Paris Zoo, Parc Zoologique de Paris

History

General history

During the 1931 Colonial Exhibition that took place at the Porte-Dorée in Paris, a temporary zoo was created at the Bois de Vincennes to introduce exotic animals to the public. This 3-hectare 'mini zoo' was set up by Carl Hagenbeck, designer of the first 'panoramic' zoo built in 1907 in Stellingen, near Hamburg. The Hagenbeck-style, for which he registered a patent in 1896, was already copied in Rome, London, Antwerp, Budapest, Milan, Saint-Louis, Detroit and Cincinnati. And now this temporary zoo was built according the same principles with artificial rocky outcrops that camouflaged the indoor enclosures and technical facilities while cage bars were replaced by moats. The aim was to showcase animals as they would appear in the wild, in an environment reminiscent of their natural habitats.

The temporary zoo was an enormous success with about 5 million visitors from 16 May to 15 November 1931. They saw exotic animals which were all provided by the Hagenbeck company, that sourced these animals from the wild. Neighbouring towns requested for the zoo to be kept open after the Colonial Exhibition, giving Paris a zoological park to rival those of other European capitals. So, already in the same year, 1931, the National Natural History Museum (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle) and Paris City Council joined forces and created the Parc Zoologique de Paris at the Bois de Vincennes, more commonly known as the Zoo de Vincennes.

Driven by the public's enthusiasm for the design of the temporary zoo a project description for developing such a Hagenbeck-style zoo was submitted by the National Natural History Museum. The project included modernisation and extension required at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, Paris' other zoological park. The decision on the project was made on 31 December 1931 by the City Council.

Headed by the Museum, the building and architectural design work of the project was entrusted to architect Charles Letrosne. He, of course, drew his inspiration directly from Stellingen Zoo in Hamburg. In March 1932, the City of Paris gave the Museum 14 hectares of land in the Bois de Vincennes, near Lac Daumesnil. Work began in 1933.

Professor Edouard Bourdelle - at the time the director of the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes - drafted the overall programme. The aim was to display the animals in a scientific way. Staging the species according their geographical origin and habitat was decided not to be scientific enough. A zoological structure was deemed more appropriate, so the animal species were grouped by taxonomic family: Ursidae (bears), Felidae (cats), Primates (monkeys and apes), Ungulates (hoofed animals), etcera.

The Paris Zoo was officially inaugurated on 2 June 1934 by president Albert Lebrun. It was opened to the public the next day. Its success proved unimaginable. In the first year, the turnstile recorded 5 million visitors that came to admire the 1,800 animals - 1,200 birds and 600 mammals. On display were many large mammals such as elephants, giraffes and rhinos, next to several species threatened with extinction. Furthermore, species that were rarely held in captivity could be seen, such as the okapi (Okapia johnstoni), the kouprey (Bos sauveli), and the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). In the lemur house, nocturnal lemurs were kept including the critically endangered greater bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus).

The Great Rock, with its 65 metres the tallest building in the area, was an illustration of technical skills, and became not only the Zoo's symbol, but a landmark for Bois de Vincennes and its immediate surroundings. A double spiral staircase and elevator allowed visitors to travel up to the panoramic viewpoints, while various mountain animals frolicked on different plateaux.

In the early 1980s, the zoo was showing signs of wear. The concrete buildings were deteriorating and the technical equipment was showing signs of wear and tear. The need for renovation work was becoming all too clear. Minor repair projects proved insufficient, and they had to close the Great Rock in 1982. In 1994, with a special grant from the Ministry of National Education it could be refurbished and the Great Rock reopened in 1997. Nonetheless the Zoo remained in a dire state and was looking more and more like an endangered species itself. From 2002 to 2004, for safety reasons, the Museum had to take 'protective' measures - meaning that several animal facilities were shut down (the cat house, the bear enclosure, etc.) and some animals were transferred to other zoological institutions.

