For more than 40 years NaturoParc working on preservation endangered species in Alsace: White Stork, European Otter, and… Giant Alsatian hamster!
What we liked about the park:
- pleasant to visit with children: there are playground, farm animals, discovery trail, cafe
- the area is green, with lots of shade on a hot day
- animals living in freedom, it’s far from a zoo…
- Live presentations (check the schedule after arriving in the park)
Note: around mid-August storks are leaving the park for winter to reach Africa
NaturoParc: what so interesting about it
Emblematic symbol of Alsace, in 1980 only 2(!) pairs of storks left in Alsace due to lost of habitat, being hunted in Africa, etc.
With great efforts and 40 years later, NaturoParc was able to raise this number up to 1419 pairs.
Pictured below: typical nest. Ranging from 1 to 1.5 meters wide and can weigh up to 500 kilograms:
Plan of the park: you can also meet racoons, lots of birds, donkey, etc:
In the video below: nearly dozen families of storks you may watch just from one spot:
Pictured below: live presentation, river otter:
And the one local I’d never know exist if I wouldn’t watch local TV: Giant Alsatian Hamster (size of the guinea pig):
Under 200(!) of Giant Alsatian Hamsters are left in the wild in Alsace now..:
Ducks running freely at the park:
Lizard garden:
Below: Andrew and Erika trying out the discovery trail:
Tactile pool with koi fish at the terrace:
It turns out that the homeland of black swans is … Australia:
Huge playground near the domestic animals:
Cute house for a piggy:
At the terrace, cafe at the park: storks can come and go as they want:
Pictured below: you can have a lunch at the cafe, but we opted just for a drinks, desserts, and ice cream: it was around 27C during our visit:
Tiny, half-timbered Alsatian house, home to pigeons:
Pictured below: something for adults: mini vineyard, live exhibition of all kinds of wine that grow in Alsace, their taste, pairing, etc:
Pictured below: pond with a couple of dozens turtles:
We spent around 3 hours in the park and would like to come back, it was good.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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