ZooParc de Beauval Zooparc de Beauval News 2020
- Thread starter Sneeuwpanter
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A nice but short piece on the Role of Zoos: Le rôle des zoos - Beauval Actus
Apologies it's in French, but here's my rough translation:
Following the unprecedented worldwide health crisis caused by Covid-19, the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has called for support for conservation organisations.
In a communication, the SSC assured its unflinching support for zoos and botanical gardens, reminding people of their role in:
Apologies it's in French, but here's my rough translation:
Following the unprecedented worldwide health crisis caused by Covid-19, the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has called for support for conservation organisations.
In a communication, the SSC assured its unflinching support for zoos and botanical gardens, reminding people of their role in:
- The conservation of endangered species
- Allowing people to come face to face with wild animals, sometimes species they have never heard of
- The sensitization of the public.
- Their role in conservation and research initiatives.
Here Loisirs - Rodolphe Delord, directeur général du Zoo de Beauval, l'homme qui a l'oreille d'Emmanuel Macron an interesting article about he covid-19 crisis impact, unfortunately in french. The Zoo lost about 30 millions euros of revenus but is hoping french tourists will stay in France this summer and visit them. Moreover, after 105 millions euros investments in 8 years, the director said they decided (before the crisis) to make a break for 2/3 years before new major improvements.
Another article here Animaux - De nouveaux pensionnaires attendus prochainement au Zoo de Beauval tell that two new females manatees will come to Beauval. I can't understand this new transfer as the pool is already full of ten or more manatees now !
Other info, the doucs are planned to arrive during autumn...
Other info, the doucs are planned to arrive during autumn...
Some news from my last visit last friday :
* Elephants complex :
Akili's transfer is not on the way for the moment. The training for the transfer is still going on. No date planned. All the ladies were together in the third enclosure.
* Australia house :
- Seen for the first time in a long time a western brush-tailed bettong out of hiding !
- Seen one of the tree-kangaroo's joey.
- The koala joey and his mum were not on show. The females' enclosure was for a time a love room for one of the two males and a female. It was a surprise cause, usually, they do it off-show.
* Reptile house :
New on display : Allison's anoles (new species for the zoo - five holders in Europe) and emperor scorpions (new species for the zoo - they have other animals off-show in the tropical dome).
* Tropical dome :
- saw for the first time the red rain frog. Beautiful !
- the mata-mata turtles were transfered from the west indian terrarium to the caiman lizards' one.
- seen just one giant otter and few manatees.
- the Beauval's Nature Camp is now re-opened but there is nothing more to see excepted an aquarium with small fishes not labelled.
- super starlings has been released in the dome.
- some pygmy marmosets live now with the golden lion tamarins and red titis.
* Gorillas greenhouse :
The small island is just a setting. No more.
I didn't see the newly arrived yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles. Next time !
* Hippopotamuses reserve :
Gloria, the young hippo was with her mother in the indoor pool. I suppose there will betime before she will go outside as the outdoor pool is much larger and deeper than the other.
* Elephants complex :
Akili's transfer is not on the way for the moment. The training for the transfer is still going on. No date planned. All the ladies were together in the third enclosure.
* Australia house :
- Seen for the first time in a long time a western brush-tailed bettong out of hiding !
- Seen one of the tree-kangaroo's joey.
- The koala joey and his mum were not on show. The females' enclosure was for a time a love room for one of the two males and a female. It was a surprise cause, usually, they do it off-show.
* Reptile house :
New on display : Allison's anoles (new species for the zoo - five holders in Europe) and emperor scorpions (new species for the zoo - they have other animals off-show in the tropical dome).
* Tropical dome :
- saw for the first time the red rain frog. Beautiful !
- the mata-mata turtles were transfered from the west indian terrarium to the caiman lizards' one.
- seen just one giant otter and few manatees.
- the Beauval's Nature Camp is now re-opened but there is nothing more to see excepted an aquarium with small fishes not labelled.
- super starlings has been released in the dome.
- some pygmy marmosets live now with the golden lion tamarins and red titis.
* Gorillas greenhouse :
The dwarf crocodiles are on-show and labelled now. For the moment, it's impossible to spot them.
The small island is just a setting. No more.
I didn't see the newly arrived yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles. Next time !
* Hippopotamuses reserve :
Gloria, the young hippo was with her mother in the indoor pool. I suppose there will betime before she will go outside as the outdoor pool is much larger and deeper than the other.
This 2/3 year break is ultimately not very surprising given that the park had already planned a break in 2021 following the huge investment that is the dome.
The group is already the largest in the world it seems to me. It is true that the choice to welcome two new individuals can raise questions.
Is there not enough space elsewhere in Europe ?
