The Menagerie / Jardins des Plantes

France.com

16 years ago

With its astonishing architectural elements (mainly dating from the 18th and 19th centuries), the MÃ©nagerie is the worldâ€™s oldest zoo that retains its original appearance. It offers 4,500 m2 (48,400 sq. ft) of greenery which is home to a thousand animals.

A place of history, a place to stroll through..

The MÃ©nagerie at the Jardin des Plantes was created in 1794, 6 years after the death of the Comte de Buffon. At the time, the animals came from the Royal Menagerie at Versailles, the menagerie of the Duc d'OrlÃ©ans as well as from the seizure of fairground animals, since the use of animals in street entertainment had recently been banned. Other buildings, enclosures and improvements were added over the years: notably the bear den in 1805, the first big cats enclosure (since demolished) in 1821, the semi-circular pheasantry in 1827, the reptiles gallery in 1870, a wintering building in 1905, an ape house, transformed into a nursery in 1928, etc. The MÃ©nagerie continues to evolve today: new animal accommodation and renovation work is underway, at the rotunda, great aviary or reptiles gallery, for example.

From the cockerel… to the donkey: huge animal diversity

Due to the fact that itâ€™s not very large, the MÃ©nagerie has turned to the conservation of smaller species. Its 5 ha (13 acre) park houses 240 mammals, 500 birds and 130 reptiles. Winding their way between the different areas, the paths lead to the ape house, the big cats house, the small farm, the vivariums and also the micro-zoo; the latter, unique in the world, is dedicated to microscopic animals and allows us to see who we are sharing our beds with, who is colonising our cheese or teeming beneath our feet… The whole universe of the arthropods, those tiny creatures often invisible to the naked eye, appears magnified under the microscope. A bubble of life and greenery, the MÃ©nagerie is a self-contained universe. Watching over this little world, sixty people (keepers, vets, ethologists) take it in turn, 24 hours a day…

A place of study and a little island of conservation

A careful visit to the big cats, a greeting to the bears in their dens, contemplating the swans or herons in their aviary or nervous shivers in the reptiles gallery: the recreational aim of the park is obvious. But the MÃ©nagerie also allows studies into the behaviour and procreation of rare species to be carried out as part of international collaborations. Researchers can extend their knowledge here, in particular, experts in physiology (studying the body and its functions), pathology (concentrating on diseases, their causes and symptoms), genetics (researching the origins of species) or ethology (studying behaviour). The MÃ©nagerie participates in many projects concerned with breeding animals that have already disappeared or are in danger of disappearing from their natural environments. This is the case for the little Przewalski horses which are no longer found in the wild. For certain species, there are even plans to reintroduce them to their zones of origin.

Practical Informations

Paris 5Ã¨me : rue Cuvier, rue Buffon, rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, place Valhubert

Bus :

Lignes 24, 57, 61, 63, 67, 89 et 91 – Batobus : arrÃªt Jardin des Plantes

Metro, RER :

M5 : Austerlitz – M7 : Censier Daubenton – M 10 : Jussieu ou Austerlitz – RER C

SNCF Railway Stations :

Gare d'Austerlitz et Gare de Lyon