Into the unknown: zoos of western France

[CheeseChameleon1945]

I have been reading this thread all the way through, and its quite a nice, thorough review. Very interesting to read your reviews on all these zoos. A lot I have not heard of.

 

[lintworm]

Thoiry, Zoo/Safari


Not far from Paris lies a safaripark that is developing more and more into a mainstream zoo with a drive-through attached. Due to the developments of COVID19 infections in the capital I could not visit the zoos in Paris or the Parc des Felins, but Thoiry was at the border of the risk areas, so I decided to visit anyway. Thoiry is a bit the opposite of Planete Sauvage in that the drive-through area is not so spectacular, but the walking part of the zoo is much better and more extensive. The drive-through is basically one winding road through a large African savannah enclosure, with White Rhino, Common Hippo, African Elephant and Giraffe in side enclosures. Additionally there is a second smaller African plain with Greater Kudu, White-tailed Gnu and Sitatunga and an American drive-through. The American drive-through features American Bison (males only), American Black Bear and “Arctic” Wolves, with Spectacled Bears in a side enclosure. There were two Wolves that wanted to attack a bear currently in a separation enclosure and although this drive-through is large and forested, it make one wonder whether this combination isn’t too stressful for the animals… Enclosures for Fallow Deer and Przewalski Horse complete the area one sees by car.

Main drive-through

White Rhino enclosure

N-American drive-through

The zoo part does feature another chateau, but the enclosures are mostly far away from that area. The collection here is a mix of large carnivores, primates, some more hoofstock, but features two buildings with reptiles/amphibians as well. The majority of the enclosures here is quite spacious, though some are also too bare and small, like the ones for S-American monkeys. A highlight is group of Tonkean Macaques, 40+ heads strong. I did only see adults, so it could well be that there is a breeding stop, which is unfortunate as it is a lovely species. For a safaritype zoo the collection is quite nice and with Anoa (sadly no more Gaur), Bongo and Somali Wild Ass there are some interesting species here.

Bush Dog enclosure

Arabian Oryx enclosure

Lemur Walkthrough

A number of the carnivore enclosures (Siberian Tiger, Lion, Spotted Hyena) had glass tunnels running through them, which is a funny addition, but one of the tigers seemed quite stressed out with annoying visitors teasing him. A number of other cats are also viewed from a heightened walkway and it was great to see Lynx, Snow Leopard and N-Chinese Leopard with access to some tall trees. One of the Snow Leopard was resting high up in a branch to show that the cats do use this opportunity. There was a small vivarium building, which looked quite modern from the outside and indoors held a few larger species, including a very thick Green Anaconda specimen. I would not want to be the keeper responsible for that animal…. The second building is called the Ark, but fortunately there didn’t seem to be any creationist ******** in there. Rather it featured a series of terraria and aquaria showing different habitats. With marsupial frogs there were not only standard ABC species on show here.

Spotted Hyena enclosure

Snow Leopard enclosure

Snow Leopard up in the tre


Overall this place is well worth a look and though it certainly has its flaws it looked less cheap than most other safariparks (but with an entry fee of 30 euros one might expect that…). The safari part was not that great, but the zoo area was certainly interesting and better than expected.

Tonkean Macaque

More pictures in the gallery:
Thoiry Animal Park - ZooChat

 

[amur leopard]

so it could well be that there is a breeding stop,

Nice review of Thoiry! I would essentially agree that the walk through area is much better than the safari area, although there are some nice species in the drive through.

Just a note that in past visits I have seen young macaques so I think the group is breeding. It is always a pleasure to watch such a nice species in such a large group

 

[Dassie rat]

I'm glad you liked the Tonkean macaques, Lintworm

I've seen them at Strassburg Zoo and Mulhouse Zoo. They are interesting animals and I enjoyed watching the group dynamics of the troop at Strassburg.

