Michèle
Raynaud elected Spring season 2010's best
photographer
Michèle
Raynaud has a really good eye for taking photographs.
Here is a selection of the best photographs that she took
during her last visit to the Réserve Africaine de
Sigean : Lions and Pelicans on their island of branches
or Painted Turtles, all of these animals belong to the
park, but also animals that belong to the local fauna,
like this Red Squirrel Sciurus Vulgaris and
Greater Flamingos. Our Spring season's best photographer
did a good job, even though the merit should go to her
Canon 5D mark II!
All of these pictures will be added to the very beautiful
collection of photographs that make up our
new
web page.
A page that we have remodelled and that now presents a
slide show of all of the best photos sent to us by our
visitors.
Native of
the United States of America, the Painted Turtle
Trachemys scripta elegans is a freshwater
turtle.
In France it is the most common pet turtle.
The Pink
backed Pelicans Pelecanus rufescens, a colony of about 30
individuals nesting on this island of
branches.
The greater
flamingo is to be found on all the lagoons bordering the
Golfe du Lyon, from the Camargue to the Roussillon,
and also in Spain and Africa.
A Red
Squirrel eating it's meal, we
believe...
The election of the best photographer of the month
continues, do not hesitate to send us your best
photos (5 maximum and each taken at the Réserve
Africaine de Sigean) and every month, according to the
amount of photos that are sent, we elect the best
photographer!
LThe
31st January 2010, Mélanie Berthet, veterinarian
at the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, gave a lecture
on Sarcophilus harrissii, more commonly know as
the Tasmanian devil or Sarcophilius (who likes
meat).
Entitled "The Tasmanian Devil, dealing with a endangered
species", this speech follows a mission that
Mélanie Berthet led in December 2009 in Australia
about the epidemiology of the devil facial tumour
disease DFTD. Ever since the beginning of the 90s'
this disease, that can be passed on from one individual
to another through biting, is reducing the Tasmanian
devil population significantly and is now threatening the
survival of the species.
The Sarcophilius harrisii or Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian devil is a small carnivorous marsupial
that measures about 80 cm long and weighs in average
about 10kg. Like all other marsupials, the female
Tasmanian Devil carries her young in her pouch, they each
remain attached to a nipple until they are capable of
feeding themselves. Nocturnal and solitary, the Tasmanian
Devil is an opportunistic hunter. They know how to hut,
attack from an ambush, but most of the time they settle
for sheep, bird or wombat carcasses. Today the Tasmanian
Devil is classed EN (Endangered) by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature. The IUCN estimates that
over the next 10 years there will be a 90% decline in the
Tasmanian Devil population with over 60 % of the affected
area where the devil facial tumour disease has
spread.
A bit of history...
Fossil remains certify the presence of the Tasmanian
Devil in Australia nearly 600 years ago. Hunted by
natives and probably by Dingoes, wild dogs introduced
into the wild by man nearly 4000 years ago, the Tasmanian
Devil had already disappeared from Australia well before
the arrival of European settlers during the 19th century.
They now only survive in Tasmania, a Dingo-free island,
situated south of Australia. In 1830 a slaughter bonus
system was brought into use by the Tasmanian Government
to protect cattle, break down the Tasmanian Devil
population but also the Thylacine population, also know
as Tasmanian Tigers. In 1936 the last Thylacine
disappeared and the Tasmanian Devil was on the edge of
becoming extinct. This is why the Tasmanian Government
decided to officially protect the species in 1941. The
Tasmanian Devil population rose progressively until the
appearance of the Devil facial tumour disease in the
90's.
The Devil Facial Tumour Disease or DFTD The devil facial tumour disease was first detected in
1999. This disease is characterized by lesions and lumps
around the mouth, causing tumours that because of their
size, prevent the animal from feeding correctly, and lead
to the death of the animal through lack of nourishment.
It is believed that the transmission of the cancer from
one animal to another occurs during physical contact
between individuals when fighting, for example over a
carcass. Since the year 2003, the Tasmanian government
has put into place a protection program for this species,
for which many scientists volunteer around the
world.
The 8th
March a good part of the South of France was covered in
snow. At the Réserve Africaine de Sigean the first
snowflakes came down at about 5 o'clock in the morning
and it got thicker during the day until 5 o'clock in the
afternoon, when we took these pictures. In the end, a
good 20cm of snow came down which hasn't happened for
over 30 years!
