Zoo de Jurques in Normandy
I think it would be fair to say that most children love a trip to the zoo so if you are on holiday at Eco-Gites of Lenault you will not be disappointed to hear that there is one zoo very close the gite. We have been several times and love it.
Zoo de Jurques
Zoo de Jurques is just a 20 minute car drive away and is home to 650 animals of all shapes and sizes. Pride of place (excuse the pun!) is it's collection is 3 magnificent white lions who were all abandoned at birth and hand reared by the keepers. These will never be released into the wild but the zoo is involved in plenty of conservation programmes to both protect habitats and reintroduce animals back into the wild.
Keepers run regular feeding sessions through the day with various animals including red pandas, bats, penguins, wolves, lemurs, cheetahs, kangaroos and monkeys. However on our last visit our favourite session was in the reptile garden where, if you want, you can hold a snake. Would you be brave enough?
There is also a large walk in aviary where you can feed those birds brave enough to come to your hand, like this cockatoo.
As well as the animals there is a play area, well stocked shop and large restuarant and snack bars. Many of the paths taking you around the zoo are under shady trees making this a pleasant place to visit on even the hottest of days.
The zoo is open from early February to the end of November although there are fewer feeding sessions in non-peak months. An adult ticket is 16€ and a child (3-11yrs) is 10€. Children under 3 are free.
For further details visit the Zoo de Jurques website
Comments
I love the zoo! I guess I'm just a big kid at heart
Stella Lee @PurfylleMe too - you are never too young to visit the zoo.
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultThis looks like a great zoo. We never tire of them - especially when I can use the time to take photos! #animaltales
Verily Victoria VocalisesThe lemur from the Animal Tales badge was taken at another Normandy Zoo - one time I did get a decent picture!
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultThat should have said "old" not young ... LOL
Rosieooh! The more I read your posts the better it sounds. It would be fab to one day visit the area and with a zoo not far there would be plenty of animals to see. :) angela
angela at daysinbedwhat a wonderful place
ersatz expatYes, come and visit, Angela :)
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultIt is one of our favourite zoos although Normandy has others that are just a good. The lemurs on the Animal Tales badge are from Champrépus Zoo which is about 50mins from us.
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultHi Rosie, getting the chance to be close up with animals we wouldn't normally get the chance to is something special. I regret that one time when visiting a Nature Reserve in South Africa I never took the opportunity to get up and hold a magnificent white python. The stupid thing was that it wasn't the snake that scared me, but holding it meant that I had to get up in front of people and that is what scared me; if I had the chance now, I wouldn't think twice.
DebbieSeeing the animals get fed is always fascinating to watch whether you are an adult or a child.
xx
You need to get yourself up to Normandy then and hold the Pythons here. I surprised myself and held one but the photos of Tom and Fred were much better than of me!
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultI'm always divided about zoos. Basically I hate seeing animals in captivity but then I know that most (good) zoos nowadays do a lot of conservation work and in the case of animals that are nearly extinct I guess it's better that there are some in zoos than none at all. And I do agree that kids love zoos. Thanks for linking up to #AllAboutFrance
Phoebe @ Lou MessugoI love going to the zoo...always feels weird if I'm on my own with no kids but, though I hate to see them in cages, I do love to see all the different animals that I wouldn't be able to otherwise.
Lisa from Lisa's LifeYes, I've held a snake, in a zoo in Spain, there's photographic evidence somewhere!
#animaltales
I am not always happy about seeing the animals in cages but a well run zoo does have a place in education and conservation ... but it must be well run.
Rosie @Eco-Gites of LenaultI am with you on this, Phoebe. Part of me loves zoos and I love to see children being fascinated and excited by the animals but it is sad to see them in captivity. However I know that my love of animals and desire to protect them and their habitats came, in part, from zoo trips as a child, so that must be a good thing!
Rosie @Eco-Gites of Lenault