1970s and 1980s In the early 1970s,
Françoise Lajunias Dite Delord (1940–2021), a former student at the
Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Art and presenter of performances at the
Bobino music hall, received as a gift – at the Salon de l'Enfance, with a subscription to a children's newspaper – a pair of
African silverbills, a species of
African passerine. Shortly after, having acquired a bird cage for them on the Quai de la Mégisserie, she returned there to acquire two grey
Zebra finches, then two white. Its collection of birds grew to reach four hundred individuals. In 1980, faced with the impossibility of housing them all in
Paris, she moved with her husband, the conjurer Jacques Delord, and their two children, Delphine and Rodolphe, to Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, where she opened a bird park in Beauval, on either side of a small tributary of the
Cher, le Traine-Feuilles. Some 1,500 to 2,000 birds are present in the aviaries of Beauval. In 1989, Beauval became a zoological park by welcoming its first
mammals, including
big cats and
primates.
1990s In 1990, the ZooParc welcomed its first
lions. In 1991, Beauval presented its first
white tigers, Gorby and Raïssa, purchased for $100,000 from Robert Baudy, owner of the
Rare Feline Breeding Center, a
big cat breeding center based in
Center Hill, Florida, in the
United States. They are supposedly of the
Siberian tiger subspecies, with some hybridization, probably of the
Bengal tiger subspecies. Although they are not the first white tigers to be presented in
Europe, they were unique in France at the time of their arrival in Beauval, which made the zoo known and attract many visitors. In that year, the number of admissions went from 70,000 to 150,000. In 1992, the zoo opened its first
greenhouse, a tropical greenhouse for
great apes. The greenhouse houses two groups of
great ape,
Bornean orangutans and
chimpanzees, with two outer islands of 1,100 m2 and 1,300 m2 respectively. The same year, Françoise Delord acquired a female chimpanzee from a circus, for 10,000 francs. In 1993, a
vivarium was opened in the greenhouse of the great apes and received around a hundred
snakes and
Nile crocodiles, observable underwater thanks to a large aqua-terrarium. In 1994, the second greenhouse of the park was opened, a tropical bird greenhouse, with a surface area of 2,000 m2, where 300 exotic birds are housed, living in a rainforest setting. In 1995, a
sea lion pool was built and the park gave its first show combining free flight
raptors and sea lions. In 1996, a
nursery, intended for the breeding of young animals, was created. The zoo welcomed
Asian small-clawed otters,
red pandas and
raccoons whose enclosures are decorated with tackle and underwater viewing pools. In 1997, the park opened a third tropical greenhouse housing
gorillas and
manatees. In 1998, two new structures welcomed
hyenas and
African wild dogs. In 1999, the park welcomed a pair of white lions and created an African plain exhibit in which 80 animals of several species are presented, including
springbok,
sable antelope,
blue wildebeest,
Grévy's zebras,
giraffes,
ostriches,
Egyptian goose and
marabou storks. One of the giraffes, a male, named Joseph, was imported from
Marwell Zoo in the
United Kingdom, while the
lechwes come from the
Czech Republic. The two white lions bought that year by the park, Makalali and Makwalo, came from a farm in
Timbavati,
South Africa, but the name of the farm and the price remains a secret. Like the purchase of the white tigers in 1991, this acquisition has no zoological interest but confers a commercial advantage to the zoo, because although Makalali and Makwalo are not the first white lions to be presented in Europe, they are unique in France at the time of their arrival in Beauval.
2000s In 2000, three white rhinos joined the African Savannah exhibit. In 2001, a nursery was created for the hand-raising of parrot chicks. In 2002, an Australian greenhouse was created and a pair of
koalas,
tree-kangaroos and a marine aquarium were installed there. In addition, the mini-farm, hitherto located at the entrance of the park, is moving and growing. In 2003, the zoo expanded by five hectares to accommodate a group of five
African elephants. They benefit from 0.5 hectares of sandy park, 0.9 hectares of grassy park, a four-meter deep basin that completely immerses them and a building of over 1,500 m2. In 2004, the
vivarium was renovated in an area of 400 m2, which is occupied by more than 250
reptiles, including
snakes,
turtles,
crocodiles and
iguanas. The park received a three-year-old
white tiger, Chile, from the
Parken Zoo in
Eskilstuna,
Sweden. In 2005,
okapis arrived at the zoo; for five years, the ZooParc became be the only zoological park in France to present the species. The park also received a two-year-old male white tiger, Sherkan, born at Touroparc zoo. With Chile, he formed the second breeding pair of Beauval white tigers, replacing Gorby and Raïssa, then nearing the end of their life. In 2006, the zoo welcomed
Somali wild asses,
East Javan langurs and
clouded leopards, and a
piranha pool was created in the gorilla and manatee greenhouse. In 2007, a pool for
Humboldt penguins was created, with a size of 600 m³ with a tree-lined beach of 400 m2, and a South American pampas exhibit for housing
giant anteaters was also created. In 2008, a hotel structure was created. This is a three-star hotel,
Les Jardins de Beauval, about 1 km from the zoo entrance. Giant anteaters and Sumatran tigers, the first non-leukic tigers to be welcomed in Beauval, were housed at the park and a new aquarium was built with a coral reef theme. In 2009, a female
koala named Alkoomie and a male white rhino named Kanty were born. The ZooParc created the Beauval Nature association and the park also enlarged the area of
spotted hyenas.
2010s In 2010, a 1.5-hectare Asian plain was created, housing
Malayan tapirs,
Indian rhinoceroses,
muntjac,
white-naped cranes,
axis deer,
blackbuck,
nilgais and
fishing cats. A second koala, named Joey, was also born. In 2011, a new area of almost three hectares called "Sur les hauteurs de Chine" opened, housing
takins,
snow leopards,
red pandas,
northern plains gray langurs and
Steller's sea eagles. In February, a female
Indian rhinoceros arrived at the park. A pair of
Sumatran tigers and a female
manatee were then welcomed in March. A white rhino and a sixth
gorilla were born. ==Animal overview==