La Montagne aux Marmottes animal park

I have already been to several animal parks, far and wide; some with large spacious cages or even free-roaming animals... others with small cages where the animals have no space..... this 'zoo' is unfortunately in the second category!!!! You get there following the signs from Sauze du Lac, up the hill..... on arrival a large car park and an entrance complete with an enormous souvenir shop, 13 euros to get in (each) and advertising everywhere... so you really expect a lot from this place..... At the entrance there is a sort of display made with real stuffed animals, re-creations of scenes of the animals' lives, marmots, a bear, foxes, wolves,....don't you also find that a bit tasteless? In short, those animals were once alive.... macabre for a place where animals should be loved and well regarded.

A long walk along this little indoor route and then out into the park, which from the outset is laid out along the slopes of the mountain, an up-and-down of staircases and paths, cages on slopes.... we go outside and at a little table near the bar two enormous marmot plushies sit smiling on metal chairs, a nice idea...... The marmot cages are fairly spacious with low mesh, and they play and squabble within a perimeter that is nothing compared to their natural habitat..... The marmots are very cute, lying in the shade or busy nibbling something, funny and plump, playful, and they don't seem too afraid of visitors. The bar to the right of the marmots has outdoor seating and sells mostly ice creams and drinks. I move on, reluctantly leaving the marmot cage. We reach, via a paved little road, the cages of the nocturnal birds of prey.....

folks, have you ever seen little owls and owls up close? they are hypnotic with their huge fluorescent eyes......beautiful specimens! A pity they had small, sad cages! Several species of owls, small, white, grey, brown, screeching little owls that in broad daylight are disturbed by visitors..... I continue among cages and aviaries of various birds, among them a peacock with its tail open, guinea pigs, non-existent foxes and other animals that aren't in the cages. Two tired, very sad little donkeys are shut in by a crumbling fence, and in the wolf cage a show has just ended with frightened wolves hiding in a fake cave. A large amphitheatre is the venue for shows we don't feel like attending. We continue among the birds of prey, reaching the minerals cave, a fake cave with fake rock carvings and fake stalagmites, minerals set in the stone that glitter in a thousand colours.....

At the exit I am captivated by a lovely view over Lake Serre-Poncon; from above there's a fine panorama among the trees; the sun is still high and very hot. Before leaving I find a reproduction of the Demoiselles Coiffees, rock formations very similar to the Ciciu di Villar (see my review), and I go into a sort of insectarium.... On the walls, frames enclosing insects of every kind, size and colour, some very beautiful and fascinating, on display, some clearly from distant countries, multicoloured butterflies, glittering minerals. (disgusting enormous spiders!) Passing through the shop I quickly grab my usual magnet and leave, a little disappointed and a little sad to know those animals shut in and imprisoned, sad, on display in extreme conditions. And so I leave....... towards the lake and towards the Demoiselles Coiffees.

I think the animals' sadness came through in their movements and their expressions; the state of the zoo is mediocre, the price is high for what there is to see.