey islands and the african savannah exhibit.
The first expansions to the south include a few gems like the massive asian plains exhibit, the takin yard, the okapi’s and the impressive elephant exhibit (although not as large as I thought).
The second expansion to the north includes the overly impressive hippo exhibit, the new lion exhibit and the new, huge dome.
It’s unfair to judge Beauval right after Pairi Daiza, because both focus on the same strenghts. But I have no choice. What Beauval does better, is create new exhibits that really seem build for the animals. What Beauval does worse is leave old, bad exhibits intact while building new ones. I thought we were past parrot rows, but apparantly Beauval is not. And many of the old cat and monkey cages are also past their due date (about 2 decades).
Building new exhibits also leaves you with duplicates (meerkats, several reptiles), odd designs (that’s one hell of a fence for giant anteaters) and empty enclosures (old manatee pool, old hanuman langur cage).
The massive dome has some mirroring glass issues, but the manatee under water viewing area was impressive. The dome itself has 1 logical route that really pushed you past all the laid-out exhibits. As a child growing up with Burgers Bush, that always irks me a little. But it was impressive nonetheless.
The hippo exhibit was out of this world though. Massively impressive, almost to a point where you’d wish they’d saved some money to clear up some of the old zoo. But very cool nonetheless.
Last but not least, the bird show. Hailed by many to be the best of it’s kind. It was spectacular, in the insane amount of species and numbers on show. It lacked for me the educational aspect and the intimate aspect of Walsrode, so it ended second on my list of best birdshows i’ve seen.
I still have to answer my “if you build it, they will come” remark. The zoo breathes “moneyyyy”. Take a rural setting, through some millions in, draw crowds. It would work anywhere. These kinds of zoos are impressive, you want to see them, but they lack any atmosphere... you almost feel a bit dirty coming out of them,
Hard to rank this zoo. Of the 80-odd I’ve seen, somewhere between 5 and 10 I think.
Any questions, just shoot.
Both zoos rely heavily on the “if you build it, they will come” principle. This means that both zoos are situated near small towns in a rural setting and rely heavily on big ticket investments to draw the crowds. This is part of the charm, but also part of the dirty feeling they leave you with after your visit.
First of all, “they will come” is not a joke. Where Pairi Daiza’s Corona measures were a joke (1,5 meters was not possible in over 50% of the park), Beauval took this to a whole different level. The whole zoo seemed to be 1 big cue. Normally, a busy zoo annoys me but in a country with big Corona problems, Beauval isn’t afraid to not be part of the solution. Just plain odd.
The zoo itself is impressive enough though. It still has it’s old core, with some decent or well done enclosures like the gorilla islands, monkey islands and the african savannah exhibit.
The first expansions to the south include a few gems like the massive asian plains exhibit, the takin yard, the okapi’s and the impressive elephant exhibit (although not as large as I thought).
The second expansion to the north includes the overly impressive hippo exhibit, the new lion exhibit and the new, huge dome.
It’s unfair to judge Beauval right after Pairi Daiza, because both focus on the same strenghts. But I have no choice. What Beauval does better, is create new exhibits that really seem build for the animals. What Beauval does worse is leave old, bad exhibits intact while building new ones. I thought we were past parrot rows, but apparantly Beauval is not. And many of the old cat and monkey cages are also past their due date (about 2 decades).
Building new exhibits also leaves you with duplicates (meerkats, several reptiles), odd designs (that’s one hell of a fence for giant anteaters) and empty enclosures (old manatee pool, old hanuman langur cage).
The massive dome has some mirroring glass issues, but the manatee under water viewing area was impressive. The dome itself has 1 logical route that really pushed you past all the laid-out exhibits. As a child growing up with Burgers Bush, that always irks me a little. But it was impressive nonetheless.
The hippo exhibit was out of this world though. Massively impressive, almost to a point where you’d wish they’d saved some money to clear up some of the old zoo. But very cool nonetheless.
Last but not least, the bird show. Hailed by many to be the best of it’s kind. It was spectacular, in the insane amount of species and numbers on show. It lacked for me the educational aspect and the intimate aspect of Walsrode, so it ended second on my list of best birdshows i’ve seen.
I still have to answer my “if you build it, they will come” remark. The zoo breathes “moneyyyy”. Take a rural setting, through some millions in, draw crowds. It would work anywhere. These kinds of zoos are impressive, you want to see them, but they lack any atmosphere... you almost feel a bit dirty coming out of them,
Hard to rank this zoo. Of the 80-odd I’ve seen, somewhere between 5 and 10 I think.
Any questions, just shoot.
I have to say that where the anteaters now live used to be home to the lions in now the new exhibit. Otherwise, great review!
Are these parrot aviaries bad? I personally think it's a bit of a shame that almost all major zoos that are not bird parks are phasing out their "aviary rows". I really enjoy walking from aviary to aviary without having any idea what interesting species may be found in the next one. Of course, if it compromises with animal welfare in any way, then one big aviary is better than 10 tiny ones.
They're really not that bad from what I recall. The monkey cages are way worse.
They range from absolutely tiny to small to average. None of the old BoP or Parrot aviaries are great and I would say the majority are seriously outdated.
I am still processing my visit to Beauval, which is overall a fine zoo, but it lacks coherence, a soul and a good landscape architect.
Then of course they should be modernized, though depending on how many aviaries there are, they could maybe combine them and renovate them instead of tearing them down completely. I'd say Cologne is a good example that aviary rows can easily work in a modern zoo.
These old aviaries will be refurbished in the near future but how large will be the refurbishment, I don't know.
I am quite sure the future of these aviaries will be link to the giant walkthrough aviary project.
Personnaly I hope these aviaries will be replaced by lesser and larger new ones with a breeding center for the rarest species off-show (something missing in Beauval).
I am quite sure the future of these aviaries will be link to the giant walkthrough aviary project.
Personnaly I hope these aviaries will be replaced by lesser and larger new ones with a breeding center for the rarest species off-show (something missing in Beauval).
That’s blatantly obvious and exactly my criticism... if you build a multi-million euro new lion exhibit, just sticking a few anteaters in their old exhibit just sticks out like a sore thumb. Especially when all the other big cats in that area could do with more room.
Basically, Lintworm answered this very well for me. I’m all up for aviary rows, I also like the surprise about what’s around the corner. But not if what is around the corner are 2 amazons on a bare stick, barely able to stretch it’s wings without touching the wire with both ends.
I was trying to think of a decent aviary row, but they are few and far between. Rhenen’s hornbill row was the best I could think of. Walsrode’s ones are on the edge, depending on what species they stick in them...
When I visited, the anteaters where housed in a tiny pen at the end of the zoo, near the south-American pampas exhibit and the gift shop. I also agree that the other cats also need more space but the anteaters also needed it, so this kind of fixes the problem.
This month, births at the park include:
The Zooparc is also posting old photos of the zoo in its early days on its Facebook page to celebrate its 40th anniversary, so if anyone is interested, check it out!
- 2 Madagascar day geckos
- 5 White-faced Whistling ducks
- 4 Wood ducks
- 3 Southern pochards
- 1 Papuan lorikeet
- 2 Barnacle goose
- 1 Scarlet ibis
- 1 Giant anteater
- 2 Pygmy marmosets
- 2 Cottontop tamarins
- 4 Meerkats
The Zooparc is also posting old photos of the zoo in its early days on its Facebook page to celebrate its 40th anniversary, so if anyone is interested, check it out!