In Jardin des Plantes, there is a little zoo, filled with 600 wonderful animals for you to see in the heart of Paris. Here, you can find lots of small and medium sized animals who’ve been threatened with extinction from the global climate. The zoo supports lots of programs to fight extinction for various animal species. I highly recommend it if you love seeing rare, exotic animals that yell, “Bonjour!” when they see you.
The experience is truly lovely and not exactly what you’d think of when you typically plan a trip to Paris, especially its center. However, the zoo is owned by the botanical gardens, Jardin des Plantes, and provides the experience from the second oldest zoological garden on the planet.
At the zoo, all the animals’ plaques were written in French, which could be considered a great way to practice your animal vocab if you’re learning French! Here are some French vocab words for animals found at the zoo:
- Pandas Roux
The red panda is known for only coming to the ground when changing trees, otherwise spending their lives up in the leaves. That rhymes! Unlike their name suggests, the red panda has little to no relation to the giant panda.
- Flamant Rouge
Flamingos are found here at this little zoo, even though they usually live in parts of America, Africa, Asia, and Europe in shallow water. What is interesting about these beautiful, flaming birds is that they keep in contact with unique cries.
- Tortue Géant
Giant tortoise here! Giant tortoises are among the species with the longest life span, reaching 100 years old.
- Vigognes
Known as a Vicuna in English, this little guy lives typically in arid climates in the Andes mountains. He’s notable for being able to run at 50 km per hour at the hint of danger.
- Panthères des neiges
Snow leopards are incredibly endangered, with only an estimate of 3,000 to 6,000 left in the world.
I hope this little introduction to the zoo in Jardin des Plantes inspired you to visit these rare, endangered species next time you’re in Paris.
