The Reserve and its history

The creation of the Réserve Zoologique de Calviac is the culmination of a long process, a project dreamed and matured since childhood.

The first person to support Emmanuel Mouton in his vocation is the naturalist Jacques Bouillault, founder of the Parc Zoologique du Tertre Rouge in La Flèche, who has mentored him since he was not yet ten.

Later, Gerald and Lee Durrell, British naturalists and authors, influence the entire philosophy of the project. As in their institution in Jersey, Emmanuel Mouton decides to devote all his efforts to smaller, often little-known, endangered species that are in serious threat in the wild.

It was the Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine that first agreed to take on the young man as an trainee. He was fourteen years old. The scenography of the park, with its cliffs, waterfalls, islands, and lush vegetation, so close to nature, left a lasting impression on him. The spirit of the place was captivating. Even today, he still considers Doué as the most beautiful zoo he has ever visited.

A link between his childhood and his adult life, Jacques Bouillault, Lee Durrell and Pierre Gay (director of the Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine) joined Emmanuel Mouton for a summer evening at the Réserve Zoologique de Calviac, just a few weeks before it opened to the public.

The Réserve Zoologique de Calviac, the realization of a childhood dream, does not constitute an end in itself but remains only a means of working for the conservation of biodiversity conservation.