Hi everyone, new member here. I recently (October 2021) visited the Mulhouse zoo for the first time and I thought I would post a brief summary of my visit here. Mulhouse is a medium-sized city in southern Alsace, in the french department of Haut-Rhin. It is one of the few cities in France to have its own municipality-operated zoo. It was created in 1868 by some manufacturers, at the time Mulhouse was a big industrial hub. The zoo was intended as a leisure spot for the workers. It is not only a zoo but also a botanical garden. The zoo is located on a beautiful forested hillside at the edge of the city. It's a 20 minutes walk from the train station. I really enjoyed the autumnal atmosphere inside the park, even though it was cold and the sun only came out when I was about to leave. The zoo is not too big, but since it is on a hill it can be quite tiring to walk your way back up once you're in the lower section of the park. The walkways inside the park are often in poor shape, with holes and cracks in the concrete. A lot of the buildings appear a bit decrepit, and there are also ruins of old enclosures and buildings in some places. This gives the place a bit of a nostalgic feeling that I really enjoyed. The gardens are well-tended. Here are some of the highlights of my visit. Polar bears The polar bears are a big selling point of the park. I saw two of them, the mother and her cub born last year. They have access to a caged area at the back of the enclosure, so there is a chance you might not see them during your visit. I advise checking their feeding time on the zoo's website prior to your visit, to make sure you will see them in activity. Felines The enclosures of the felines section are small but have lots of vegetation. The snow leopards and amur leopards could not be seen during my visit, but the clouded leopards were very active. There is a group of at least 4 of them, and one (a juvenile I think) was pacing around and climbing the trees. Lemurs The lemur enclosures are very small but offer good viewing. The park has many species. The sifakas are amazing ! They are like living plushes. There were 4 of them jumping around. I was looking forward to seeing the okapis, but their enclosure appeared empty during my visit. Overall a lot of the animals have open access to their night quarters, so there is no guarantee that you will be able to see them. Food outlets: the only food outlet open during my visit was a cafeteria-style restaurant near the entrance. As can be expected with this kind of restaurant the food was not particularly good. You can eat on tables outside or in a small room with no heating. Toilets: there are many toilets inside the park, all of which are clean.