Finally, at the end of November 2008, the Zoo is officially closed to the public following a weekend of festivities which marked the end of an era. The renovation project got under way, but first the remaining animals had to be relocated. Sites with proper accommodation needed to be found, and the animals had to be transported under the best possible conditions. For all animals except for the herd of giraffes and the greater bamboo lemurs they achieved to find suitable new homes in various zoological parks in France, including the Ménagerie, and abroad. The lemurs were to sensitive to transfer them, while the herd of 16 giraffes was too large to find temporary housing. Splitting the group up would have halted reproduction, so it was decided to keep them on the premises while renovation was ongoing. Three giraffe calves were born during that period, and the herd earned a reputation for it. Most of the outsourced animals did not return, except for a few representatives of baboons, greater flamingo and penguins - or their offspring.

Zoo management set out a few founding principles for building and designing the new Zoo. They wanted their animal collection to be grouped geographically, so 5 large biozones - Patagonia, Sahel-Sudan, Europe, Guyana and Madagascar - were scheduled, each showcasing several different ecosystems. Moreover, the visitors should see the animals in their natural environment while being immersed in the respective landscapes. The development of all this was granted to Atelier Jacqueline Osty and Associates for the landscape design, while the architectural design of the new buildings was entrusted to Bernard Tschumi Urban Architects. The architects translated their mandate into, “the main concern was to create a new balance between urban and living environments, bringing together not only 'grand designs' of biology, geography and landscape but also of urban planning, architecture and scenography”¹. They created a modern Zoo with a brand new look, although the Great Rock - the Zoo's symbol and landmark - remained.

For the new zoo species for the different biozones were selected based on their appeal, their educational and scientific value and in compliance with conservation criteria from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This process of re-population management is complex and had to be done prior to the scheduled opening, many months before sometimes even years. Some animals are sourced from French zoos, others travelled longer distances, such as the jaguar from Warsaw Zoo, the pudu from Chile and the giant anteater from Singapore. The new species collection features fewer mammals than the old zoo, but the collection is more varied.

The brand new Parc Zoologique de Paris reopened to the public on 12 April 2014 after 27 months of work and almost 6 years of closure. Situated in the Bois de Vincennes, the Parc Zoologique de Paris was and still is a cultural and scientific establishment under the auspices - together with the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes - of the National Natural History Museum. Until this very day it is the only zoo in the world to have been completely rebuilt and redesigned.

(Source: Zoological Park of Paris press release - A new species of zoo, March 2014; website Parc Zoologique de Paris; ¹ Parc Zoologique de Paris, Architecture Zoo by Bernard Tschumi urban architects with Véronique Descharrieres, 2014)

Construction of a brand new Zoo

Visit(s)

04.07.2014

It was a nice day that kicked off with some temporary light rain when I visited Paris Zoo just a few month after the grand reopening on 12 April 2014. After nearly six years of closure and 27 months of work the Zoo has been completely revamped and I was very curious to see what they created at the Bois de Vincennes.

The entrance is of a modern design with two dark grey coloured buildings left and right from the pathway that leads to either the Patagonia Biozone on the right or the Madagascar Biozone on the left. The building on the left comprises the information desk and the souvenir shop, while on the right - besides toilet facilities - an à la carte restaurant is situated. So, although there is a fastfood restaurant in the centre of the zoo grounds, if you wish to dine more luxurious this is also possible. A little disappointing is the fact that the fastfood restaurant, besides not-so-tasty pizzas, provides plastic cutlery in plastic foil. That isn't very sustainable. And considering the current zoos' messages about nature conservation you expect them to be a more sustainable business.

They have clearly grouped the animal collection according the species' geographical origin. In this particular case they have done this in a specific manner - not referring to just a continent but to a specific region on that continent. Europe therefore is the exception, because it represents animal species from all its eco-regions. The other biozones as they call them are: Patagonia, Sahel-Sudan, Guyana and Madagascar. Each biozone comprises several different ecosystems. Unfortunately, they haven't managed to only have animals on display that represent the respective biozone. For instance you will not find the white rhinoceros and the southern ground-hornbill in the Sahel-Sudan region. Likewise the pied tamarin and hyacinth macaw aren't native to the Guyana region. Perhaps that's why they already changed the name into Amazon-Guyana? If they take their visitors serious and really want their grouping of the collection to be educational, they could broaden the scope of the geographical zones and adjust the names. For instance change Sahel-Sudan in Africa.

