Last week I took some extra days off from work and spend together with my wife, one of my daughters and my 5 month old grand-child 4 days at the northern part of France. Here we visited 2 zoos, 1 Aquarium and because my grand-son likes mice and ducks we also paid a visit to Euro Disney - Paris . I will try to make reviews off all 3 zoological collections ( I guess a review of Euro Disney doesn't fit on this site ) to start with the first we visited ; Zoo Amiens. Little has been written sofar on ZooChat and also the Gallery of this zoo was completly empty before I uploaded the first photos made during this visit. Althrough so little-known, I was positive surprised by both collection and enclosures. To reach the zoo you have to walk along a small rivulet at one side and a big lake on the other and you already can see some of the enclosures at the other side of the rivulet. Over a small bridge and along the first enclosure ( Kookaburra, Eclectus parrot and Wood-partridge ) you reach the entrance-building in which also the zoo-shop and toilets can be found. On the plan above you can see that the zoo is build-up by a way along a large island and over several bridges you can reach this centre of the zoo. We first did the outer circle and the first enclosure in the zoo are 2 islands for White-handed gibbons and Colombian spider monkeys. I was quite pleased to see the 3 Colombian spider monkeys because it was already a long time ago that I had seen this species alive and took care for one at Tierpark Gettorf - Germany - 25 years ago. After these 2 islands you can cross a bridge to get to the central island or you can walk along a small stream. We decided to do the last option and in the stream a nice collection of waterfowl ( esp. the African black ducks are intresting ) and a small flock of Greater flamingos can be found. On the left side of you a large aviary for Snowy owls and a little further 2 more large aviaries for European eagle-owls and Ural owls can be seen but the Ural owls ( which arrived this year ) were invisible. With on the right side still the waterfowl - flamingo enclosure we come to one of the corners of the park and here a former night-club is being transformed into the new zoo-restaurant which will open next year. Also in this corner there is an enclosure for Kirk's dikdiks ( 2 seen ) together with Black crowned cranes - also 2 seen. On the opposite side a large aviary is home to 2 Northern ground hornbills. Next to the Ground hornbills an ugly dirty-white Humboldt penguin-enclosure but no animals were visiable. Next to this ungly enclosure there is piece of wooded land which was fenched-off and here we saw a small group of Humboldt penguins and I discovered there was a small opening between the 2 enclosures so the penguins were able to go in both enclosure and thus use the decent-sized pool in the ugly enclosure. On the other side of the penguin-enclosures there is again a bridge to the central island and an enclosure for 2 Red-crowned cranes. We didn't cross the bridge and stayed on the outer roundway and on the left side we saw a large aviary for Indian red-billed blue magpies - a rarely kept subspecies and ZTL only mentions 4 collections keeping this subspecies at the moment - Amiens being the only one on the continent ( the other 3 being in the UK ). On the right side - in the stream - again a nice number of waterfowl species ( among them bar-headed goose and Black-necked swan ) and a small flock of Great white pelicans - I counted 6 and this species is not mentioned for Amiens for this zoo. Again on the left side another large aviary is home to a nice group of Buffon's macaws together with a group of Burrowing parrots. In the Aviary next to this one the Wreathed hornbill can be found but because it was quite cold during our visit ( I guess 6 to 8 deg. Celcius ) the Hornbill(s ? ) was / were in the indoor-enclosure and not visiable. In front of us we saw a small stair-way and by going up we found us in front of an old-fasioned but quite large Sea lion enclosure in which I counted 4 Californian sea-lions which were very active. At one side of this enclosure there is a large viewing window so the animals can also be seen underwater. Next to the Sea-lions there is again a building-side and here a new penguin-enclosure is already recognizeble and again it seem to become an ugly one ! Walking along some small islands in the stream on the right side - on which during the summertime a group of Squirrel monkeys is kept but which now empty - and over a small bridge we now come to a complex of outdoor-enclosure in which the zoos collection of tamarins and marmosets are kept: Golden-headed lion and Emperor tamarin and Western pygmy and Goeldi's marmoset. ZTL also mention Cotton-top tamarin and Common marmoset for this zoo but on the plan these species are not mentioned. I myself saw not a single marmoset nor tamarin - due to the cold I guess they all stayed inside during my visit The animals in the next enclosure didn't make a fuss about the cold because they are used to it and the 2 Red pandas were indeed quite active. The Ring-tailed lemurs in the next enclosure were not sure and stayed in the door-opening and looked sceptical into the outdoor enclosure but didn't come out. The Satyr tragopan male which shared