Into the unknown: zoos of western France

Tim Brown said:
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.
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I realized I never answered this one... I am glad you enjoyed Zoodyssee as much as I did, really a little gem. Is the new badger + fox accomodation in the forest area finished now and did you note the species in the smaller aviaries in the Campagne area? That part really was only barely finished when I got there.

I have been to arguably worse zoos in my life and I am aware of Mont Faron and Frejus, of which I have no inclination of visiting. In general I tend to ignore such zoos anyway, I would rather revisit a good zoo than add a new one to my list that isn't that enjoyable. But the worse zoos were located either in one of the poorest countries on earth (Madagascar), or clearly home run with lack of funds (de Paay, Best). la Palmyre really showed such a disinterest in modern animal welfare (or landscaping), they don't even seem to try...

Tim Brown said:
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.
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I didn't really realize I missed it until later, but then in a day with both La Palmyre and Zoodyssee, I had a full day already, banded krait would have been cool to see though ;).
 
The terraria are quite heavily furnished with plant life but you could see much of the body if not the head of the krait. Its a very decent place and a good chat with the owner(who is Swiss and used to run a massive travelling reptile exposition based near Servion) reveals that there are plans for outdoor terraria with a full display of all French species. Due to the pressure of Vallee Des Singes i missed much of the Campagne area at Zoodyssee because i assumed it was largely domestics,nor did i see the new Fox and Badger exhibit. In some ways it is a zoo where you can miss things quite easily. Catering is good at this place too.
 
Tim Brown said:
The terraria are quite heavily furnished with plant life but you could see much of the body if not the head of the krait. Its a very decent place and a good chat with the owner(who is Swiss
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Marc Jaeger knows what he is doing, but most kraits I know would love to spend the majority of their time in a hole or buried in soll and only emerge at night. ^^
 
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