Back to nature...

The Ragazza had been staying with me for a week and we'd done the beach, swimming near the pink castle and lunch at Trégastel, and we'd visited the Valley of the Saints, and so a return visit to the zoo at Trégomeur seemed like a good option for a sunny but not-too-hot morning.

We've been before but the zoo has new residents and we like to revisit those we've seen before, and it's such a nice, relaxing and interesting place in which to hang out that we keep returning.

The zoo has an Asian theme for its flora and fauna, so there is a lot of bamboo, including this black variety which I have not seen before. I have bamboo in the top part of my garden, I had thought it might be too invasive and I would remove much of it but now I am re-thinking that and wondering ig I might cut and mould it to create hidden areas...  
 

 
Perhaps even my own mini version of the zoo's Eastern atmosphere...

Interestingly, I recently passed a large out-of-town store along the N12 that sells large statues of Buddha and some of the Hindu deities. If I could just recall where precisely it is...

I was at dinner with friends last night and we got to talking about religions and Ganesha was discussed because, whilst not being a follower of any particular faiths or creeds, I am spiritual and I do like to adopt aspects of many of the world's religions and this guy is one that I like.

He's a remover of obstacles, patron of the arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom.
I especially like to have obstacles sorted for me.

But what of the animals, you may be wondering?
Well, the albino porcupine was a tad tricky for one young father to explain to his toddler.
'Sans couleur?' I suggested, and that seemed to the point.

They'd just been given a lunch of pellets and were happily munching away so we were able to observe them at close quarters. Their ears are very human-like and they hold their lunch between their paws in the same way that Tashi holds a chewie.

The young camel seems to think he's part of the herd of wild horses that share his paddock.

We discussed whether we could train a wild horse. The sign on the fence stated that they are not able to be but we think it could be done, given time and patience and some Horse Whisperer skills.

They remind me of the horses on the walls of the caves at Lascaux.

The zoo is in a valley, that leads to some pretty vistas as you walk around.

And the streams that flow through add to the sense of serenity, as well as providing natural boundaries for some of the animals.

I think these would look good in my garden and I know just the place for them.

This stork was, I think, on guard duty. The rest of the flock were dozing, large beaks tucked into their backs, feathers like duvets covering their heads, snoring softly. Well, that's poetic licence, I didn't actually hear any snoring.

I thought that the ants were a new addition. The Ragazza thought otherwise. Regardless, I'd never seen them before, ants make me itchy, and twitchy, I'm not a great fan of Formicidae, not since a swarm of them flew into my house in England one hot summer day. And these look like ants in wasps' clothing.

A little plug
Palm oil is a problem

The zoo does a good job of educating people about ecology, conservation, endangered species.
It makes for tough reading sometimes but it does not good to remain ignorant.
N'est-ce pas?

 

The Zoo at Tregomeur

 When we return to Brittany the Rags and I like to visit the zoo at Trégomeur. We're rather fond of zoos, at least those that treat their residents well, take part in conservation projects and attempt to educate their visitors, which is a far cry from the zoos that I remember from my childhood.


We're soft-touches when it comes to adopting animals, we've supported polar bears, tigers and giraffes, bats and owls, a scorpion and a snake.

The Ragazzo was once given a year's sponsorship of an orangutan, a rather free-thinking individual that was last seen using a leaf as an umbrella before vanishing into the rain forests of Borneo. Hopefully to meet a nice lady orangutan and make lots of babies. 
  

The Ragazza  is particularly fond of snow leopards. There's a pair living at the Trégomeur zoo and yes, we also sponsor their relatives in the wild, and the communities who once made a living from their beautiful skins, but who are now encouraged to protect and preserve them instead. Such projects gladden our hearts.

It's quite thrilling to stand and gaze into the eyes of a tiger, and even if you're thinking "What a beautiful animal and how disgraceful that they're still hunted to make useless, so-called medicinal concoctions for ignorant people" while he's thinking "hmm, given half a chance I'd eat her!" it's still wonderful to encounter a tiger.

It's a good indication that the animals are happy when they breed. Last year the otters had had babies....

   

And here they are....

If you are very lucky your visit will coincide with a quite fantastic floor-show, courtesy of the siamangs.





