ZooParc de Beauval Zooparc de Beauval news 2023

Visited yesterday Beauval for the first time since 2019 where I was guiding my family during Easter's weekend, the biggest weekend of the year for attendance: a vision of a nightmare.

A big contrast, my yesterday's visit was pleasant with nice weather and crowds spread in the whole zoo so it was never too much off a hassle to walk in the zoo.

It was my first time to discover several new exhibits :
- Grande volière sud-américaine: the concept is very poor and could be summarized as "let's put birds from all places and habitats of south America together in a huge aviary and top this with a few primates (anteater and coati are not yet mixed)". When you think Beauval could not get worst in landscaping they managed to surpass themselves. Obvious views of buildings in all directions, straight pools, awful waterfall dropping from nowhere... Chilean araucárias have joined the already common Chinese palm trees and white birch to recreate I don't know what.
Visitors will evolve around 15 meters above the ground and all birds are seen from very far away and looking down (a common theme in recent exhibits of Beauval). Primates are more easily seen but here you will see them evolve only on wood structure with very little shade to hide.
Spider monkey enclosure is quite big in ground area and even in volume but quite poor in my opinion. Howler monkey is not even big or tall. That's a pity when you see that they have put the effort to keep a small wood inside the aviary that is totally unused by any other specie. Beauval's signature I guess.
At least, birds have a huge space with several niche habitat at their disposal. Outside of brown pelicans and maguari stork, the current stocking is not very appealing (mainly ducks and ibis that you see from far away and a few vultures).
A true shame as the structure itself is amazingly huge with a lot of potential for something more immersive.
- Dome : a lot was already said on this attempt to create what is basically an aquarium for non-marine mammals with a few aviaries and terrariums on the side. Giant otters and pigmy hippos got the short end of the stick or to be fair, are much harder to exhibit well fully indoor than manatees and gharials. The structure is massive and ubiquitous to the point where we can wonder if it could be done on purpose...
- Renovated aviaries : parrots and old-world monkeys for renovated exhibits in the older part of the zoo. I quite liked the way it was done and the nice volume it offers to some of the inhabitants (especially monkeys, Diana, moustached in 2 avairies and de Brazza) and also the way they gave tasty thematic focus (Bolivia, Philippines...).

I also enjoyed very much the herps section with nice terrariums and an interesting collection.
 
Therabu said:
- Grande volière sud-américaine: the concept is very poor and could be summarized as "let's put birds from all places and habitats of south America together in a huge aviary and top this with a few primates (anteater and coati are not yet mixed)". When you think Beauval could not get worst in landscaping they managed to surpass themselves. Obvious views of buildings in all directions, straight pools, awful waterfall dropping from nowhere... Chilean araucárias have joined the already common Chinese palm trees and white birch to recreate I don't know what.
Visitors will evolve around 15 meters above the ground and all birds are seen from very far away and looking down (a common theme in recent exhibits of Beauval). Primates are more easily seen but here you will see them evolve only on wood structure with very little shade to hide.
Spider monkey enclosure is quite big in ground area and even in volume but quite poor in my opinion. Howler monkey is not even big or tall. That's a pity when you see that they have put the effort to keep a small wood inside the aviary that is totally unused by any other specie. Beauval's signature I guess.
At least, birds have a huge space with several niche habitat at their disposal. Outside of brown pelicans and maguari stork, the current stocking is not very appealing (mainly ducks and ibis that you see from far away and a few vultures).
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I've been surprised that not a single species of parrot has been planned in such a large aviary, unlike in similar exhibits of other parks (I think to Doué), and even if these birds are popular and one of the most typical bird groups of South America (every person think to them when they think to the wildlife - and to the birds - of this continent, more than ducks...).
Given the size of the aviary, I think there's enough room for 3 or 4 species of parrots (Macaws, Amazons and maybe smaller species like Conures if the netting isn't too wide).
And perhaps nest boxes that mimic the field work of Latin American conservationists to save the most threatened species (e. g. Blue-throated Macaw).

I haven't seen the Brown Pelicans in my visits of the aviary (in May and early June), perhaps they haven't been released.