this enclosure didn't care about the temperature and spending his time on the feeding-bowl. When we turned around and had a look across the stream we had a good look on the Australian field which was shared by an Emu and some Red-necked wallabies. Turning back again in the direction of the Ring-tailed lemurs we found another nice and large enclosure in which 2 Bush dogs were walking around. In front of this enclosure there is a pool but when we walk a little further the Bush dogs can also be viewed through a large viewing-window. Now the road goes a little away from the stream and we come to a plain and boring enclosure for 2 Plain zebra's ( Chapman's ). There was however a sign that in the near future a large African savannah is planned in this part of the zoo in which also Giraffes will find a new home. At the moment this species is not kept at Amiens. On the opposite side of the Zebras a grassy enclosure keeps 2 African marabous end next to these a large muddy enclosure is home to 2 Visayan warty pigs with a third one kept in a smaller seperation-enclosure. In this area also a new enclosure for Pygmy hippos is planned in the future.. Over a little stream a long aviary is build in which a nice collection wading birds is kept ( Little egret, Cattle egret, Scarlet, glossy and sacred ibis, Black-crowned night heron and European white storks ). Over the same bridge as we entered this area we now leave it again and find a block of some smaller enclosures in which Prevost squirrel ( 1 seen ), Ocelot ( a sign said that the 15-year old female was in veterinarian care and also not visiable ) and the group of Squirrel monkeys are housed. On our rigth side we now have a view on several islands on which a group of White-throated capuchins and a few Black and white ruffed lemurs are kept. Both species very quite active. On the other side we can take a look at the construction-site of what will become the new enclosure for the Sumatran tigers of the zoo but they were not visiable at the moment. Around the corner and we have finished the outer circle of the zoo and along the White-handed gibbons and Colombian spider monkeys we are again by the bridge which we now cross to have a look at the central part of the zoo. The first enclosure we see here is a large field with a mixture of domisticated animals - goats, alpacas,zebus and rabbits. Walking along this enclosure we take the corner and see an enclosure for Casuaries but in the enclosure construction-work was done and no Casuaries could be discovered by me. Then a little shed with next to it 2 aviaries in which a Sulpher-crested cockatoo and a Palawan peacock-pheasant are asking for attention for the EAZ Silent Forest Campaign. Next to these 2 aviaries there's a large muddy enclosure in which the Woolly pigs seemed to be realy happy. On the other side of the pathway there's a large grassy enclosure for at least one Serval which can be viewed through the wiremesh but also through a large viewing-window. In front of us we now find a large field for North African hoofstock and Ostriches. Next to a small herd of Addax antilopes there's also a bachelor-group of at least 5 Kordofan ( Sahara ) dorcas gazelles. I can't remember ever having seen this subspecies ( althrough Hannover should have kept it in the time I visited it back in the 1980s ) so this subspecies surtainly was one of the highlight of the day ! When we walk further along the Desert antilopes at one side and the Serval on the other we come in a small corner were we see the Australian field which we already had seen from the other side of the rivulet and also a nice enclosure for Meerkats. Next to the outdoor mmerkat-enclosure, there's a small building which is the indoor enclosure for the Meerkats but through a window we also can discover a second enclosure in this building in which an European tortoise and some young Guineafowl are kept together. Along the other side of the Dorcas / Addax / Ostrich enclosure with on the other side the stream with the Pelican / Waterfowl and crane enclosures and reach the bridge near the Dikdik and Ground hornbill enclosures but we stay on the island and went to theleft to find the last enclosure at the zoo which we hadn't seen sofar. Here Lowland taper is kept together with Capybara and now we have seen everything. Along the field with domisticated animals, the bridge, the Spider monkey and Gibbon islands we now again stand in front of the entrance building which now has become the Exit building for us. Resume : Althrough little-known, Zoo Amiens is a nice little zoo with no real bad enclosures but also no breath-taking enclosures and also species-wise no real spectaculair species althrough the Colombian spider monkeys, the Kordofan dorcas gazelles and the Indian Red-billed blue magpies surtainly are rarely-seen species. Some species mentioned at ZTL prob. are not kept anymore because I didn't found any signs or enclosure were they could have been kept ( like Asian elephant, Maned wolf and the Black-handed ( Geoffroy's ) spider monkey ). With a lot of construction-work being done and a lot of new plans this zoo surtainly has the potential to become a more well-known zoo and with an entrance fee of Euro 7.50 for an adult its worth a visit ( which can be done in 2 - 3 hours or less ) in any case.