Finally the doucs!
Thank you for the info of your visit.
The park has not communicated any date for Gloria's outdoor outing, but the Zoonaute website writes that it will be out for its first outdoor bath tomorrow ...
It's a surprise for me but they must know what to do... and want some new publicity for visitors !
Regarding the manatees, the largest group must be in Singapore for the moment. I am sure someone here can confirm
Thank you @Valentin for Zoonaute article. I noticed also the birth of a moustached monkey (who I didn't see last time).
Ok I would like confirmation too because I read that it was the largest group in a recent article ...
As expected Gloria and her mother, Bolinhas, both went outside.
Photos and videos to see on the zoo's facebook.
Security Check Required
As expected Gloria and her mother, Bolinhas, both went outside.
Photos and videos to see on the zoo's facebook.
Security Check Required
The zoo has changed its site. Now much more pleasant I invite you to take a little tour.
4e plus beau zoo du monde
4e plus beau zoo du monde
Visited Beauval for the first time last week. I found it a pleasant zoo with an impressive collection and some nice enclosures. I particularly liked the enclosures for cheetah and wolves, as well as for the devils and the lemurs at the entrance with access to fully grown live trees (at least 20m high). And the bird show! What a phantasmagoric experience! The hippo aviary I found an excellent concept that works really well for the visitor, though its implementation has too much of a theme park flavor for my tastes (as does the entire zoo). The African and Asian multi-species savanna enclosures are nice. The new tropical dome is architecturally beautiful housing a multitude of interesting and rare species in conventional enclosures. Beyond that, there is a sheer endless number of enclosures that range from substandard to above average, including some (imo) fumbled mega projects such as 'la terre des lions' (not bad, with lots of imaginative viewing opportunities, but overall aesthetically challenging and underwhelming), the giant pandas, as well as (imo) the tropical dome.
The major weaknesses of the zoo from a visitor point of view, I find a lack of shade, cheap and unconvincing mock rock, mock wood, etc., but most of all: poor planning of visitor views into enclosures. Far too often, viewing of animals would be hampered by thick wire mesh or unshaded glass panels with strong reflections that sometimes almost completely impede viewing (this was particularly acute in the tropical dome). Furthermore, visitors frequently view animals from the top down, which often bereaves the animals of their magic (e.g. snow leopards, malayan tapirs, okapi, brown bears). Also, Beauval often indulges in cross-viewing - something I am not particularly fond of either. I cannot give a qualified comment on husbandry, but it often seemed adequate or good, though often enough also substandard. This appears mostly due to a 'speciouse' curation strategy with lots of small, sometimes cramped enclosures dotted throughout the park in between the larger ones, most notably countless smallish monkey cages and aviaries for all kinds of birds. Finally, there are many enclosures with un-naturalistic (ugly) and functional enclosure design (e.g. koalas, tree kangaroos, giant pandas, many/most monkeys, many vivaria, many aviaries - esp. those indoors). Too often, one will simply look at the animals, but not feel any inclination to linger and observe. In hindsight, the fact that all their promotional material does not include a single picture of one of their enclosures but instead uses images of animals photoshopped into natural environments should have hinted at these shortcomings. Where the zoo fell short, it reminded me a lot of the current London zoo, where it worked well, it reminded me of Prague, Berlin, or Singapore.
Beauval clearly has the resources for expensive and ambitious large-scale projects, as well as innovative ideas. Unfortunately, I found many of these falling far short of their potential due to the above mentioned reasons. For Beauval, I think, further improvement is not a question of money, but of putting their money to better effect through better exhibit design. The enclosures I liked most - the cheetah and the wolves - certainly weren't the most expensive in the zoo. Perhaps they should look to zoos like Vienna, Singapore, San Diego, Zurich, Prague, or Berlin for inspiration.
The major weaknesses of the zoo from a visitor point of view, I find a lack of shade, cheap and unconvincing mock rock, mock wood, etc., but most of all: poor planning of visitor views into enclosures. Far too often, viewing of animals would be hampered by thick wire mesh or unshaded glass panels with strong reflections that sometimes almost completely impede viewing (this was particularly acute in the tropical dome). Furthermore, visitors frequently view animals from the top down, which often bereaves the animals of their magic (e.g. snow leopards, malayan tapirs, okapi, brown bears). Also, Beauval often indulges in cross-viewing - something I am not particularly fond of either. I cannot give a qualified comment on husbandry, but it often seemed adequate or good, though often enough also substandard. This appears mostly due to a 'speciouse' curation strategy with lots of small, sometimes cramped enclosures dotted throughout the park in between the larger ones, most notably countless smallish monkey cages and aviaries for all kinds of birds. Finally, there are many enclosures with un-naturalistic (ugly) and functional enclosure design (e.g. koalas, tree kangaroos, giant pandas, many/most monkeys, many vivaria, many aviaries - esp. those indoors). Too often, one will simply look at the animals, but not feel any inclination to linger and observe. In hindsight, the fact that all their promotional material does not include a single picture of one of their enclosures but instead uses images of animals photoshopped into natural environments should have hinted at these shortcomings. Where the zoo fell short, it reminded me a lot of the current London zoo, where it worked well, it reminded me of Prague, Berlin, or Singapore.
