Réserve Africaine de Sigean Reserve Africaine Sigean
- Thread starter Marcellus
- Start date
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
The Réserve africaine de Sigean has just released 4 White Storks in the wild:
Aude : des cigognes soignées et relâchées à la Réserve Africaine de Sigean
They were rescued birds that have been weakened during their migration.
Aude : des cigognes soignées et relâchées à la Réserve Africaine de Sigean
They were rescued birds that have been weakened during their migration.
Great news from Sigean : for the first time in France and for the first time in 2021 in Europe a north african ostrich has hatched. The breeding pair is young so the zoo decided to put the egg in a nest covered by a common ostrich and in june two eggs hatched including the little red-necked jewel 
Sigean has updated their recent births :
- 1 Kafue lechwe february 8th,
- 4 Defassa waterbucks october 3rd and december 27th 2021, 17th and 24th january 2022,
- 3 guinea pigeons during winter,
- 4 grant's zebras july 17th and 29th, september 21st and november 7th,
- 2 roan antelopes september 7th and october 11th,
- 3 gemsboks july 14th, august 30th and october 6th,
- 6 red-necked wallabies during september and october 201,
- 2 sitatungas july 2nd and september 7th,
- 1 Cape eland august 28th,
- 2 crested porcupines july 2nd,
- 20 blue wildebeest in may, june and july 2021 (why they continue to breed a such number
).
Naissances - Réserve Africaine de Sigean
- 1 Kafue lechwe february 8th,
- 4 Defassa waterbucks october 3rd and december 27th 2021, 17th and 24th january 2022,
- 3 guinea pigeons during winter,
- 4 grant's zebras july 17th and 29th, september 21st and november 7th,
- 2 roan antelopes september 7th and october 11th,
- 3 gemsboks july 14th, august 30th and october 6th,
- 6 red-necked wallabies during september and october 201,
- 2 sitatungas july 2nd and september 7th,
- 1 Cape eland august 28th,
- 2 crested porcupines july 2nd,
- 20 blue wildebeest in may, june and july 2021 (why they continue to breed a such number
).Naissances - Réserve Africaine de Sigean
Birth of 4 new african wild dog pups (4 males) last february 13th. Mother is Nidalee and father Jims. The pack is now composed of 19 animals (1,1 breeding pair + 13 pups born in 2019 and 2021 + the 4 newborns).
4 nouveaux petits Lycaons à la Réserve Africaine de Sigean - Réserve Africaine de Sigean
(1,1 breeding pair + 13 pups born in 2019 and 2021 + the 4 newborns).4 nouveaux petits Lycaons à la Réserve Africaine de Sigean - Réserve Africaine de Sigean
After many many years of knowing the existance of Sigean and not being able to visit it, it's finally time for me to go for it! In a few weeks time I'll be visiting Réserve Africaine de Sigean for the first time, and with it I have some questions to ask before I go:
- Do the large aviary, vivarium, drive-thru paddocks,... have closing times before the closure of the park? With this I mean if they close before the main park does so.
- The website advertises a guidebook. Does anyone know if it's any good? Can I buy it inside the park?
- I come to ask the waterbuck question, are they Sing-Sing waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus unctuous)? Since ZTL lists both Defassas and Sing-sings while saying they were missigned as Defassas I don't really know what to believe ahahaha.
- Does the park really have Eastern kiang (Equus kiang holdereri)? I've never seen any pictures of these animals in the park but again, they are listed in ZTL. Are they offshow?
- Are the Northern talapoins (Miopithecus ogouensis) offshow?
The rest of questions are "Will X species be easy to see?" so I'll save those for me ahahaha. I'm really excited for this trip and I'll make sure to take loads of pictures.
- Do the large aviary, vivarium, drive-thru paddocks,... have closing times before the closure of the park? With this I mean if they close before the main park does so.
- The website advertises a guidebook. Does anyone know if it's any good? Can I buy it inside the park?
- I come to ask the waterbuck question, are they Sing-Sing waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus unctuous)? Since ZTL lists both Defassas and Sing-sings while saying they were missigned as Defassas I don't really know what to believe ahahaha.
- Does the park really have Eastern kiang (Equus kiang holdereri)? I've never seen any pictures of these animals in the park but again, they are listed in ZTL. Are they offshow?
- Are the Northern talapoins (Miopithecus ogouensis) offshow?
The rest of questions are "Will X species be easy to see?" so I'll save those for me ahahaha. I'm really excited for this trip and I'll make sure to take loads of pictures.
I visited this place some years ago, I can't really answer your questions but I would offer the following advice, get there as early as possible and do the drive-through first to avoid traffic jams. The walk around part is huge so you'll need plenty of time to enjoy it.
To answer your questions :
- the safari drive-thru, reptile house and large aviary closed before the park closure. From my visit last year and the infos on the website I understand these exhibits closed at 17h30 and the park at 19h30. But as @Ned said you must start by the safari at the opening and enjoy it until it is too hot and crowded.