I start in Patagonia where guanaco, mara and Darwin's rhea are housed together in a large elongated enclosure with a variety of substrate - grass, sand, next to grey and red gravel. The concrete footpath crosses the enclosure where a tunnel connects the two parts of the enclosure. Opposite the South American mixed-species exhibit there are separate enclosures for the South American or Patagonia sea lion (Otaria flavescens), the Humboldt penguin and the puma. The sea lions have quite a large almost rectangular pool at their disposal with a great rock face backdrop, and a grandstand for when shows are given at feeding time. Next door, the Humboldt penguins (which by the way are not natives of Patagonia) attract many young visitors, who can watch the birds through the viewing windows.

The enclosure for the puma (Puma concolor) has got wire mesh fences all around, including the roof. There are three viewing windows. Nevertheless the cat has ample opportunity to hide from the public due to the large boulder and the undulating grounds. There are several tree trunks for climbing and to be used as high level resting posts. Unfortunately there is an enormous lack of natural vegetation with only a few shrubs that still need to grow. There's one puma at the moment, which came from Le Parc des Félins in Nesles, France. It is waiting for the arrival of its conspecifics from Chile. The latter is something that surprises me because the size of the enclosure doesn't appear to me as large enough to house more than one puma.

The first exhibit in the Sahel-Sudan biozone - with 45,000m² the largest of the five biozones - is a large and varied enclosure that comprises several species from this region of Africa: white rhinoceros, Grevy's zebra, southern ground hornbill and helmeted guineafowl. The enclosure has many big wooden poles that probably are there to protect the natural vegetation to be demolished by the hoofed animals.

The neighbours, the lions, have an open top enclosure with long grass ground cover, shrubs, a few trees and wire mesh fences all around, including electrical wire at the top. The circular enclosure contains a few rocks in the centre that serve as high level resting posts. Not very surprising, the lions are lying there, despite the little drizzle.

Paris Zoo hardly uses moats to separate animals from visitors. For the ungulates in the Sahel-Sudan electrical wire creates a safe distance between animals and public. This system is visible but doesn't disturb the view on the enclosure and the animals. The scimitar-horned oryx have an undulating sandy landscape at their disposal, a beautiful enclosure with lots of trees. In a similar enclosure across the footpath four addax can be found. Unfortunately for them the oryx enclosure looks nicer though, with more trees and therefore more shelter. By the way, one of the addax is extremely cripple, and hardly stands on its right hindleg. In a zoo this might be possible to be cured by the veterinary staff, but in nature its days would have been numbered.

Then something interesting is waiting for me, the giraffe enclosure. A large herd of fifteen giraffes are kept together with greater kudu, ostrich, marabou stork and grey crowned crane on a savannah territory that can be viewed from the terrace in front of the fastfood restaurant, as well as from the footpath that encircles this enormous paddock. There's a waterhole alongside part of the footpath where it will be possible to see the animals, including the giraffes, quench their thirst. Seeing giraffes drink from a pool is always a spectacular sight, and although it is clearly man-made the savannah area could develop into a place that give people the idea they are on African safari. The indoor enclosure of the giraffes is a straightforward rectangular house that provides shelter, but it is not a designer's miracle of great solutions for behavioural enrichment. The house is even small considering the size of the herd. The architect seems to have focussed especially on the exterior of the house, so that it looks good to the visitors.