 

[lintworm]

Just a note that in past visits I have seen young macaques so I think the group is breeding. It is always a pleasure to watch such a nice species in such a large group

That is good to hear, they really are a great species.

I've seen them at Strassburg Zoo and Mulhouse Zoo. They are interesting animals and I enjoyed watching the group dynamics of the troop at Strassburg.

I had only seen them in small / geriatric groups in Reynou and Mulhouse and seeing a large group with loads of healthy looking individuals was a great experience.


Parc Zoologique de Lille

This was to be the last zoo I visited in France this holiday and a rather last minute addition, as I was passing here anyway. Originally I intended to visit Pairi Daiza on the next day, but as that would be the last holiday day in Belgium and Pairi Daiza is rather infamous for overstocking their park with visitors, I decided to skip it. In the end I visited Lille and Thoiry as well as driving a total of 700 km to be home the same day. I am afraid I was starting to look like @snowleopard (though I still have more hair!).

The 1,5 hour visit to Lille was however a very pleasant brake, this small zoo does a lot well and it is a pity it isn’t 2-3 times larger. The collection basically consists of 4 parts: a long row of aviaries with birds and small mammals, a tropical house, some enclosures around a lake and three big enclosures to finish it. The aviary row held an interesting collection, with some more rarely seen species like Red Cardinal (for us Europeans anyway) and some nice small mammals like Manul. Whereas some mammal enclosures should have been bigger, all enclosures were rather stylish and looked well maintained. The Small mammal / reptile house has a mix of larger reptiles and small mammals. With Kinkajou and Cloud Rats there were again interesting species on show too, but enclosures were sometimes too small...

Aviary row

Manul enclosure

Small Mammal / reptile house

This is another French zoo with 2 gibbon species, as both Siamang and White-handed Gibbon had an island on the small lake. A third island was inhabited by capuchin monkeys. What follows is a mixed species enclosure with a pair of Lowland Tapir combined with a pair of Maned Wolves. This was a new mix for me and it seemed to work fine, though both species kept their distance from each other. The two White Rhino males next door didn’t keep their distance and were constantly running and fighting. It was quite easy to see why there were no zebra anymore on this paddock, as space wouldn’t allow that if the rhinos got excited. Last, but certainly not least is a fine walkthrough aviary for S-American birds. Roseate Spoonbills and Scarlet Ibis are a bit of the standard fit, but with Ridgway’s Ibis, White-winged Dove and Turkey Vulture there were some more interesting species mixed in as well. Planting was done very nicely and the aviary had a good height, so despite 11 species being kept here, it certainly didn’t feel overcrowded.

Siamang island

Lowland Tapir & Maned Wolf enclosure

White Rhino enclosure (left side)

S-American walkthrough aviary


It was very nice to end this journey with a zoo that, for once, did have an interesting bird collection. The zoo itself was also nicely laid out and while many enclosures were not special, it all had a very pleasant feel to it. If only it could be bigger, this zoo would be even more interesting…

There are several more pictures in the gallery:
Lille Zoo - ZooChat

 

[TeaLovingDave]

though I still have more hair!).

Marginally

 

[Dassie rat]

Join the club, Lintworm. The hair on the back of my head is also marginal.

 

[lintworm]

So that leaves my French trip finished. Visiting zoos in France was definately a different experience than visiting zoos elsewhere in continental Europe. In general zoos here were disproportionally mammal-focused and located in out of the way places on the countryside. It was however refreshing to see a completely different kind of zoo philosophy compared to the Dutch, German, Swiss and Czech styles that I am used to. There is a lot to applaud in general like how with limited funding good enclosures can be made and the number of zoos that had large primate and cat enclosures with loads of natural vegetation. Most zoos are real summer zoos, with indoor complexes limited to a few and indoor housing generally being of a very basic level. I would urge everyone to go to France and see some of these zoos for themselves, as several offer experiences you will not find anywhere else. If you are a bird lover, this is maybe not the country for you, but there are some great exceptions when it comes to species and presentation. A big plus are also the aquariums, with Nausicaa, Oceanopolis and la Rochelle I visited three that were great in their own right.