And what about all of the animals? Good job we
didn't wait for it to snow to get ready for the cold
weather. Like in certain maintain regions of Africa or
during the night in the desert, the animals at the
Réserve Africaine de Sigean are confronted with
the variation of winter temperatures. The animals that
are most sensitive to the cold (Elephants, Rhinoceros,
Giraffes...) are brought into there heated houses every
night, same as the Chimpanzees who do not got out onto
their island if the temperature outside is below 10
degrees. For all of the other animals, there are many
equipped shelters in their parks, the most important
thing is making sure that they always have water
available in the water fountains so that they don't get
dehydrated because of the wind.
The birds that live on the Oeil de Ca pond, put up with
the cold weather very well. The ice is regularly broken
when the pond freezes, wind blokes are put up on the
banks and a little "extra" food is given out to make up
for the lose of energy caused by the cold.
Go to the
SLIDE
SHOW of
pictures of the Réserve Africaine de Sigean in the
snow.
With nearly 11 million visitors welcomed since the 8th
April 1974, the day that the park opened to the public,
the Réserve Africaine de Sigean is one of the
most popular tourist sites in the region. The park
has got bigger over the past 36 years, reaching a total
surface of nearly 300 hectares where more than 3800
animals live today..
The
10 000 000 visitor and family welcomed in music the 23rd
June 2007
Possible
arrival estimated during the first two weeks of June
2010, to celebrate this happy event with dignity, the
future 11th million visitor and his family with be given
a multitude of gifts including free access to the
park, lunch at our panoramic restaurant and a guided tour
of the park in our minibus!
Who will the happy winner? Considering the fact that the
Réserve Africain de Sigean is know throughout the
whole of Europe, the 11th million visitor could be
French, Catalan, British, German, Spanish... who knows,
it could be you!
You would like to know how many tickets are left before
reaching the 11th million visitor? You can regularly
connect to our web site
http://www.reserveafricainesigean.fr, every day, we
indicate the number of visitors welcomed to the park
since 8th April 1974!
The
11th million visitor medallion is finally here!
NWe
have just received the new Réserve Africaine de
Sigean medallion, which this year commemorates the 11th
million visitor to the park, who after calculation,
should arrive during the first two weeks of June.
Stamped at only 5 000 copies, this medallion represents a
Lions head and on the tails side the following
inscription : Réserve Africaine de Sigean -
Aude - France - 11 millionième visiteur.
The arrival of this new medallion gives us a chance to
take a look at the stocks still available of creations
from the past years :
- 2008 : Sacred Ibis - Réserve Africaine de
Sigean : 608 copies
- 2009 : Chimpanzee - commemoration of the
Réserve Africaines 35rd anniversary : 397
copies
- 2009 : Gemsbok : commemoration of the
association Amis de la Réserve Africaine de Sigean
(ARAS) 20th anniversary : 1673 copies
Terms of sale are 3
copies of each medallion per person. The coins/medallions
of Paris are available at the reception desk, at the gift
shop and at the kiosks at the Réserve Africaine de
Sigean. You can also order them by post by sending a
check payable to the Réserve Africaine de Sigean
joint with a stamped addressed envelope.
After
our private guided tours in the minibus... private guided
tours on foot
We
started doing private guided tours in the minibus in
February 2008. This visit is available for visitors that
wish to visit the drive-through area in the minibus,
driven by a host-guide who puts the animals into their
original context and gives you explications about animal
behaviour observed during the visit.
Today, because of the success of private guided tours
around the drive-through area in the minibus, we have
decided to start doing private guided tours of the
walk around park, following demands of many visitors
who wish to extend the educational tours.
Aus dem Leben
gegriffene Skizzen, so wie sie von den Augen Jo Lynchs
erfasst worden sind. Vielen Besuchern werden die Tiere,
denen man beim Besuch begegnet und die man zu kennen
glaubte, ein einem neuen Licht erscheinen... Sie zeigen
die Tiere in ihrer ganzen Kraft oder Sorglosigkeit,
manchmal auch bei Zärtlichkeiten, die sie uns noch
näher bringen.
Die Ausstellung
ist immer abwechslungsreich, da Jo Lynch sie oft durch
neue Werke ergänzt, die sie mit wachen Augen
für immer festgehalten hat.
Michèle
Raynaud elected Spring season 2010's best
photographer
