The largest aviary in Europe is located in the Loir-et-Cher, in Saint-Aignan. Opened on Saturday April 15 within the ZooParc de Beauval, it welcomes some 400 birds, including 21 new species, over nearly two hectares.
This is new for 2023: the Great South American Aviary opened its doors in the ZooParc de Beauval on Saturday April 14. At the entrance to the park, many visitors come to discover this new attraction. Brittany, Drôme or Haute-Savoie, some of them have traveled several hours.
“We are amazed by what we have seen. The spectacle of the birds is a firework of colors, of birds flying above our heads, arriving by the dozen. It’s fantastic! “explains this mother.
The aviary accommodates, over nearly two hectares, 400 birds of around thirty different species and, for the time being, four species of mammals. The structure is surrounded by three hectares of very fine steel net, suspended 35 meters high. Which, of course, has a cost.
“This aviary is an investment of 14 million euros. It’s a colossal investment”recognizes Rodolphe Delord, CEO of the ZooParc de Beauval, at the microphone of France 3 Center-Val de Loire. “I wanted our South American birds to have even more space, especially our Cuban flamingos, the ibis…“he adds.
The species that cohabit in the heart of the aviary have not been selected at random. “We have chosen birds that can live in groups, fly and nest in colonies. They still need a few days to take full possession of this new environment. There are also monkeys, giant anteaters which will be out in a few days…”explains Rodolphe Delord.
Teddy Depie, head of the bird service, has already observed that the cohabitation is going well. “We even have symbioses, these are animals that help each other between different species”, explains the manager. He even gives an example that he saw that morning.
“We have the red-headed vulture, which has a very keen sense of smell and which goes looking for carcasses. The black-headed vulture, on the other hand, has almost no sense of smell, and will follow this vulture to find its food”note Teddy Depie.
My goal is for our animals to be happy. Animal welfare is my priority, it always has been. It is my reason for being, my reason for living.
Rodolphe Delord, director of ZooParc de Beauval
“On all of our buildings, this year we planted 30,000 trees and plants, which is huge. We bring back biodiversity, we have created basins, rivers, waterfalls”says Rodolphe Delord.
The goal? “The same goal, triptych: the well-being of our animals, our employees, so that our visitors spend a moment of dream, wonder, awareness of the conservation of biodiversity and birds”summarizes Rodolphe Delord.