I know zoochatters like lists, but I am not one to give you a top-10 "best" zoos, as I don't believe that one can quantitavely or qualitatively assess reliably. Based on my personal preferences there were however five zoos that stood out for me from the rest. There are off-course several other places that I found really enjoyable and would certainly deserve a visit like Zoodyssee, Trégomeur, Nausicaa and Obterre, but the following 5 I found the most enjoyable:

5. Parc de Branféré This was a surprisingly nice large zoo, with very tastefully done large enclosures and especially for hoofstock and primate lovers there is a lot to applaud here. General atmosphere was also great here and this is a zoo in development and I will follow it closely.

4. Parc de Cleres A visit to this chateau and park was one of the most unique zoo visits in the past years. I was impressed by the combination of a beautiful park and large amounts of free-ranging animals. This was also the second largest bird collection (after Beauval) of the trip, with some real rarities as well. The laid-back uncommercial atmosphere here is almost unmatched and this is a lovely half day zoo.

3. Oceanopolis Brest Of all the aquariums I visited, I liked this one the most. It lacked a megatank, but the combination of tastefully done smaller aquariums, with a very interesting collection all around was great. Some tanks were too small for their inhabitants, but the overall quality of this place was high. It is a pity it is so far away.

2. la Vallee des Singes This is monkey watching at a different level. Even Apenheul cannot replicate how naturalistic and huge all the single enclosures were. This is a perfect place to see monkeys as if you are watching them in the wild, if you can locate them . You hear many primates here before you see them and it is great that for the whole experience you need more than just your eyes. Few zoos manage to do that...

1. Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine With two of Europe's best aviaries, unique landscaping in a unique zoo setting and a very high level of enclosures all around, this zoo has managed to become one of my all-time favourites. It is certainly not a big zoo, but there is nothing like it anywhere else.

French zoos are very much still developing and I expect a lot of zoos here to improve and expand their collection further in the coming years and it will be interesting to revisit some in a few years time.

 

[PossumRoach]

For some reason I feel like calling Zooparc de Beauval the SanDiego of France.

 

[DavidBrown]

@lintworm Thanks for taking us all with you on your journey through the French countryside. This is a region that I think most zoo nerds outside Europe know little about, and it was fun to learn about new zoos. The large number of forested chateau zoos is impressive.

What other regions of European zoo-dom do you hope to explore next? Are there any parts of Europe that you have not explored yet?

 

[Fallax]

And another great thread comes to an end! Thank you for taking us on this fascinating journey @lintworm ! It was great to see a view of these less talked about zoos and I am sure a good number of them have piqued the interest of more than a few ZooChatters

 

[snowleopard]

Thanks very much @lintworm for the detailed reviews and journey through the zoos and aquariums of France. This thread can now be a very useful reference guide for zoo nerds in future years, and the sheer volume of French zoos is astonishing as there are hundreds more all across the nation. I'm sure that one day there will be yet another 'Snowleopard Road Trip' in Europe and French zoos are not my first choice but they have moved up a little in my thoughts. Cheers!

 

[FBBird]

Thoiry, Zoo/Safari


Not far from Paris lies a safaripark that is developing more and more into a mainstream zoo with a drive-through attached. Due to the developments of COVID19 infections in the capital I could not visit the zoos in Paris or the Parc des Felins, but Thoiry was at the border of the risk areas, so I decided to visit anyway. Thoiry is a bit the opposite of Planete Sauvage in that the drive-through area is not so spectacular, but the walking part of the zoo is much better and more extensive. The drive-through is basically one winding road through a large African savannah enclosure, with White Rhino, Common Hippo, African Elephant and Giraffe in side enclosures. Additionally there is a second smaller African plain with Greater Kudu, White-tailed Gnu and Sitatunga and an American drive-through. The American drive-through features American Bison (males only), American Black Bear and “Arctic” Wolves, with Spectacled Bears in a side enclosure. There were two Wolves that wanted to attack a bear currently in a separation enclosure and although this drive-through is large and forested, it make one wonder whether this combination isn’t too stressful for the animals… Enclosures for Fallow Deer and Przewalski Horse complete the area one sees by car.

