ZooParc de Beauval has added six species to its Exclusive Animal Encounters program and opened booking through February 5, 2027. The French zoo announced the expansion on September 1, 2026.
The new additions are the Tasmanian devil, the giant anteater, the cheetah, the southern lion, the southern white rhinoceros and the spurred tortoise. They join a roster the zoo puts at around 40 species.
What does an encounter involve?
Forty-five minutes with a wildlife educator, in a group of two to six people depending on the species. Beauval says the sessions can include watching animals at close range, going into areas that are closed to the public, taking part in a supervised feed, building enrichment for the animals, or simply talking at length with the staff who look after them.
Prices start at 268 euros for two people. Minimum age is six. Park admission is not included: an encounter requires a separate entry ticket unless the visitor holds a valid ZooPass.
The six new species
The list is more interesting than a straight headcount suggests, because of what the species have in common.
The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, is the one that would be hardest to arrange in North America. Very few institutions outside Australia hold them, and the ones that do got them through a government-to-government agreement rather than an ordinary transfer.
The giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, is a large, slow, nearsighted animal whose keepers spend a lot of time on enrichment, which makes it well suited to a session built partly around building enrichment.
The cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, and the southern lion, Panthera leo melanochaita, are the two big cats on the list. Beauval did not describe how visitors are separated from them during a session. The southern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum, is the more numerous of the two white rhinoceros subspecies, and the one at the center of the continuing fight against rhino poaching. The spurred tortoise, Centrochelys sulcata, is the African species that grows to well over 100 pounds and is one of the few animals on the list a visitor can safely stand beside.
Where this fits in the European market
Paid animal encounters are old news at American zoos, where they have been a standard revenue line for two decades. What is changing in Europe is scale. Beauval is now offering roughly 40 species on a booking calendar that runs five months out, which is not a side program: it is a product line with inventory management.
The same instinct is visible elsewhere on the continent in a very different form. Tiergarten Nurnberg introduced a new guided tour offering in September 2026 aimed at visitors who cannot walk the whole site, and Longleat in England is building its autumn around a ticketed lantern trail. All three are the same move: taking something visitors used to get incidentally and selling it as a defined, bookable thing.
ZooParc de Beauval is in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher in the Loire Valley. The zoo did not attribute the announcement to a named spokesperson, and did not say whether the encounter roster will grow again before the February 2027 cutoff.
Source: ZooParc de Beauval, September 1, 2026.
Quick answers
- Which species did Beauval add to its Exclusive Animal Encounters?
Six: the Tasmanian devil, giant anteater, cheetah, southern lion, southern white rhinoceros and spurred tortoise. They join a roster the zoo puts at around 40 species.
- What does an encounter cost and how long is it?
Forty-five minutes, from 268 euros for two people, in groups of two to six depending on the species. Minimum age is six, and park admission is not included unless the visitor holds a ZooPass.
- How far ahead can I book?
Beauval opened slots from September 2026 through February 5, 2027 when it announced the additions on September 1, 2026.
- What happens during a session?
A wildlife educator leads the group. Beauval says a session can include close observation, access to areas closed to the public, a supervised feed, building enrichment, or an extended conversation with staff.