The bull giraffe is kept separate, because he is a little pushy with the females of the group. As soon as they are in heat, every 15 days, the bull's courting behaviour causes tension and he doesn't hesitate to start a fight with the alleged competition using formidable and sudden blows with the head and neck. To avoid any incidents the zookeepers prefer to keep the bull isolated from the herd. Nevertheless to breed these animals and to relieve the animal's tension the male should be allowed to have at least some social intercourse, I assume.

While circling around the savannah area you constantly have the enormous artificial rock formation or Great Rock in sight, one of the remnants of the old zoo and still a landmark. This time it is the border between Europe and the Sahel-Sudan with on one side at its foot the enclosure for the Guinea baboon (Papio papio) and the Large Aviary with bird species. Around forty baboons have access to a walled area with a forest of dead trees, boulders, ropes and a pool that attracts certain individuals (see video). In this baboon enclosure - more a baboon pit than the more conventional baboon rock - lots of interaction takes place, which you can delightfully watch via the viewing windows at 'balcony level'. From the baboons it is a little walk to the Large Aviary that is part of the 'Deltas of the Great African Rivers' together with the pool on this side of the savannah area. The aviary is one of the few examples of modern landscape immersion exhibits that you will find in the new Paris Zoo. It is welded to the Great Rock and the trail leads the visitors right through it. So, I come up close to the birds that fly around in the large enclosure and the loud large flock of non-pinioned greater flamingos with their newborn chicks, while I cross the pond via the boardwalk. The large dome is located at the very border of both biozones and comprises both African and European bird species. It is impressive because of its size but not by its design. The focus of the aviary is on volume, freedom of flight for the birds, and not on pleasing the human eye. This must be appreciated by the many bird species that are on display here.

While walking around the Great Rock you will encounter species from the European region, such as Eurasian otters, wolves, amphibians and reptiles in the vivarium that is created inside the rock formation, and birds of prey in the other remnant of the former zoo - the vulture aviary. The most beautiful enclosure is the one for the Eurasian otters, with varied surroundings to help the otters express natural behaviour. The former penguin enclosure now consists of three separate but well-connected parts with a pool at the highest level. The pool has one side where the water flows over the rim, becomes a small waterfall and turns into a stream along the foot of the Great Rock, as if in a valley (see video).

The birds of prey aviary with Griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture, cinereous vulture and red kite, is one of the few constructions of the old zoo that was renovated and rewarded a second life. It is large enough for even the vultures to fly around and it contains many enrichment features, including a little stream and natural vegetation.

The press release for the grand reopening in April reads that no animals are to be viewed through wire mesh or fences, which in fact is true. But this doesn't mean that they turned to the 'old' Hagenbeck-style type of enclosures with moats to protect the animals from the visitors . No, they have designed many enclosures, especially predator exhibits, with wire mesh fences all around but with viewing windows for unobstructed watching. The problem with viewing windows is that it often makes it hard to have a good look at the interior because of the reflections in the window panes. But who am I to complain, because my motto has always been and still is, that a zoo should provide adequate facilities for the animals in the first place. And when viewing windows provide the best security while at the same time offer viewing opportunities, the visitor is served well enough. And although less of a landscape immersion experience for the visitor as promised by the various publications (press release, website, books on the Zoo's architectural design), most of the predator are provided with a landscape mimicking their natural habitat.

The Iberian wolf exhibit is such a typical predator environment with wire mesh fences, viewing windows, and places for the wolves to hide from the inquisitive public due to the dense vegetation close to the fence, the boulders or the undulating terrain that doesn't allow to see the enclosure in full. The wolverines have an even greater exhibit at their disposal, with lots of vegetation (shrubs, trees), some boulders, a pond and tree trunks to cross it - all very rugged. The Eurasian lynx though have to do with a smaller environment, and a wire mesh roof instead of an open top enclosure.