Main drive-through

White Rhino enclosure

N-American drive-through

The zoo part does feature another chateau, but the enclosures are mostly far away from that area. The collection here is a mix of large carnivores, primates, some more hoofstock, but features two buildings with reptiles/amphibians as well. The majority of the enclosures here is quite spacious, though some are also too bare and small, like the ones for S-American monkeys. A highlight is group of Tonkean Macaques, 40+ heads strong. I did only see adults, so it could well be that there is a breeding stop, which is unfortunate as it is a lovely species. For a safaritype zoo the collection is quite nice and with Anoa (sadly no more Gaur), Bongo and Somali Wild Ass there are some interesting species here.

Bush Dog enclosure

Arabian Oryx enclosure

Lemur Walkthrough

A number of the carnivore enclosures (Siberian Tiger, Lion, Spotted Hyena) had glass tunnels running through them, which is a funny addition, but one of the tigers seemed quite stressed out with annoying visitors teasing him. A number of other cats are also viewed from a heightened walkway and it was great to see Lynx, Snow Leopard and N-Chinese Leopard with access to some tall trees. One of the Snow Leopard was resting high up in a branch to show that the cats do use this opportunity. There was a small vivarium building, which looked quite modern from the outside and indoors held a few larger species, including a very thick Green Anaconda specimen. I would not want to be the keeper responsible for that animal…. The second building is called the Ark, but fortunately there didn’t seem to be any creationist ******** in there. Rather it featured a series of terraria and aquaria showing different habitats. With marsupial frogs there were not only standard ABC species on show here.

Spotted Hyena enclosure

Snow Leopard enclosure

Snow Leopard up in the tre


Overall this place is well worth a look and though it certainly has its flaws it looked less cheap than most other safariparks (but with an entry fee of 30 euros one might expect that…). The safari part was not that great, but the zoo area was certainly interesting and better than expected.

Tonkean Macaque

More pictures in the gallery:
Thoiry Animal Park - ZooChat

They have wolves and Bison in together?

 

[CGSwans]

I remember Haute-Touche being one of your more controversial picks for the 50 must-see zoos. Do you still think it makes the cut?

 

[snowleopard]

I remember Haute-Touche being one of your more controversial picks for the 50 must-see zoos. Do you still think it makes the cut?

That's a great question. I looked it up and @lintworm included 7 French zoos in his 2018 thread Europe's 50 must see zoos and it would be intriguing to note whether he would make any alterations after his 2020 French trip and his recent visit to Wroclaw Zoo (his 200th zoo). Certainly, I can imagine him adding La Vallee des Singes to the list.

Here's the thread in question:

Europe's 50 must see zoos

 

[lintworm]

For some reason I feel like calling Zooparc de Beauval the SanDiego of France.

That would be out of place I think, as San Diego makes great use of the terrain and has a great botanical section, I am not sure which American zoo would compare though...

@lintworm Thanks for taking us all with you on your journey through the French countryside. This is a region that I think most zoo nerds outside Europe know little about, and it was fun to learn about new zoos. The large number of forested chateau zoos is impressive.

What other regions of European zoo-dom do you hope to explore next? Are there any parts of Europe that you have not explored yet?

Thanks. I have set my next target as Scandinavia, mostly because several friends have moved there recently. But I would also like to visit Chester and some of the Spanish zoos, as those are (with Italy) the remaining main gaps...

They have wolves and Bison in together?

Yes, only adult male Bisons, but still don't think it is a great idea....

I remember Haute-Touche being one of your more controversial picks for the 50 must-see zoos. Do you still think it makes the cut?

