Zoodyssée, Wildlife park in Villiers-en-Bois, France.
Zoodyssée is a wildlife park in the Chizé forest at Villiers-en-Bois, covering 34 hectares of wooded land. It holds more than 800 animals of 77 species, among them European bison, brown bears, wolves, lynx and reindeer. Since 2022 the grounds are divided into nine "odyssées" by geographic area and habitat, from polar and mountain to wetland, farm and reptiles.
Zoodyssée opened in 1973 in the Chizé forest at Villiers-en-Bois. It was the first park in France to obtain ISO 14001 environmental certification. In 2022 the park was reorganised into nine areas called "odyssées", based on the geographical regions and habitats of the animals.
The park displays European animal species in habitats that reflect their natural behaviors and needs. Visitors observe how animals live together in groups, which helps understand how these species coexist in the wild.
Zoodyssée lies in the Chizé forest at Villiers-en-Bois, and the 34-hectare wooded grounds are toured on foot, so allow several hours and wear walking shoes. The nine "odyssées" created in 2022 group animals by geographic area and habitat, from polar to Mediterranean, so plan a route rather than doubling back.
Zoodyssée runs three conservation breeding programmes: for the little bustard, the European mink and the European pond turtle, with bodies such as the OFB and EAZA. In 2024 the first European mink releases took place, giving the species new hope. Kiwi, one of the two brown bears, played Youk in Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1988 film L'Ours.
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