The Besançon Museum Animal Enclosures

Stream crayfish – Austropotamobius torrentium:
found in Eastern Europe and in only a few French streams; critically endangered, according to the 2012 French Red List; part of a breeding program aimed at reintroduction. © Besançon Museum

Rhône River Basin – Zingel asper:
found in France and Switzerland, critically endangered according to the 2014 Franche-Comté Red List, and included in the National Action Plan, which involves breeding programs for reintroduction. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Spotted Salamander – Salamandra salamandra:
Found throughout Europe, listed as “Least Concern” on the 2020 French Red List, a species threatened with extinction by a pathogenic fungus. © Frédéric RAVENOT CEN

Crau Grasshopper:
found in the Crau Plain in France (in the Bouches-du-Rhône department), critically endangered on the 2016 IUCN Red List, part of the European LIFE program. ©L ZECHNER

Blue Tarantula – Poecilotheria metallica:
Found in India, listed as Critically Endangered on the 2008 IUCN Red List, and part of a European breeding program. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Harvest Mouse – Micromys minutus:
found in Europe, Russia, and East Asia; listed as “Least Concern” on the 2017 French Red List; currently part of a breeding program for reintroduction into the Eure department. © Eric ISSELÉE

European Hamster – Cricetus cricetus:
found from Eastern Europe to Central Asia, and in certain limited areas of Western Europe; critically endangered on the 2020 IUCN Red List; subject to a National Action Plan for its conservation. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Bald Ibis – Geronticus eremita:
found in North Africa and Southern Europe, listed as endangered on the 2018 IUCN Red List, Proyecto Emerita, part of a European breeding program for reintroduction purposes. © David LEFRANC / Besançon Museum

Crowned Propithecus –Propithecus deckenii coronatus:
found in Madagascar, critically endangered according to the 2018 IUCN Red List, Sifaka conservation, part of a European breeding program. © JY ROBERT

Greater Hapalemur – Prolemur simus:
found in Madagascar, critically endangered on the 2018 IUCN Red List, Helpsimus in the European breeding program. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Lion Tamarin – Leontopithecus rosalia:
Found in Brazil, listed as endangered on the 2015 IUCN Red List, Lion Tamarin Brazil Foundation, part of a European breeding program. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Gelada Baboon – Theropithecus gelada:
Found in Ethiopia, listed as “Least Concern” on the 2018 IUCN Red List, Gelada Research, part of a European breeding program. © Jacky RENARD / Besançon Museum

Viperine Snake – Natrix maura:
Found in southwestern Europe and North Africa; listed as endangered on the Franche-Comté Red List of Reptiles and Amphibians (2020). Partnership with the League for the Protection of Birds of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, in collaboration with Voies navigables de France, to develop a conservation plan for the region’s canals.
© Hugo Barré-Chaubet

Details on the various ways the Museum invests in conservation programs:

• participation in European breeding programs led by EAZA
• Participation in conservation breeding programs in partnership with institutions dedicated to conservation: Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels, regional parks, nature reserves, the French Office for Biodiversity, local associations, etc.
• financial support for in situ conservation projects
• survey and monitoring programs for species that inhabit the site

Every year, the Besançon Museum makes a commitment—join us in our efforts!

In total, 47 species conservation programs are supported in France and around the world, including 6 reintroduction projects.
You, too, can support a conservation project.

The Roles of a Zoo

Teams dedicated to animal welfare every day

Animal welfare is defined by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) as the physical and mental state of an animal resulting from the fulfillment of its essential physiological and behavioral needs, as well as its expectations, while taking into account its adaptive capacities. An animal’s well-being is a state that varies depending on the animal’s physiological condition, cognitive abilities, and behavior. This model should be understood as a dynamic system, in which each component can be affected individually, thereby influencing an animal’s state of well-being.
To ensure the well-being of the animals in its zoo, the Besançon Museum employs professionals and specialists in behavior and biology:

• Twenty-two animal caretakers address the animals’ specific needs and alert staff as soon as they notice even the slightest change: loss of appetite, lethargy, limping, refusal to interact with other animals…
• Two biologists and two veterinarians conduct health monitoring and provide appropriate care when necessary.

Animal welfare, which is assessed based on zoological and ethological criteria, depends on the animal’s environment. The Zoo’s facilities are subject to rigorous and sometimes unannounced inspections and must comply with strict regulations. Animal caretakers pay particular attention to the design of the enclosures, which they regularly redesign and enhance with various enrichment elements that encourage the animals to be active:

• Dietary enrichment (a varied diet, with regularly changing meal times and locations)
• Environmental enrichment (spatial organization, types of materials, a variety of suggested activities—including, at times, games, etc.)
• Social enrichment (respect for the social organization observed in nature: solitary life, life as a pair, family life, life in groups of related individuals, etc.)
• Cognitive enrichment (mental stimulation through problem-solving games and new experiences, such as through smell)
• Sensory enrichment (tactile, olfactory/gustatory, auditory, visual).

Animal welfare also involves medical training based on natural learning mechanisms. The goal is to be able to perform medical care and examinations without restraining the animal or using invasive procedures on the part of the caretaker: close observation of a specific part of the animal’s body, performing an ultrasound, placing the animal in a carrier, drawing blood, etc. This is made possible through techniques based on play and encouragement. In the photo above, a caretaker weighs the sakis by coaxing them to step onto the scale on their own. 

It should be noted that the entire team at the Besançon Museum is internationally recognized for its expertise in animal husbandry and its ability to care for sensitive species. The Museum is the birthplace of rare species—for some of which, birth in captivity is a first (crayfish, jellyfish, amphibians, etc.)—and which require rigorous and meticulous preparation beforehand, such as lemurs, crayfish, and salamanders…

Discover the wildlife of the Citadel

• species census and monitoring programs.
• monitoring construction work that may impact this wildlife: avoiding such work during critical periods, proposing compensatory measures, and incorporating nesting cavities to replace those lost due to restoration efforts.
• coordinating sports and cultural events to minimize disruptions.