That's a great question. I looked it up and @lintworm included 7 French zoos in his 2018 thread Europe's 50 must see zoos and it would be intriguing to note whether he would make any alterations after his 2020 French trip and his recent visit to Wroclaw Zoo (his 200th zoo). Certainly, I can imagine him adding La Vallee des Singes to the list.

Here's the thread in question:

Europe's 50 must see zoos

I think I would still include Obterre, it is a unique place in Europe, I didn't think it was a great zoo, but I definately like it and as an outer zoo it is unmatched in just how close it stays to the original goals (that Planckendael has completely let go).

La Vallee des Singes would then have to swap with Apenheul and I am not sure about that... I might try to squeeze in Parc de Cleres...

 

[Antoine]

Thank you very much @lintworm for the last reviews. I am very happy you enjoyed your trip and discovered some real interesting zoos.
I think you highlighted quite well the specifities of the french zoos.

I have to said that, unfortunately for zoochatters, lintworm visit the best area for zoos in France. If there are a lot other parks, the quality and quantity is not as high as here.

Regarding Lille, this zoo is a public one which was free for a long times and received (during this time) more than 1.000.000 visitors. Since five years the municipality decided to put fees for non citizen visitors to get some money. On the same time, they made a lot of refurbishments in the whole zoo (the small animals house was a nocturama before for exemple) and did great job (the zoo was creepy). Other info : ten years ago, there was an extension project but it was put down due to change in political vision and a lack of money.

For Thoiry, this is not a park I liked too much. The safari is not nice nor interesting and the zoo area is something without real taste. Moreover a lot of exhibits are done with poor materials and don't look beautiful. To finish, there is a problem with this zoo as now it's the property of a business company who doesn't want to keep it for a long time. They just do some improvments and want to sale the zoo in a few years. Not sure the future will be good.

 

[Brum]

Fantastic thread @lintworm, really enjoyed it from start to finish. Bit gutted that it has come to an end as I've got used to reading a new review every day...

 

[Tim Brown]

Apologies,or perhaps not, for resurrecting this thread. Reason? Im just back from a week frying in the parts of it south of Nantes.I went with my girlfriend who loves zoo trips and has a count of some 322(I`m now at 868...but then ive been at it all my(quite long) life!).Most of the zoos north of Nantes I`ve been to before,so it was a great big circle to the south and east(wouldnt get too much in to the west!)..At the risk of appearing contrary, here are our scores out of ten based on enjoyment of the visit,this is ENJOYMENT please note....and also note that the scorching temperatures had a big bearing on things - particularly in the afternoon. Sable D`Olonne 5,La Palmyre 7,La Rochelle 7, Zoodyssee 9, Vallee Des Singes 2.5,Haute Touche 4, Beauval 8, Pesheray 6, Spaycific 6.5.
Re. the low score on VDS ,very little was to be seen,it felt like a walk in the woods. A similar thing could be said about Haute Touche, but we did see rather more animals,even if the price for the hire of the electric buggy made it a very expensive zoo trip (and not pointed out by staff that it was by the hour).
We like to take a lunch if there`s time...top marks to Beauval`s restaurant in the Ecodome and also Haute Touche. La Palmyre`s rostiburger was the third worst thing ive ever had in terms of zoo food, beaten only by a regular burger at Lodz about 10 years ago and total junk at Baton Rouge Zoo in the U.S.!
And finally,to Lintworm,If La Palmyre is the worst zoo youve been to, then I could come up with a long list of places worse than that right now...Frejus and Mont Faron in the South of France to name but two.

 

[Tim Brown]

Oops nearly forgot Planet Exotica at Royan near La Palmyre which Lintworm didnt bother visiting. A nice reptile collection with rarities such as Banded Krait...two rooms - one tropical,one desert. It was nice to cool down in these places(!) and it added to the visit...as a result we gave it a 7.5.