Gaur and Vicuna building at MJP/Batiment pour Vicunas et Gaurs au Menagerie
The smaller in area of Paris' two zoos, this, for me, is very much the more interesting. Set in a small corner of the botanical gardens in the south east of the city, its collection of ungulates is unexpectedly large and aboslutely brimming with top-class species.
West Caucasian Tur/Tur (sorte de bouquetin)
There are Vicuna, White Lipped Peccary, Gaur and (pass me the smelling salts) Siberian Musk Deer (been looking for these for years!). The antelope collection is unusual in that it contains only Asian species - the Blackbuck, the unusual Four Horned Antelope or Chousingha, and the very much larger Nilgai. The real stars though, are the goats and their allies. The Menagerie has Siberian Ibex, Nubian Ibex, West Caucasian Tur, Markhor, Himalayan Tahr, Rocky Mountain Goat, Bharal and Szechuan Takin. To a British zoo enthusiast, who on his home turf counts himself lucky to have seen one nondomestic caproid at a zoo, this 1s heaven on earth!
Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon/Goure de Scheepmaker
That is no to say that the rest of the collection lacks interest though - there are North Chinese Leopards in the large, traditional cat house called the Fauverie, and a delightful group of Corsac Foxes. Swamp Wallabies share a paddock with Emus, and primates include L'Hoest's Guenon, Allen's Swamp Monkey and Bolivian Squirrel Monkey. Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeons are the stars of the comparatively small bird collection, although birds of prey are well represented by, among others, Pondicherry and Himalayan Griffon Vultures.
The style of the zoo is, to be polite, of its time. The fences are mostly barred, the Syrian Brown Bears still live in pits, and the place is hardly photography friendly. The animals, however, not having our aesthetic concerns, thrive here - and the high incidence of rarities in the collection is more than enough to enable me to fully endorse this collection. The Parc Zoologique at Vincennes may be more flashy than MJP, but the latter has a charm all of its own. Long may it continue.
Siberian Musk Deer/Porte-musc
Don't miss:
Siberian Ibex
Nubian Ibex
West Caucasian Tur
Markhor
Bharal
Rocky Mountain Goat
Szechuan Takin
Himalayan Tahr
Syrian Brown Bear
Corsac Fox
North China Leopard
Four Horned Antelope
Vicuna
Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon
Swamp Wallaby
and...
Siberian Musk Deer
Sommaire Francaise:
Le Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes a Paris est le moins spacieux des deux zoos de Paris, mais pour moi c'est bien le plus interessant. Il se trouve aux beaux Jardins des Plantes, et il possede une collection superbe.
Il y a trois especes de bouquetins, et beaucoups d'autres caprines. Le petit tetracere et le tres rare porte-musc sont aussi bien en vue. Entre les oiseaux, les plus grands rarites sont les goures de Scheepmaker, et il y a aussi une bonne collection de rapaces. On peut voir le panthere de Chine et, un de mes animaux preferes, le petit renard des steppes.
Les enclos ici ne sont pas toujours beaux, mais ils sont tres fonctionnaire, et les animaux sont en sante parfaite. Pour moi, cette collection a une ambience unique.
© 2000 bpgilb10221@aol.com