Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.
French zoos are not like American zoos.
Well, they have animals, like ours do.
Let me preface this by saying that I haven't been to a French zoo in seven years. But I visited a few zoos in 1998 and in 2006. At a little zoo outside Bandol, we were allowed to feed the animals caramel popcorn. The meerkats were chubby from all the caramel popcorn they ate. I wonder if they could still get down in their holes.
Another difference was the fact that we saw animals mating in their cages -- not something we would see in the U.S. where parents don't want to explain that whole "piggyback" ride to their kids. Plus, zoos are careful about which animals they breed and seem to want them to do it in private.
Plus, animals still lived in cages rather than habitats. I think American zoos are trying to give the animals natural habitats these days, and maybe French zoos have changed too.
One thing that isn't different about French zoos is that kids love them.
Here are my three, ages 14, 12 and 10 during our 2006 trip.
Have you ever visited a French zoo?Can't wait to see what you are all sharing about France today. Thanks for playing along.
7 comments:
That does not sound very French giving their animals caramel corn-how did that get into the country. I have never been to a French zoo.
Esme is right. Quel bizarre! Seriously I'm surprised because it seems like the last thing we should be feeding animals. Maybe there's protein in caramel corn???
Wow, the caramel corn fat meerkats are terrible. So sad. The wallabies are cute though. We went to the zoo at Jardin des Plantes three years ago. It was an older style of zoo I thought, more cagey, less enclosures.
We were briefly at the zoo at the Jardin des Plantes and they are working on natural habitats. The wallabies were lazing around a nice green space.
Kids climbing on animal statues seemed to be a big part of the experience.
Joy's Book Blog
I know it's politically incorrect but I like the older zoos where you can see the animals. Toronto has a habitat like zoo but it can be so hard to seethe animals.
I also find it quite odd that the meerkats were fed caramel popcorns...but as long as the meerkats were enjoying them and that they're healthy because of it, I don't think there should be a problem at all! :)
I went to a zoo , well Cotswold Wild Life park with my husband , one wintery day ,, I said what , we have no children to take ,, but we went , different to say the least :-)
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