Le Chêne, the only conservation center for all kinds of wildlife in Normandy, continues its mission

Of course, last year Cheney’s team hadn’t imagined it like this. Public ” Frustrating As Joanna Chopin, the center’s nature coordinator and director of communications, describes it. The ‘discovery space’ that was inaugurated in February 2020 to replace the Nature Museum will be closed, nearly half of the year, due to restrictions.

« We have worked a lot since September 2019 to rethink our proposal. Exodus, Museum of Nature The name was very old »- His little stuffed animals are a cause for concern for the little ones. Make room for an immersive exhibition, with a virtual reality headset and a hologram, for a truly educational and fun experience in the skin of an animal wizard. ” Every visitor has an animal sheet and goes through different stages of the rescue center: reception desk, diagnostic room, animal house, nursery, etc.. The escape game, as well as the current thematic workshops and off-the-wall activities, should follow at EHPADs or schools.

With the year 2020 and the dotted calendar, 3000 unique visitors have been identified (a record in recent years), the validity of the facelift has been validated. Le Chene has managed, above all, to reinvent herself without denying herself: until now no animal appears on her tour or activities. ” We are not a zoo », Joanna Chopin supports. Live with nature, yes. It ran with wildlife, definitely not.

Because we must not be wrong. At Le Chene, the discovery area serves the backup center, not the other way around; In 2021, the site will have a reputation as a reception center for wild animals. In distress, a direct or indirect consequence of a human act»It is no longer to be done.

Killer decoder

In 2019, 2,640 animals benefited from the quality care of the four caregivers and the hundreds of volunteers helping them. According to the professional, this figure should be stable for 2020. Logically, the mission of the only Normandy center accredited by the UFCS (French Federation of Wildlife Conservation Centers) to accommodate any species indifferently does not suffer from ‘without a break.’ Ducks, pigeons, turtles, gulls, storks, 60% of the species collected are birds. Squirrels, foxes, penguins, swans or gray seals made the place famous. Badger, owls, red kite, or kangaroo all at once. The long list, contrary to what one might think, did not dry up with confinement. Joanna: ” The first confinement coincided with the breeding season. When the little ones took their first step, at the end of spring, many of them were crushed, because they were not accustomed to human activity.. »

Road accidents, the excessive presence of domestic cats, potential predators, but also Gather the little ones before they have time to fly All are fatal hazards to wildlife. For seals, a photo might suffice, the host explains. “ A mother’s seal leaves her baby very dry when she sees a human approaching her on the beach. »

Twelve baby seals were collected this summer. After they became adults, five of them were released around October in Sum, Mont-Saint-Michel or Orne bays. Less than the usual firing rate (67%), the ultimate goal for the entire team. After their element is reintroduced, the survivors can hope to live for twenty years. Le Chene, for her part, will see herself a hundred years old.