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 grassy bedding, 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.
1 Zoological Park of Paris press release — A new species of zoo, March 2014