- yes there is a very good guidebook available in the park in french/english/spanish. The only matter is the price : 15 euros. But it's worth it !
- no sing-sing waterbucks at Sigean. They are not listed in the guidebook (2021) nor in this list from june 2022 Liste des animaux de la Réserve Africaine de Sigean - Nature et Zoo which you can trust.
- the same for eastern kiang but they left few years ago. For a time the park have them in a off-show plain only accessible with expensive VIP visit. But there are persian onagers in the past elephant enclosure.
- the talapoins were put in the large aviary at the end of last year but not sure they are still in as there were mistakes with the birds. Maybe they could be on-show in a smaller aviary near the larger one. You must open your eyes and ask staff if needed.
Do not miss the cuvier's gazelles in the pedestrian part. They are not on the main visitor path but just behind the hartmann moutain zebras and aoudads cliff.
I am quite sure you will enjoy your visit
- the safari drive-thru, reptile house and large aviary closed before the park closure. From my visit last year and the infos on the website I understand these exhibits closed at 17h30 and the park at 19h30. But as @Ned said you must start by the safari at the opening and enjoy it until it is too hot and crowded.
- yes there is a very good guidebook available in the park in french/english/spanish. The only matter is the price : 15 euros. But it's worth it !
- no sing-sing waterbucks at Sigean. They are not listed in the guidebook (2021) nor in this list from june 2022 Liste des animaux de la Réserve Africaine de Sigean - Nature et Zoo which you can trust.
- the same for eastern kiang but they left few years ago. For a time the park have them in a off-show plain only accessible with expensive VIP visit. But there are persian onagers in the past elephant enclosure.
- the talapoins were put in the large aviary at the end of last year but not sure they are still in as there were mistakes with the birds. Maybe they could be on-show in a smaller aviary near the larger one. You must open your eyes and ask staff if needed.
Do not miss the cuvier's gazelles in the pedestrian part. They are not on the main visitor path but just behind the hartmann moutain zebras and aoudads cliff.
I am quite sure you will enjoy your visit
Thank you a lot Antoine!!! Really useful information.To answer your questions :
- the safari drive-thru, reptile house and large aviary closed before the park closure. From my visit last year and the infos on the website I understand these exhibits closed at 17h30 and the park at 19h30. But as @Ned said you must start by the safari at the opening and enjoy it until it is too hot and crowded.
- yes there is a very good guidebook available in the park in french/english/spanish. The only matter is the price : 15 euros. But it's worth it !
- no sing-sing waterbucks at Sigean. They are not listed in the guidebook (2021) nor in this list from june 2022 Liste des animaux de la Réserve Africaine de Sigean - Nature et Zoo which you can trust.
- the same for eastern kiang but they left few years ago. For a time the park have them in a off-show plain only accessible with expensive VIP visit. But there are persian onagers in the past elephant enclosure.
- the talapoins were put in the large aviary at the end of last year but not sure they are still in as there were mistakes with the birds. Maybe they could be on-show in a smaller aviary near the larger one. You must open your eyes and ask staff if needed.
Do not miss the cuvier's gazelles in the pedestrian part. They are not on the main visitor path but just behind the hartmann moutain zebras and aoudads cliff.
I am quite sure you will enjoy your visit
And I do really hope to enjoy it too, seems a park that is right out of my alley both in a collection and enclosure design. Can't wait to visit it, it really seems like a special place.
My only concern for you is that the weather is so dry since a long time that the park will look like a desert.
I remember something : last year wild bee-eaters were located in a moat just in front of the gibbons island, in the safari. Hope you can spot them before they leave.
I remember something : last year wild bee-eaters were located in a moat just in front of the gibbons island, in the safari. Hope you can spot them before they leave.
Yeah, the weather hasn't been the nicest lately... But that's what you get I guess, I won't let that bother me as much!
And I'm not gonna lie, I really am hoping to see the bee-eaters too! When you posted the pictures I fell in love with the idea of seeing bee-eaters in that atmosphere, I really hope I get to catch a glimpse of them!
And I'm not gonna lie, I really am hoping to see the bee-eaters too! When you posted the pictures I fell in love with the idea of seeing bee-eaters in that atmosphere, I really hope I get to catch a glimpse of them!
Good luck @SivatheriumGuy ! I have also seen bee-eaters in the Somali wild ass enclosure at the end of the safari part.
If you can, I would strongly advise to do again the safari at the end of the day, around 17:00. By this time it is totally empty and animals are coming closer. With the time passing by, the lights get better and you will rally feel like in Africa
If you can, I would strongly advise to do again the safari at the end of the day, around 17:00. By this time it is totally empty and animals are coming closer. With the time passing by, the lights get better and you will rally feel like in Africa
You're already lucky @SivatheriumGuy as the park has now on show Gaboon viper and african bush viper !
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Ehehehe, I was hoping for some last time inclusions before my visit... So cool!