There were already Araucarias in Beauval, sometimes planted in strange places (on a biogegraphical point of view) like the enclosure of the Lion-tailed Macaques, where there are totally useless for the primates (in French language, one nickname of these trees is désespoir des singes ["monkeys' despair"] because the monkeys cannot climb on them, or at least aren't supposed to manage it ; on my personal experience I haven't seen any Macaque climbing on them).
 
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Haliaeetus said:
There were already Araucarias in Beauval, sometimes planted in strange places (on a biogegraphical point of view) like the enclosure of the Lion-tailed Macaques, where there are totally useless for the primates (in French language, one nickname of these trees is désespoir des singes ["monkeys' despair"] because the monkeys cannot climb on them, or at least aren't supposed to manage it ; on my personal experience I haven't seen any Macaque climbing on them).
Click to expand...
The common English name for Araucaria araucana is the Monkey Puzzle Tree.
 
2 Barbary Apes are born this summer (source : Howtank forum & chat).

Beauval has published a short video (in French) about various topics, including :
  • the first care given to a Caribbean Manatee (a baby boy called PEPINO) and to an Aldabra Giant Tortoise recently hatched (called DARA). Both are born/hatched in early 2023.
  • the arrival of 4 Servals and 1 Caracal rescued from illegal pet owners.
  • the ecological management of the bird pond in the South American Aviary, with a purifying plant outside of the aviary, that benefits to local wildlife.
 
Yesterday I went to Beauval, I have noticed a few news :
  • the former outdoor aviary of the Douc Langurs hosts now (after housed many birds since 2021) 2 Rüppell's Vultures (back there since last winter), Griffon Vultures and Black Kites (the latter coming probably from the historical bird of prey aviaries) ;
  • Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle, African Fish Eagle and Andean Condor are back in the bird show ;
  • there were 4 Laughing Kookaburras in the aviary near the Australian House, where they have bred ; I haven't seen that since my first visits in Beauval in the early 2010s.
Many other births/hatchings have been reported by the Zoo between mid-June and mid-July : 2 Mandarin Ducks, 1 Nicobar Pigeon, 2 Sun Conures, 1 Eurasian Wigeon, 7 Yellow Anacondas, 2 Chinese Crocodile Lizards, 3 Roulroul Partridges, 3 African Dwarf Mongooses, 3 African Spoonbills, 1 Coral Catshark, 3 Yellow-bandes Poison Dart Frogs, 4 Scarlet Ibises, 2 Yellow-billed Teals, 2 Bank Mynahs and 1 Cinnamon Teal.

And a huge number of 13.15 Humboldt Penguins have left Beauval to the distant place of Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand.
 
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Antoine said:
Pictures of the current building works :

For the new main entrance with the two future tunnels (entrance and exit) :


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So next year the new south main entrance will be completed with the construction of a new tropical greenhouse (with only plants) instead of the some of the historical buildings. The visitors will take the new tunnel opened this year and come out into this new greenhouse before they arrive in front of the lake.

L'année prochaine, nous serons émerveillés dès notre arrivée à Beauval (nouveauté 2024)
 
Antoine said:
Birth of a bornean orangutan last saturday.
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The newborn Orangutan is a male !
Nature et Zoo on Instagram: "Le Zoo de Beauval a annoncé la naissance d'un bébé dans son groupe d'orang-outans de Bornéo ! C'est un petit mâle qui a vu le jour le 12 août 2023. Sa mère s'appelle Manis, elle est âgée de 32 ans, et son père se nomme Tigu, c'est un mâle de 19 ans arrivé à Beauval en juin 2022. L'orang-outan de Bornéo est aujourd'hui considéré comme « En danger critique d'extinction » (CR) par l'UICN. Avec son association Beauval Nature, le Zoo de Beauval soutient financièrement HUTAN, une ONG qui agit depuis 1996 pour la sauvegarde des espèces menacées à Bornéo notamment les orang-outans mais aussi les calaos ou encore les éléphants d'Asie. . . . Crédit photo : © ZooParc de Beauval . . . @zoobeauval #zoo #zoos #parczoologique #parcanimalier #naissance #orangoutan #orangoutang #beauval #zoobeauval #zoodebeauval #zooparcdebeauval #zooparcbeauval #beauvalnature #primate #eaza #afdpz #eep #natureetzoo"
 
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