The first time I was in Paris, Zoo de Vincennes was on the verge of closure. It was still closed during my last visit, and now has finally reopened. After four years of growth it feels like the zoo is finally standing on its own, with definite room to grow. While I generally like what they've done with the place I have two issues: 1.) Without going into any detail (read: research) it feels like the zoo is focusing on the areas where France either had colonies or a strong influence. Conceptually it's quite striking, but at the same time feels like it will limit the overall development of the zoo down the line. 2.) There are some massively missed opportunities/wasted space within the zoo. Specifically, the large picnic field near the rhino enclosure and the grand aviary. For all the bird species in Africa, to give all of that space over to flamingos (who are already represented in the Menagerie) is a definite miss. A tropical birdhouse on par with the Amazon/Madagascar one would have been a much more desireable. If the zoo insisted on flamingos it feels like they could have been integrated into the plains exhibit with the giraffe and ostrich. I also don't think the zoo has quite taken the conservation message to heart, and the impact human consumption has on the world. By this I mean both restaurants and all four takeaway counters serve drinks in plastic bottles, no fountains. They double down on the plastic as well by giving you a small plastic cup with each drink purchased. Not drinking from the bottle might be a cultural quirk, but if they're going to continue to use plastic bottles, they should switch to paper cups at the very least. Ideally they would switch out all bottles to fountain use. The gift shop needs work too. Like a lot of zoos they have stuffed animals they don't exhibit, but strangely enough there's very little merchandise with the zoo's name on it. Not a single tee shirt has the name on it either. I found a couple of postcards, a magnet, and some fake euros featuring Aramis, the zoo's male jaguar. Otherwise, nearly everything could be found in every zoo in any locale. They do have an excellent, if small, collection of books detailing the zoo's redevelopment. Unfortunately, they're in French, and I have an imperfect knowledge of the language, so it requires some piecing things together. Great collection of pictures and plans, though. They also have a small collection of the wildlife drawings done by Nicolas Robert(?) and commissioned by Gaston d'Orleans. They're some of my favorite things, and I picked up posters of the jaguar and Atlas lion. I might do a full review, but I think that's the gist of my immediate thoughts. Also: The entry/exit plaza features a small booth that allows you to leave a review of the zoo. The overall review is based on four categories (interaction with employees, exoticness of visit(?), Beauty of the animals, Activities, and value for money). You can also leave a detailed comment if you so choose.
That picnic area is actually a place reserved for an additional theme, or at least it was originally. The flamingo aviary should also be home to a lot of other African birds.
The picnic might still be reserved for that down the road, but with as unspectacular as the Patagonia region is, the whole section could be revamped instead. They claim to have some thirty species of birds in the Grand Aviary, but the one hundred plus flamingos dominate the whole thing. I recall seeing spoonbills and ibis' as well, but the giant metal cage didn't intrigue me enough to stay and look around. I'll stand by my original assessment.
In their master plan they have an African rain forest zone with gorillas planned. It seems likely that may be a future development given that the zoo has no other ape species.
I'm sorry, my answer is late, but here it is ! Yes, at the place of the "zone clairières": the picnic place, there were plans for an equatorial african zone, with gorillas, okapis, bongos, pygmy hippos, birds, primates, wild river hogs... With a big greenhouse in an "U" form. It was in plan for the first project of the "new Vincennes zoo". Maybe one day, we will see this new zone, but right now, the zoo hasn't got the money to do it. We also heard of an "asiatic" zone with elephants and tigers in this place, but that's less sure. You told that the zoo was focusing on the former France's colonies or influences, but the Patagonian zone is an exception. For me, it was only to continue the presentation of sea lions and penguins. I'm a bit agree with you: the zoo is a bit "sad" in a way: there is a lot of fancy rocks, the vegetation is, for me, well chosen, but it grows slowly... You told also that the "grande serre" would be better as a "Tropical bird house". I think the zoo wanted to have well defined zones, 'cause it is something that the zoo hasen't in the past...
I’m very limited in knowledge when it comes to European zoos but I kinda like the idea of a colonial focus in exhibits. It’s hard for me to explain but it just makes the zoo feel more historic than it really is. With species from places that are controlled by France it’s almost like they’re giving back to those places by educating people about the habitats that need help in those places. Maybe for there next exhibits they can base it on French Indochina and the West African jungles. I would even go to a English zoo with that concept with zones for South Asia, East Africa, Australia, and the mainland British Isles. I think the concept of the zoos fits in with the historical atmosphere of the city of Paris. Again I don’t know much about Europian zoos but that’s just my opinion.
Parc Animalier des Pyrénées focuses on French animals with a small South American area to reflect the current French colony of French Guiana.
I'm not really agree with you. For me, colonias are past. Old zoos had voluntarily animals from the country's colonias (Antwerpen was the first zoo in Europa wich had okapis because Belgium had Congo, for exemple). Now, I think zoos must be international, and show animals from the whole world, colonias, or not. But show the colonial past of the country can be interesting, yes ! But an entire park just on colonias... No. But that's just my mind, of course !
No European zoo would put colonialism in anything but negative light. This focus is because Western European countries have large communities descending from these countries, which are interested in things from their homeland. So Rotterdam zoo has exhibits devoted to Suriname, Paris Vincennes a region dedicated to Madagascar and French Guiana and so on. Strangely, no British zoo I know of promotes especially wildlife from Pakistan, India or, perhaps recently, Poland.
By the way for anyone who could update this on ZTL : Vincennes has some southern screamers, at least one. I saw one in October, I saw one in April as well.
Any have any idea when this guide for Paris Zoo was published? Paris Zoo Guide Cover - Year? | ZooChat Thanks in advance of any help
Thanks...that's near enough. Where did you find it on Les Zoos dans le Monde? Can you provide the link to zoo guides, I could only find books.
