The Pyrenees Animal Park in Argelès-Gazost invites you to meet local and exotic species that deserve protection.
Not like a zoo, but rather in their natural environment.
Located on the heights of Argelès-Gazost, it extends over a 14-hectare forested area to accommodate its residents with the utmost respect for their needs, recreating enclosures identical to the species' original environment. The safety barriers are invisible, and the surrounding landscape is natural: rocks, ponds, vast wooded areas, sloping slopes, with multiple hiding places!
The visit...
It offers a trail marked by 9 different areas. First, a large aviary where some twenty species of birds roam freely, home to a magnificent Victoria egret, the world's largest land pigeon, and familiar birds such as the little egret, the pied avocet, the white stork, the black-winged stilt, the oystercatcher, the spoonbill, and the greater flamingo. Not to mention exotic species such as the scarlet ibis, the Inca tern, and the spiny-tailed roller.
Then comes the marmot hills...
Next, the space is given over to ocelots, lynx, the endangered Pyrenean bear, a colony of meerkats, adorable binturongs, also known as "bear cats," red pandas, and grey otters.
Then, children can take the trail that leads to the Pitchounes farm: two distinct areas with farm animals on one side and a large aviary with multicolored parakeets and highly sociable ring-tailed lemurs, native to the rainforests of southern Madagascar, on the other.
The trail then leads to the favorite habitat of birds of prey (vultures, bearded vultures) and mountain animals, large herbivores such as ibex, chamois, roe deer, and prairie dogs.
Finally, the trail ends, after a 3-hour walk, with the last area to explore: the wolf area. Two varieties of wolf live in these vast territories: the Canadian black wolf and the European gray wolf. An observation platform allows visitors to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of these wild animals and discover their secrets: pecking order, social life, and feeding times. Adorable wolf cubs were born within the park in 2020 and offer a delightful spectacle.
Not to mention the trail that leads to several aquatic areas home to a variety of fairly common animals that are easy to glimpse in the wild: otters, nutria, grebes, and raccoons.
Allow between 2 and 4 hours for your visit. An on-site restaurant offers dishes made with local products and grilled meats, as well as the Bar des Marmottes, halfway through the trail, which offers refreshments.
Two picnic areas are also available to the public, one located at the park entrance and the other inside the park near the area reserved for farm animals.
If you'd like to stay on site, ecolodges welcome you to sleep close to black wolves, bears, and prairie dogs.
Pyrenees Animal Park
60 bis, avenue des Pyrénées
65400 Ayzac-Ost / Argelès-Gazost
Tel.: 05.62.97.91.07
www.parc-animalier-pyrenees.com
