Thoiry, a zoo unlike any other | Doc du dimanche | France 5

With 450,000 visitors per year, it’s the foremost animal park in France. It was created by Comte Paul de la Panouse in his vast property overlooked by the 4 centuries old family castle. This charismatic man works as a family, with his wife tending the gardens and his children helping to run the estate. The concept behind Thoiry is to allow the greatest freedom possible to the 1,000 animals that are housed there. No cages, no bars: the zebras, the antelopes and the ostriches stroll around at will. At Thoiry they try to retain as much of each animal’s instincts as possible. The animals must remain wild because one day their descendants my be reintroduced into the wild.