Planète Sauvage (, ''Wild Planet'' in English) is a

zoological park A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

situated in the French Atlantic coast, in Port-Saint-Père near

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

departement. Founded in 1992 by Monique and Dany Laurent and known as the Safari Africain until 1998, it was then operated by the

Compagnie des Alpes Compagnie des Alpes () is a French company created in 1989 to operate many ski resorts in Europe. Compagnie des Alpes is a part of Caisse des dépôts et consignations. History Compagnie des Alpes was first established in 1989 as a ski resor ...

between 2005 and 2015. Since that date the park has been the property of the multinational company , whose main shareholder is a Belgian

private equity fund A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity. ...

of the

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) is a Belgian holding company invested in multiple industries. It invests in both listed and private companies. Directed by Ian Gallienne, GBL had a net asset value of €22.5 billion and a market capitalisation of � ...

. Its director is Philippe Vignaud. The park covers about of land, where almost 1,000 animals of about 150

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

live, and is a blend of a safari portion visible by car and a pedestrian part which includes one of the three

dolphinarium A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or public performances. Some dolphinariums (sometimes called dolphinaria in plu ...

s of

metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

, where

bottlenose dolphin The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...

s are presented. Since 2008 it receives between 200,000 and 322,000 visitors each year. Although not a member of the

EAZA The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...

, it cooperates with researchers and finances wildlife conservation NGOs. It has been at the heart of several controversies since its opening, about a temporary human zoo in 1994, an adjourned dolphinarium project in 1998, the captivity conditions of its dolphins, which three of them have died, since 2007, and the transfer of macaques to a research laboratory practicing vivisection, in 2014.

History

* 1992 : Opening of "Safari Africain". There were 500 animals. * 1994 : Opening of Bamboula's Village, a human zoo. * 1998 : The "Safari Africain" is renamed Planète Sauvage with a new sea lions show. * 2003 : Construction of a suspension bridge, above the ground, to observe a tribe of 70 macaques: The jungle trail. * 2005 : Planète Sauvage joins the group

, European leader of the family entertainment. * 2006 : Creation of the « bivouac au safari ». * 2008 : Exhibition "Planète Fragile : Fragile beauty from earth" * 2009 : Opening of "Cité marine" a

where five

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s live.

The different parts of the park

The Safari Track

With their own car, visitors follow the track near animals for . The safari trail is divided into 15 parts where

giraffes The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant re ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...

s and much more can be seen. The zoo is currently home to four elephants. Visitors can also take the "4x4 Off Road Adventure" led by a guide that will get them even closer to the animals.

The pedestrian part

There are different parts: * The bush village and the ark of reptiles: The adventure continues on foot through the bush village, an authentic reconstruction of a village in Senufo country in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. At the bend of the straw huts there are unusual encounters with small animals such as

meerkat The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

s and

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

s. The ark that houses reptiles,

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

s and other "curiosities" lies at the heart of the village. * The island of flamingos and jungle route: It is in a landscaped area that was a colony of

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

s. Alleys shaded jungle trail leading to the territory of a tribe of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

s. * The Marine City: Since November 2008, five

s swim at the heart of the four new pools of Marine City. After the welfare of animals, the team has three objectives: to educate, study and protect. In avril 2020, the park have 9 dolphins : Lucy (F), Péos (M), Amtan (F), Ocean (M), Parel (F), Galéo (M), Amani (M), Nouma (M) and Kuma (M).

The "Bivouac"

The adventure can continue at the bivouac. This service includes a 4x4 off-road trip to attend the return of the animals, dinner at the campfire, a night spent near the animals, and a breakfast.

Research

Planète Sauvage is a park that is involved in different research programs. In partnership with recognized scientists organisations (the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

, the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes (French: ''Université de Rennes'') is a public university, public research university located in Rennes, Upper Brittany, France. Originally founded in 1460, the university was split into two universities in 1970: Univers ...

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

), the park is studying communication whistled in the

and the social factors that influence it.

Conservation

Controversy

In 1994, Planète Sauvage tried to open Bamboula's Village, an "African village" attraction with men and women who, by contract, were to be topless when the weather permitted. Sponsored by

Biscuiterie Saint-Michel Biscuiterie Saint-Michel is a French food company, a subsidiary of St Michel Biscuits, which produces and markets dry pastries (cookies) under the St-Michel brand name. It was founded in 1905 in the coastal town of Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, where is ...

as part of the promotion for their "Bamboula" cookies, the Cote d'Ivoirian village, rebuilt at Port-Saint-Père, was labeled "Bamboula Village" after the eponymous children's character.Pascal Blanchard, Gilles Boëtsch et Nanette Jacomijn Snoep (dir.), ''Exhibitions : L'invention du sauvage'',

Actes Sud Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members. ...

/ Musée du quai Branly, Paris, 2011, p.348. Public outcry led to cancellation of the project, as it was judged to come too close to being a "

human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were a colonial practice of publicly displaying people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays of ...

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Planete Sauvage (zoological park) Zoos in France Safari parks Compagnie des Alpes Buildings and structures in Loire-Atlantique Tourist attractions in Loire-Atlantique 1992 establishments in France Zoos established in 1992 Organizations based in Pays de la Loire