The Pyrénées Animal Park (French: ''Parc Animalier des Pyrénées''), nicknamed The Marmots Hill is located in

Argelès-Gazost Argelès-Gazost (; oc, Argelèrs de Gasòst) is a commune and a subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. The Pyrénées Animal Park is located in Argelès-Gazost. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes ...

in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

, France. It was created in 1999 by Serge Mounard, an individual, on a property operated by his dairy producing family. His idea was to present visitors a number of regional animals in a semi-wild environment. The path, in zigzag in the hills, gave the chance to admire common animals like the squirrel, marmot and otter, but also to approach foxes within a few meters, wolves, ibex, mouflons, isards or brown bears. It was even possible to touch some species, like farm animals (hens, rabbits), a deer, as well as the main parc attraction: marmots. A pedagogical team would verify the visitors' demeanour, while keeping them informed – along with didactical panels. A Pyrenean map, regularly updated, shows in real time the position of each member of the 25 bears currently living in freedom in the massif. A footprint molding workshop enables visitors to learn how to recognize animal footprints in the wild. The building at the entrance (an old bigourdan stable from the middle of the 19th century) hosts a museum reconstructing, under thematical tableaus in three oral dimensions the life of wild animals of the northern hemisphere, Europe and Africa. A souvenir shop lies at the exit – with marmot stuffed toys, namely.

Short list of animals in the park

Marmot Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

(in a setting which allows the visitor to see them thrive in and out of the water) *

Squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

Brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

* Fox *

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

* Isard *

Mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian Sea, Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' ...

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...

Giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of musteli ...

(rarely seen)

External links

parc-animalier-pyrenees.comReportage vidéo sur le parc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyrenees Animal Park Buildings and structures in Hautes-Pyrénées Tourist attractions in Hautes-Pyrénées Zoos in France Zoos established in 1999 1999 establishments in France Articles needing infobox zoo Organizations based in Occitania (administrative region)