From the carnivore section of the Europe biozone the trail leads into the Guyana biozone with outdoor facilities for bush dog and jaguar. While the five bush dogs are kept in a large but simple enclosure that offers little shelter, the two young female jaguars live in a more jungle-like exhibit. It has banana trees, various other vegetation and boulders that provide shelter and observation posts. Furthermore, there's a pool in front of the viewing window to ensure the best sights when the jaguars go near it. Moving further along the footpath there's an indoor and outdoor enclosure for the woolly monkey both with merely a wooden climbing frame and a few ropes for environmental enrichment. The black-capped capuchin have a more diverse environment on their peninsula, but nonetheless they have to rely on artificial climbing enrichment as well.

From here you stroll automatically towards the Madagascar biozone. And to my relief they made a wise decision and didn't create a lemur walk-through exhibit. All lemur species are cuddly, which for some reason invites people to have close encounters. I prefer to appreciate the lemurs from a distance. Apart from being suppliers of healthy food I don't think human beings are a good enrichment feature for any wild animal in captivity, not even for lemurs.

The lemur islands have amazingly lush vegetation when you take into account that Paris Zoo is brand new. There are several lemur species on display here - red-ruffed lemur, ring-tailed lemur, red-bellied lemur and crowned sifaka - although the latter is kept separate from the others. While in the Madagascar section of the Greenhouse two other species can be seen, the black-and-white ruffed lemur and the greater bamboo lemur.

The Great Greenhouse is an enormous glass and steel construction which together with the Europe biozone are the only places in the zoo to feature plants from the environments they represent. The Greenhouse encompasses two biozones, therefore inside you'll find plant and animal species from both the Guyana and Madagascar biozone in a hot and damp environment. They have done wonders with the vegetation in the Greenhouse - so lush, so huge already. The South American section comprises vivariums and aquariums with poison-arrow frogs, boa constrictor, tarantula, anaconda, caiman and piranha. There's also a huge tank with the endangered and extraordinary Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). But mammals and birds from the South American continent are represented too, such as two-toed sloth, red-handed tamarin, pied tamarin, white-faced saki, titi monkey, giant anteater, toco toucan and several free flying bird species. In addition to the lemurs the Madagascar section has the panther chameleon, the Madagascar tree boa and the Rodrigues flying fox. And the magnificent predator from Madagascar, the fossa, is housed just outside the Greenhouse entrance.

Conclusion
What I like about Paris Zoo is that they have made a clear-cut decision not to keep too many species and kept to the principles they set out for themselves. You can argue that this was easy because they started again from scratch and could easily plan their new zoo. But that was a decision too, of course. That the deteriorating zoo needed to be renovated and that this could best be done by an entire redesign and rebuilding. A first in the history of zoological parks. Species from the different biozones were selected based on their appeal, their educational and scientific value and in compliance with conservation criteria from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)¹. However, even more important to me is that they decided to keep the number of species low, and provide the animal collection with large enclosures and when possible in mixed-species exhibits. In an environment that resembles the species' original habitat as much as possible.

Although they say landscape immersion was their intention, as is the modern way of zoo design, I recognised only a few exhibits where they succeeded in providing the visitor such an experience. Mostly due to the very broad footpaths I think, and the lack of vegetation around these trails. I am curious how things will evolve in a few years time, when the vegetation grows and the 'smell of novelty' is gone. Nevertheless, considering this was a brand new rebuilt zoo at time of visit, it was amazing how green it already looked. This was probably due to the reuse of existing vegetation of the original zoological park that was situated at exactly the same spot.

A further decision that is absolutely to be applauded if you ask me is the concentration of meadows with picnic facilities together with a children's playground in the far end corner of the premises where no animals are housed. A perfect solution for families. As a consequence there are not many distractions such as playground equipment for children amongst the enclosures and the explorations pavilions to allow them to focus on the educational materials.

Education
If you are one of those foreigners that haven't mastered the French language yet in all its finesse you will miss most of the information available in the Zoo as part of their education effort, because all panels are fully in French (see also Signage and information). Nonetheless, as you might expect in a brand new zoo, the tools used for education are modern, attractive and interactive, with large responsive touchscreens that for instance tests the knowledge of the public on biodiversity and its historic change. They are concentrated in so-called exploration pavilions.