All of a sudden one of the siamangs will suddenly start to strut and whoop and holler. He will throw his long arms up, as if he's surrendering, and run around shrieking, and then the others will join in a loud and lively display.

It doesn't happen often and it only lasts for about twenty minutes, but it's great fun. We've witnessed it a few times but, as I said, it's an infrequent event so most of the time you'll just see them as dark shapes in the trees...

The park has an Asian theme and is beautifully laid out in an area that is easily explored in an afternoon without causing that exhausted, fractious behaviour that often follows a day out with children.

And the landscaping is almost as wonderful as the animals...

And of course, being French, it caters very well for fresh-air inspired appetites with a pleasant restaurant and a cafe that serves lovely sausage-in-baguettes and fries, as well as waffles, crèpes, ice-creams etc.

And there's an authentic Vietnamese (I think) farmhouse that was dismantled and transported to Brittany to be rebuilt at the zoo...

Complete with furnishings and the most wonderful wooden carvings...

The trail leads through the flamingo enclosure, it's necessary to remain on the path in order not to disturb the birds, which look as if they'd fall over if startled, but you can still pick up feathers

But not from the peacocks, they bring bad luck, as my daughter always reminds me... 

Wild horses...

Tempting as they may be, especially for one who never outgrew those pony-mad years, these horses are untamed and so can be dangerous. 

 At certain times of the day a keeper appears to give a talk about both them and their camel-companions. In French, of course, but quite fascinating even if you're not fluent.

If ever they need an English interpreter they can contact me anytime!

I do worry when I see bears pacing...

It's not always a good sign, is it?

But these guys seemed to be happy enough...

Can you believe that bears were once baited for fun? Or that dancing bears were made to perform in circuses? Or that in some countries bears are still kept confined in cages and milked for their bile?

A perfectly-adapted desert-dweller.

If you've ever seen a camel in a bad mood you'll know to steer clear of it's front end when it decides to spit!

    

 

The Ragazza wandering next to a banana bush.

From which you can get an idea of how relaxing and zen is the zoo's landscape.  

We're always fascinated by this beast

But we rarely see it... 

It prefers to hide in here...

 



Unlike this guy who's happiest sunbathing and doesn't mind who stops to chat...  

At the end of the visit there is a shop.
It's a very nice shop and we always stop to buy wooden buddhas for my collection, and DVDs of African women singing, and elephant-poo writing paper, and wind chimes, and cuddly snow leopards and...
Well, it helps to fund the zoo and their work and so is a good cause, n'est-ce pas?


Of course there are lots more to see...
I could post pictures for hours, but this is just a taster, something to wet your appetite and encourage you to go visit the zoo and see it for yourselves...

When I return to Brittany to run a B&B from my home you'll all be most welcome to come and stay, and if you want to visit the zoo I'll provide all the information you need, including English translations.

Info from the zoo's website:

Le Zoo de Trégomeur en quelques chiffres

Le nouveau parc zoologique de Trégomeur est sans doute l’un des premiers zoo de France a être aménagé une seule fois, sur un site quasi vierge (presque tous les abris de l’ancien Zoo ont en effet été démolis).
Cet aménagement, qui a duré 2 ans, a constitué un véritable «tour de force».
Il a fallut en effet transformer totalement le site pour :

Aménager :

• 13 kms de réseau enterré.
• 6 kms de sentiers de découverte et voiries
• 300 m de passerelles bois suspendues
• plus de 10 ponts et passages pour visiteurs 

C'est dans cet esprit qu'ils ont retenu le principe d'une collection d'animaux organisée autour du thème de la faune asiatique.

C’est plus d’une vingtaine d’espèces d’animaux rares, protégés pardes conventions internationales (notamment la CITES) car menacés dans leur milieu d’origine, qui seront présentés au public :
Panthères des neiges, tigres, chameaux de Bactriane, chevaux dePréwalski, loutres asiatiques, entelles, siamangs, porcs-épics,pélicans, grands cormorans, gibbons, tortue asiatique, grue deManchourie, flamants roses, cerf du père David, nilgauts, antilopescervicapres, ours malais, dholes, lémuriens…