I visited Sigean two days ago and absolutely adored it. It's such an unique park in such a stunning setting, the enviroment the animals live in is amazing and the amount of wildlife (Bee-eaters, black-winged stilts, many other shore birds...) I saw was also unexpectedly good.
Collection whise, I had a blast with it. Persian onagers, Cuvier's gazelles, Greater kudus, Nile lechwes,... The place to be for any ungulate lover!
I thought most exhibits were very good, with a few exceptions such as the Geoffroy's marmosets and the macaw island, but the rest was amazing to see. I always love outdoors reptile enclosures, and seeing the fully outdoors ones and the fact that some exhibits in the new Vivarium have access to natural sunlight is a great touch. The great aviary might just be one of my favourite zoo exhibits I've ever seen, I didn't see all signed species but the ones I saw seemed to be well established. By the way, the talapoins are still signed to be in it, so I don't know if they still want to add them to the exhibit.
Despite all of this, I don't know how I feel about seeing alligators being mixed with birds and squirrel monkeys, it just feels like disaster is about to strike whenever any other species got close to a gator.
I also really enjoyed all of the safari sections, mostly the Browse and first and third Savanna paddocks. I did the safari twice, the first one right when the park opened and the second one approximately at 17:00. The first loop was pretty busy and it got tedious at times, but we were almost alone for the second loop making it a super enjoyable experience. I also saw all species signed in it except for the mountain zebras and gibbons.
Talking about the mountain zebras, I didn't see them the whole day. They didn't pop up in the safari part and the exhibit next to the barbary sheep that supposedly housed them had a group of european mouflon living in it. Did they leave the park? I also didn't see any caribbean or chilean flamingoes, which is a good thing.
The road to the Cuvier's gazelle exhibit was also closed, no idea why. I also saw lions signed in the pic-nic section passing the chimpanzees in the way to the african plain exhibit. Any idea if there is an exhibit there? I saw the same fencing that is used for the lions in the drive thru section right in front of the signs in a wooded part, but no lions whatsoever.
Oh, I also bought the guidebook, an amazing read to have. I really appreciated the detailed explanation of the exhibits and insight to the future and past of the park. It seems like some cool projects are being developed.
In conclusion, I absolutely adored Sigean. I'll make sure to visit it again if I'm nearby at any point or make a dedicated trip if they ever make any large improvements. Will post photos soon!
Collection whise, I had a blast with it. Persian onagers, Cuvier's gazelles, Greater kudus, Nile lechwes,... The place to be for any ungulate lover!
I thought most exhibits were very good, with a few exceptions such as the Geoffroy's marmosets and the macaw island, but the rest was amazing to see. I always love outdoors reptile enclosures, and seeing the fully outdoors ones and the fact that some exhibits in the new Vivarium have access to natural sunlight is a great touch. The great aviary might just be one of my favourite zoo exhibits I've ever seen, I didn't see all signed species but the ones I saw seemed to be well established. By the way, the talapoins are still signed to be in it, so I don't know if they still want to add them to the exhibit.
Despite all of this, I don't know how I feel about seeing alligators being mixed with birds and squirrel monkeys, it just feels like disaster is about to strike whenever any other species got close to a gator.
I also really enjoyed all of the safari sections, mostly the Browse and first and third Savanna paddocks. I did the safari twice, the first one right when the park opened and the second one approximately at 17:00. The first loop was pretty busy and it got tedious at times, but we were almost alone for the second loop making it a super enjoyable experience. I also saw all species signed in it except for the mountain zebras and gibbons.
Talking about the mountain zebras, I didn't see them the whole day. They didn't pop up in the safari part and the exhibit next to the barbary sheep that supposedly housed them had a group of european mouflon living in it. Did they leave the park? I also didn't see any caribbean or chilean flamingoes, which is a good thing.
The road to the Cuvier's gazelle exhibit was also closed, no idea why. I also saw lions signed in the pic-nic section passing the chimpanzees in the way to the african plain exhibit. Any idea if there is an exhibit there? I saw the same fencing that is used for the lions in the drive thru section right in front of the signs in a wooded part, but no lions whatsoever.
Oh, I also bought the guidebook, an amazing read to have. I really appreciated the detailed explanation of the exhibits and insight to the future and past of the park. It seems like some cool projects are being developed.
In conclusion, I absolutely adored Sigean. I'll make sure to visit it again if I'm nearby at any point or make a dedicated trip if they ever make any large improvements. Will post photos soon!
Season births : 1 roan antelope, 15 kafue lechwes, 24 blue wildebeests, 3 ostriches, 4 african rock pigeons, 8 northen shovelers, 3 white-faced whistling ducks, 4 abdim's storks, 5 ferruignous ducks, 8 plain zebras, 2 common elands, 2 defassa waterbucks, 5 meerkats, 1 palm vultur, 1 yellow-billed stork, 1 northen bald ibis, 2 sitatungas, 1 hadada ibis, 2 dromedaries, 10 springboks, 2 red-necked wallabies, 5 african spoonbill, 1 oryx gemsboks and 4 african hunting dogs.