The founder of ZooParc de Beauval, Françoise Delord, died Friday, December 3, AFP learned from her family.
"
It is with immense emotion and great sadness that we inform you of the death of Françoise Delord this Friday, December 3,
" said Delphine Delord, deputy director of the zoo and daughter of the founder.
"
Françoise Delord leaves an imprint of inestimable value for all those who defend biodiversity in the world
", reacted the Delord family.
Read alsoZoos, victims of thefts for the black market
Born in 1940, Françoise Delord founded the zoo in Saint-Aignan (Loir-et-Cher) in 1980. Intending to be an actress, after studying theater, she landed a small job at the music hall Bobino: presenter of shows .
For six years, the Parisienne rubbed shoulders with Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré and Georges Brassens, with whom she befriended.
The ZooParc, his "
third child
"
An ordinary couple of African birds, "
silver beaks
" earned through a subscription to a children's magazine, then changes his life.
She will then buy 300 birds before leaving her Parisian apartment and buying the Beauval property.
It was there that she gave birth in 1980 to her “
third child
”, as she liked to call the ZooParc.
Initially a simple ornithological park, Beauval became a zoo with the purchase of the first felines in 1989. Its fame took off after the purchase of a couple of extremely rare white tigers in 1991, even becoming international with the arrival of the giant pandas on loan from China in 2012. The ZooParc welcomed 1.4 million visitors to France in 2021.
