View source for Zoo and Botanical Garden of Branféré

{{Infobox zoo
|zoo_name         = Zoo and Botanical Garden of Branféré
|logo             =
|logo_caption     =
|image            =
|image_caption    =
|location         = [[Le Guerno]], [[Morbihan]], [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]], [[France]]
|date_opened      = 1965 <ref name="fr_parks_history"/>
|date_closed      =
|coordinates      = {{coord|47.5943275|-2.39856|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|area             = {{convert|35|ha|acre}} <ref name="fr_parks_history"/>
|num_species      = 150 <ref name="fr_parks_history"/>
|num_animals      = 1200 <ref name="zoo_animals"/>
|largest_tank_vol =
|total_tank_vol   =
|annual_visitors  =
|members          = [[European Association of Zoos and Aquaria|EAZA]]<ref name="eaza_list"/>
|exhibits         =
|website          = {{URL|http://www.branfere.com}}
}}
[[File:Hylobates lar32.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''[[Hylobates lar]]'' in the Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré]]
The '''Zoo and Botanical Garden of Branféré''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré'')  is a {{convert|35|ha|acre|adj=on}} [[zoo]] and [[botanical garden]] located in [[Le Guerno]], [[Morbihan]], [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]], [[France]].
The park is open daily except in winter, and an admission fee is charged. Visitors can see the animals roaming freely in a centuries-old botanical garden.<ref name="gralon"/>
==History==
From 1662 until 1988, the garden was a private estate, with a [[château]] built in 1848 by the family of Freslon Freslonnière. It was acquired in 1884 by Casimir Jourde, whose grandson Paul became a wildlife painter and world traveler. In the 1930s Paul and his wife, Hélène Castori, having discovered a game reserve maintained by [[Khengarji III of Kutch|Khengarji III]], [[Maharao]] of [[Kutch District|Kutch]], decided to create an "animal paradise" at Branféré by letting exotic animals from around the world [[Acclimatization|acclimatize]] to the property and roam free, creating a park where animals and humans could interact. In 1965 the park opened to the public after thirty years of development, and in 1988 it was bequeathed to the [[Fondation de France]].<ref name="fr_parks_history"/><ref name="zoo_history"/>
==Animals==
Today the park contains almost 1,000 animals representing nearly 150 species, including [[antelope]], [[gibbon]]s, [[hippopotamus]], [[lemur]]s, [[llama]]s, [[prairie dog]]s, [[tapir]]s, [[wallaby]], [[zebra]]s, and [[yak]]s, as well as [[flamingo]]s, [[parrot]]s, [[pelican]]s, and [[stork]]s, all set within landscapes of [[prairie]]s, [[waterfall]]s, and small islands. Its grounds have displayed botanical plantings since the 18th century, and today contain about 70 species of trees and shrubs including [[araucaria]], [[azalea]]s, [[camellia]]s, laricio pines, [[rhododendron]]s, [[Sequoioideae|sequoia]], and a 300-year-old weeping specimen listed as one of the remarkable trees in France.
==Education==
The Fondation de France, in collaboration with the [[Fondation Nicolas Hulot pour la Nature et l'Homme]] and the [[Communes of France|commune]] of [[Muzillac]] have created the Nicolas Hulot School for Nature and Man, open since 2004 at Park Branféré.<ref name="fr_parks_history"/>
==See also==
{{commons category}}
* [[List of botanical gardens in France]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist |refs=
<ref name="zoo_animals">{{cite web|url=http://www.branfere.com/2animau.htm |title=Branféré Animals |work=branfere.com |publisher=Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré |language=fr |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="zoo_history">{{cite web|url=http://www.branfere.com/1brahier.htm |title=Branféré Yesterday |work=branfere.com |publisher=Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré |language=fr |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="eaza_list">
{{ZooOrg|eaza|zoos|access-date=27 April 2012}}
</ref>
<ref name="fr_parks_history">{{cite web|url=http://www.parcsetjardins.fr/bretagne/morbihan/parc_animalier_et_botanique_de_branfErE-309.html |title=Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré |work=parcsetjardins.fr |publisher=Comité des Parcs et Jardins de France |language=fr |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="gralon">{{cite web|url=http://www.gralon.net/tourisme/sports-et-loisirs/info-parc-animalier-et-botanique-de-branfere-le-guerno-1600.htm |title=Parc animalier et botanique de Branféré |work=gralon.net |publisher=Gralon |language=fr |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.branfere.com/}}
{{Zoos of France}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branfere, Parc Animalier Et Botanique De}}
[[Category:Gardens in Morbihan]]
[[Category:Botanical gardens in France]]
[[Category:Zoos in France]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Morbihan]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Morbihan]]
[[Category:Zoos established in 1965]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Brittany]]