Beauval clearly has the resources for expensive and ambitious large-scale projects, as well as innovative ideas. Unfortunately, I found many of these falling far short of their potential due to the above mentioned reasons. For Beauval, I think, further improvement is not a question of money, but of putting their money to better effect through better exhibit design. The enclosures I liked most - the cheetah and the wolves - certainly weren't the most expensive in the zoo. Perhaps they should look to zoos like Vienna, Singapore, San Diego, Zurich, Prague, or Berlin for inspiration.
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That's an interesting insight in to Beauval, which nowadays is, like Paira Daiza, regarded as one of the new European 'megazoos'. I particularly dislike exhibits where you view the animals from above, which, as you say, reduces the experience of seeing them massively.
A very interesting review! I agree with the vast majority of what you have written. While it is an excellent zoo (and still probably my favourite) it has some deep gashes in its side which it needs to clear up. While I dislike heavy theming, I don't think Beauval has quite piled it on to the extent that it is over the top. The Chinese area and the Baobabs in the hippo aviary feel a bit much, but otherwise, I would say Beauval is better in this are than say, Amneville, where theming is a major part of the park (a bit like Colchester but slightly more exaggerated
). As you may have heard, Beauval had new African and Sahel savannas on their masterplan but the tropical dome seems to have taken precedence. Perhaps in a few years' time? The Asian plains are quite nice, I would agree with you here - their only flaw perhaps are the cranes. Terre des Lions is quite a strange exhibit. For me, it's a good exhibit, quite large, with a few quirks and unorthodox additions (underwater viewing?
). I think they could have done better given the money that went into it, and that, I think is your main point overall, which I absolutely agree with. While I have not seen the dome, Beauval's recent developments haven't got me jumping for joy. As you say, the cheetah exhibit is simple and well done, and the same goes for the wolf exhibit. While, as you say, the elevated viewing in certain exhibits can make the animals seem less imposing and impressive, it does give a better view of the exhibit. The glass and mesh is something that was most apparent in the big cat and monkey cages for me, though you may disagree. Fortunately, the big cats in particular are being moved out into geographical areas of the park to larger, new enclosures. While these may not always be flawless, they are a step in the right direction and I would suggest that the Persian leopard and cougar exhibits in particular are not adequate. It would also be great if Beauval could get rid of the White tigers and lions in their care and house species with a greater conservational value instead (or perhaps move the leopards and cougars to those respective exhibits and get a pair of smaller cat species. The jaguars don't have the best deal either. Could you explain what you mean by cross-viewing? I think there are unnatural exhibits but this is far from Beauval's biggest worry. The monkey cages and bird of prey aviaries, while they are functional and unnatural are the exceptions imo. In general, I think Beauval's exhibits are very green and natural. And while I did find the panda exhibit rather barren in areas, I don't think it is unnatural. By virtue of the tree kangaroos being fully indoors, their exhibit is really quite barren and the same goes for the koalas. It is frustrating that zoos never really display koalas in exhibits that reflect their real habitat (always either desert or rainforest) and I had hoped that Beauval's outdoor koala exhibit would be more vegetated instead of a sort of climbing frame, but was disappointed.
I agree that Beauval's successes are reminiscent of Berlin but not so much about the London parallel. While there is a sort of parallel between Terre des Lions and Land of the Lions (same name even
) in your opinion due to the strange viewing etc., and the monkey cages do kind of remind me of Gorilla Kingdom's De Brazza's monkey exhibit, Beauval and London are a world apart. Beauval is a zoo in fast growth, London zoo is plummeting, and their problems are due to ageing infrastructure. Beauval's downfalls remind me more of Leipzig's poor exhibits. As for your conclusion, I think it is absolutely spot on and it was the gut feeling I always have when I visit. good, but could do better given the money spent. Thanks a lot for your thoughtful and insightful comments - I was glad to find they match my thoughts almost exactly
I guess you mean Diana Monkey?(London don't have De Brazza...)
Racoons
It's for raccoons, but the Barbary macaques and otters have similar cross-viewing issues.
I have uploaded some pictures in the gallery illustrating my points:
