As I have too many pictures to insert, this review will be split into two
Doué-la-Fontaine, Bioparc (Part 1/2)
Where Beauval lacked charisma and an own identity, Doué has both for two. It advertises as being the only cave zoo in the world and while that doesn’t sound very attractive, this is one of the prettiest zoos I have ever visited. This is another zoo with generous opening times and I stayed here from 09:00 to 19:15, about half of the time accompanied by @jwer , his wife and a 1,5 year old future zoochatter (who loves stairs and then Doué really is a great place). They were great company and it was nice to talk zoos with other enthusiasts and admire some of the best aviaries that Europe has to offer. This really is a zoo where it pays to take your time going around. The site is not very large and there aren’t a whole lot of species on show (there are less than 50 enclosures in the whole zoo), but due to the unique design there is always something new to discover.
The zoo consists of a lower and an upper circuit. The lower circuit takes you through a network of quarries, connected by cave-like tunnels and has the real highlights of the zoo. The upper part contains some of the newest developments, as well as a range of more standard enclosures. Upon entry you are greeted by a breeding group of Kordofan Giraffes and Grevy’s Zebra in a moderately sized enclosures created in a quarry site. The route then descends to the lower circuit and next to two small caves with Lyles’ Flying Foxes and a small vivarium, you enter one of the two highlights: the Okapi aviary.
Kordofan Giraffe & Grevy's Zebra enclosure
Entrance to Okapi aviary and elevator to the upper level of the zoo
This aviary is roughly 3000 square meters and is about 15-20 meters high, which enables it to accommodate a large number of big trees. It is hard to decide whether this is a bird enclosure with Okapi walking on the bottom or an Okapi enclosure with free-flying birds. It is true that the Okapi are dwarved by the surroundings, but there is probably no better place to see them in a rainforest setting. The problem with these large mammal aviaries is often that the birds have all the space, but the mammal space is limited (hippos in Beauval, buffalo in Antwerp, Okapi in Blijdorp) and while the Okapi enclosures are not huge, they have more space here than in Antwerp, Basel, Frankfurt, Blijdorp and others. The Okapi are not the real stars here, the birds and Hamlyn’s Monkeys are. Although there is a little bit of a lack of real rainforest species, with more open-country species being dominant. This is still a great place for bird watching though. Due to the dense foliage it can be very tricky to locate some of the birds (or the monkeys). But especially the upper viewing platform gives a great canopy view and seeing Grey Parrots play in the canopy and Hamlyn’s Monkeys foraging for nuts in such a setting makes up for any missed African Green Pigeons. It really is a pity there is not a smaller turaco species here for the rainforest sound and feeling, but that is complaining on a very high level, given the excellence of this aviary.
Passing through a tunnel one enters the leopard canyon. There are only three enclosures here for Javan Leopard (a single male), Sri Lankan Leopards and Red Panda + Reeves’s Muntjac. The Sri Lankan Leopards and Red Pandas have spacious natural enclosures, but the Javan Leopard has only relatively limited space. Another tunnel takes you to the S-American aviary. It is worth highlighting that these tunnels are completely silent, fortunately they didn’t feel the need to play stupid music or animal sounds in these tunnels (looking at you Beauval and Pairi Daiza) and if you walk here early or late in the day, there is not a sound to be heard, exactly as it should be in a cave.
Leopard canyon with the Sri Lankan Leopards on the right
Original inscriptions in the wall
Tunnel between enclosures
The S-American aviary is around one hectare in size and has been newly excavated for this exact purpose. It is now a network of lowered pathways and stone columns and while it may look a bit barren at first appearance, this aviary might be even better than the Okapi one. The highlight are the large flocks of parrots. Mitred Parakeets are dominant, but with four macaw species (including no less than 6 Hyacinth Macaws), Turkey & King Vultures, a variety of ducks and ibises, Inca Terns and more there is great diversity here. There is a heightened viewing platform and it is absolutely amazing to see large flocks of parrots or ducks in flight. This really is a magic place and one could spend an hour easily in this aviary. On the ground there are side-exhibits for Southern Pudu, Six-banded Armadillo (the largest and best for any armadillo I have ever seen, this one is for you @DavidBrown , as you asked for it once), Chilean Flamingo and Humboldt’s Penguin (the Peruvian Pelicans also hang out here).
Armadillo enclosure in the S-American aviary
What follows is more tunnels to the lovely low-key European aviary. Home to Egyptian Vulture, Demoiselle Crane, European Spoonbills and ibises, this is a lovely naturalistic aviary that shows how great simple can be if you plant it well. From here it goes to the Phantoms of the Himalaya, which is a series of newly excavated enclosures that follow a very geometric design. This is probably a nod to the industrialistic past of these quarries, but it is not the prettiest. For the large vulture arena it does however work quite well as it gives the Cinereous and Griffion Vultures (all flightless after accidents) a way to hop up and down their enclosure. For the Markhor+Himalayan Thar+Alpine Marmot and the Snow Leopard enclosures it is maybe a bit too much. The viewing of the caprine enclosure from below and above is a little bit awkward and both here and the Snow Leopard enclosure have some issues with a lack of shade. The Snow Leopard enclosure is however huge, with varied terrain and a high stake-out that allows them to observe the surroundings. With all that rock work, more shade would however have been welcome… Exiting this area brings you back to the European aviary and after another tunnel you enter the Okapi aviary again, which leaves the lower section completed.
Vulture arena
Snow Leopard enclosure (see the cat on the rock pile for scale)
European aviary
Tunnel back to Okapi aviary
To be continued...
Doué-la-Fontaine, Bioparc (Part 1/2)
Where Beauval lacked charisma and an own identity, Doué has both for two. It advertises as being the only cave zoo in the world and while that doesn’t sound very attractive, this is one of the prettiest zoos I have ever visited. This is another zoo with generous opening times and I stayed here from 09:00 to 19:15, about half of the time accompanied by @jwer , his wife and a 1,5 year old future zoochatter (who loves stairs and then Doué really is a great place). They were great company and it was nice to talk zoos with other enthusiasts and admire some of the best aviaries that Europe has to offer. This really is a zoo where it pays to take your time going around. The site is not very large and there aren’t a whole lot of species on show (there are less than 50 enclosures in the whole zoo), but due to the unique design there is always something new to discover.
The zoo consists of a lower and an upper circuit. The lower circuit takes you through a network of quarries, connected by cave-like tunnels and has the real highlights of the zoo. The upper part contains some of the newest developments, as well as a range of more standard enclosures. Upon entry you are greeted by a breeding group of Kordofan Giraffes and Grevy’s Zebra in a moderately sized enclosures created in a quarry site. The route then descends to the lower circuit and next to two small caves with Lyles’ Flying Foxes and a small vivarium, you enter one of the two highlights: the Okapi aviary.
Kordofan Giraffe & Grevy's Zebra enclosure
Entrance to Okapi aviary and elevator to the upper level of the zoo
This aviary is roughly 3000 square meters and is about 15-20 meters high, which enables it to accommodate a large number of big trees. It is hard to decide whether this is a bird enclosure with Okapi walking on the bottom or an Okapi enclosure with free-flying birds. It is true that the Okapi are dwarved by the surroundings, but there is probably no better place to see them in a rainforest setting. The problem with these large mammal aviaries is often that the birds have all the space, but the mammal space is limited (hippos in Beauval, buffalo in Antwerp, Okapi in Blijdorp) and while the Okapi enclosures are not huge, they have more space here than in Antwerp, Basel, Frankfurt, Blijdorp and others. The Okapi are not the real stars here, the birds and Hamlyn’s Monkeys are. Although there is a little bit of a lack of real rainforest species, with more open-country species being dominant. This is still a great place for bird watching though. Due to the dense foliage it can be very tricky to locate some of the birds (or the monkeys). But especially the upper viewing platform gives a great canopy view and seeing Grey Parrots play in the canopy and Hamlyn’s Monkeys foraging for nuts in such a setting makes up for any missed African Green Pigeons. It really is a pity there is not a smaller turaco species here for the rainforest sound and feeling, but that is complaining on a very high level, given the excellence of this aviary.
Passing through a tunnel one enters the leopard canyon. There are only three enclosures here for Javan Leopard (a single male), Sri Lankan Leopards and Red Panda + Reeves’s Muntjac. The Sri Lankan Leopards and Red Pandas have spacious natural enclosures, but the Javan Leopard has only relatively limited space. Another tunnel takes you to the S-American aviary. It is worth highlighting that these tunnels are completely silent, fortunately they didn’t feel the need to play stupid music or animal sounds in these tunnels (looking at you Beauval and Pairi Daiza) and if you walk here early or late in the day, there is not a sound to be heard, exactly as it should be in a cave.
Leopard canyon with the Sri Lankan Leopards on the right
Original inscriptions in the wall
Tunnel between enclosures
The S-American aviary is around one hectare in size and has been newly excavated for this exact purpose. It is now a network of lowered pathways and stone columns and while it may look a bit barren at first appearance, this aviary might be even better than the Okapi one. The highlight are the large flocks of parrots. Mitred Parakeets are dominant, but with four macaw species (including no less than 6 Hyacinth Macaws), Turkey & King Vultures, a variety of ducks and ibises, Inca Terns and more there is great diversity here. There is a heightened viewing platform and it is absolutely amazing to see large flocks of parrots or ducks in flight. This really is a magic place and one could spend an hour easily in this aviary. On the ground there are side-exhibits for Southern Pudu, Six-banded Armadillo (the largest and best for any armadillo I have ever seen, this one is for you @DavidBrown , as you asked for it once), Chilean Flamingo and Humboldt’s Penguin (the Peruvian Pelicans also hang out here).
Armadillo enclosure in the S-American aviary
What follows is more tunnels to the lovely low-key European aviary. Home to Egyptian Vulture, Demoiselle Crane, European Spoonbills and ibises, this is a lovely naturalistic aviary that shows how great simple can be if you plant it well. From here it goes to the Phantoms of the Himalaya, which is a series of newly excavated enclosures that follow a very geometric design. This is probably a nod to the industrialistic past of these quarries, but it is not the prettiest. For the large vulture arena it does however work quite well as it gives the Cinereous and Griffion Vultures (all flightless after accidents) a way to hop up and down their enclosure. For the Markhor+Himalayan Thar+Alpine Marmot and the Snow Leopard enclosures it is maybe a bit too much. The viewing of the caprine enclosure from below and above is a little bit awkward and both here and the Snow Leopard enclosure have some issues with a lack of shade. The Snow Leopard enclosure is however huge, with varied terrain and a high stake-out that allows them to observe the surroundings. With all that rock work, more shade would however have been welcome… Exiting this area brings you back to the European aviary and after another tunnel you enter the Okapi aviary again, which leaves the lower section completed.
Vulture arena
Snow Leopard enclosure (see the cat on the rock pile for scale)
European aviary
Tunnel back to Okapi aviary
To be continued...
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great to have such good company while visiting this little gem. And another fair review, thanks!
