Le Guerno, Parc de Branféré
This modern zoo has some clear similarities with Pairi Daiza, but is in most important respects completely different. Like Pairi Daiza the goal of Branféré is to show nature and people in perfect harmony. This is not reached by an abundance of cultural theming, but rather by having an attractive garden setting with loads of free-ranging species (which off-course can be fed popcorn) and there is a complete absence of larger carnivores. There are some similarities with Parc de Cleres, as the zoo is also built around a chateau and with Mara, Red-necked Wallaby, Reeves’s Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer (10+), loads of waterfowl and multiple crane species, there is a lot of overlap in free-ranging species. Branféré is however more ambitious than Cleres and that shows. What is striking from the moment you enter the zoo is how smartly everything is designed. Education, buildings, the planting and all the renovated buildings; they all breathe the same sophisticated modern approach. The design and landscaping teams are definitely to be complimented.
First view after entrance
The park can be roughly divided into four different zones: the castle and surroundings, the Indian valley, an archipelago of primate islands and the hoofstock zone. With large carnivores being absent the collection focuses heavily on hoofstock, primates, some larger rodents, waterfowl and large birds. Interestingly I did not miss lions or bears, I only noticed later that there weren’t an. Upon arrival I kept left, which quickly took me past two typical primate islands. The design of these islands is quite simple with plenty of living plants and basically every primate enclosure had a few large living trees. The White-cheeked Gibbons, Ring-tailed Lemurs and Red-fronted Lemurs living on these islands had nothing to complain. It was also obvious immediately that a large number of waterfowl species is kept. In this area it was a high diversity of goose and shelduck. Two large grassy lawns for Llama, Yak & Bactrian Camel complement this area. What follows is the first view on the small chateau around which the zoo is built. The lawns are completely filled with Mara and Wallaby, but many birds and a larger number of Chinese Water Deer are also easily seen. There is also a bird show here, which mainly shows non hunting species (parrots, ibises, pelicans, vultures), which is necessary as loads of snacks lie on the lawns around it.
Gibbon Island
Park landscape
Free-ranging Red-crowned Cranes (with Sarus, White-naped also free-ranging)
Chateau
Past a smartly renovated area of older buildings lies the only aviary of the zoo. It is not large, but well-planted and has an interesting selection of SE-Asian birds. Simple but spacious enclosures follow for the obligatory Red Panda and Asian Small-clawed Otter. Around the corner is the huge Indian valley. At first sight it looks like a simple square meadow, but there is a large muddy area, a big pool and tall grass cover on the sides. The main attraction for normal people are the Indian Rhino, but large herds of ungulates are here as well. Whereas Nilgai and Blackbuck might not be too interesting, the 15 Barasingha and the group of Hog Deer, which keep to the cover on the sides, are much more interesting. There are two spacious enclosures here and a multitude of viewpoints. Even the stables are more than just functional and are quite spacious compared to the competition. A large empty wetland area begs for a huge walkthrough aviary, but the only other enclosure here is for Indian Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer (and a lawn with more Blackbuck and Emu). Unfortunately I did not see the muntjac as the enclosure is huge and full of vegetation, so sightings are down to luck…. Slightly uphill is a rocky area, which has two very pretty and tastefully designed enclosures for Harbour Seals (with crystal clear underwater viewing) and a large group of Humboldt’s Penguin. The seal pools could be larger and the penguin pool deeper, but overall the design with only real rocks is very pleasing and the enclosures are already quite good.
SE Asian aviary
Indian Valley, part of first enclosure
Indian valley, second enclosure
Hog Deer foraging in tall grass
Indian Muntjac enclosure
Path to Harbour Seal underwater viewing
One of two Harbour Seal pools.
Part of the Humboldt's Penguin enclosure
With the Maned Wolf enclosure currently empty (except for some more Chinese Water Deer) the next enclosure is a large island for Cotton-topped Tamarins, with large numbers of ducks in the moat. What follows is a great enclosure for Pygmy Hippos. There are two enclosures, both with lots of shade, land area and a large pool. The indoor enclosures are more functional, but far better than in CERZA. I don’t think the Marabou and Great White Pelicans like to share their space with the hippos, but that fits in the general problem of having birds as ornamentals. The route then passes the first fantastic Siamang island, with again a large number of live trees. The forested area next door will be developed for Okapi soon, and I look forward to that. The path then winds slightly upwards and you get a first view of the savannah. CERZA should have a look here as with smart landscaping the edges are hidden away and the relief is used to avoid fences elsewhere. The savannah is split in two, but visually they are the same. On one side live the more aggressive Grant’s Zebra and Blue Wildebeest, on the other side there are Blesbok, Greater Kudu, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Giraffes and Ostrich. Stocking levels are relatively low, but that at least means that the vegetation is not overgrazed… In this area there are also large paddocks for Somali Wild Ass, Guanaco + Lowland Tapir + Capybara + Rhea (with a large pool) and large wooded enclosures for Reindeer and Visayan Warty Pig. Black-tailed Prarie Dogs are also present. The petting zoo apparently has the only Hampshire Sheep in European zoos according to ZTL. The path then winds back towards the entrance.
Smaller Pygmy Hippo enclosure
Siamang island
Part of African savannah
Visayan Warty Pig enclosure
This leaves the centre part of the zoo to still be seen and this is a large area with lots of water and smaller islands. This “archipel” area houses a large number of larger birds (all unwillingly flightless), including White-breasted Cormorant, Sacred Ibis, multiple flamingo and pelican species and more waterfowl. The stars are however the primates. This area has large and pretty islands for the likes of Ruffed Lemurs, Black Howler Monkey, Colobus, Pileated Gibbon, Squirrel Monkeys, Variegated Spider Monkeys and Siamang. All in all the collection of this zoo might be somewhat limited, but the zoo is expanding at a slow but steady rate. What is done, is however done tastefully and mostly right. I can’t imagine there are many better places to be a primate or an ungulate in Europe, but as bird you are still more of a landscaping tool than a valued living animal. Large free-flight aviaries would really be of added value here. Overall I really liked the atmosphere in this place. It shows that design can really enhance the zoo experience. For a zoo nerd there are also enough interesting species on show, so if you are in the area around Nantes, don’t hesitate to stop by here.
2nd Siamang island
Caribbean Flamingo enclosure
More pictures are in the gallery (and I apologize for the reddish pictures...):
Parc de Branféré - ZooChat
although they shortly kept them in 2000/1 according to ZTL.
