Pierre Gay has been director general of Zoo des Sables d’Olonne since 1998 and director general of Bioparc Zoo de Doué-la-Fontaine since 1973. He has spent his career dedicated to conservation and reintroduction programs as well as overseeing the two zoological parks in France Gay participated in and organized the first EAZA Conservation Forum and also launched Nature Projects which has been running and supporting NGOs all over the world since 2001 he went to India to discover the work of the Snow Leopard Trust with its founder Helen Freeman She told him that “if we want to save nature we must take into account and help local communities” something that has resonated with Gay and with the in-situ conservation strategy of Bioparc He went on to travel to Madagascar in 1999 where he supported the first actions of the NGO Antongil Conservation in protecting the rainforest in the northeast of the island Gay also travelled to Niger to save the last herd of West African giraffes and worked with Heinz Plenge in Peru on the spectacled bear conservation project discover and learn what is being done elsewhere EAZA gave him an award for his commitment to the protection of nature “By presenting endangered species, Pierre sought to develop our field of action beyond the Bioparc and thus complete the circle between presence in captivity and support for wild populations, while including the natural environment and local populations in these projects,” said one nominator Pierre has thus enabled the community of zoos and aquaria to consider and develop conservation from an innovative angle that makes sense today.” Blooloop is taking climate action and is now B Corp Certified Thousands of people in France used to live underground in caves and one region has one of the richest collections of troglodytic sites in Europe tunnels were carved into the rock – first to dig out the stone and later in the 18th century until as late as the 1950s of the 4,000 inhabitants of the town of Doué-la-Fontaine near Saumur half are thought to have lived underground There are an estimated 1,500km of galleries cellars and former habitations in an area of nearly 600km² – although the majority are no longer accessible The oldest site open to visitors with evidence of human activity going back 1,500 years is Troglodytes et Sarcophages It is classified as a historic monument and is looked after by Didier Chabot the troglodytic sites are not natural caves formed by geology and so were not lived in by prehistoric man they are openings and tunnels created later in two local rock types which are fairly soft and easy to dig into “By the side of the Loire river there is a local type of limestone called tuffeau and here the troglodyte activity is known as du coteau meaning galleries were dug into the hillside It is where the stone for the famous Loire chateaux was extracted formed 10 to 15million years ago when sea covered the land the troglodyte activity is known as de plaine where people dug down from the flat plains to create a large open pit they would start digging horizontally into the rock They would have needed pulleys to move cut rock out of the way.” The Troglodytes et Sarcophages site was first explored by archaeologist Michel Cousin 27 years ago He spent five years examining galleries running through a hectare of land found in churches as far away as Normandy and Brittany and there is a possibility they were taken across the Channel to the UK It is estimated that 25,000 were made here which led to the development of Christianity,” said Mr Chabot “The tombs were 2m long and weighed around 500kg when they were finished “It must have been a mammoth task to pull them out into the open and then up to the plain above They would have been transported by river and sea to get to their furthest destinations You can still see where they were worked underground.” The second use was as a refuge from war from the 8th century onwards They would have been a safe haven when the Vikings headed up the Loire in the 9th century “A 12th-century text witnesses that in the 11th century people from Saint-Hilaire- Saint-Florent hid underground from attackers from Normandy.” Another discovery was a chamber with Roman and Gothic arches showing it was most likely created as a chapel during the 12th century.There are niches carved in the rock face which it is thought would have held statues but the lord who lived there must have found the underground space perfect for worship There is also evidence that some of the underground area might have been used as a farm during the Middle Ages as there are traces of a dovecote and places where animals might have been kept these caves were not used later on for housing as was common in other underground complexes it was used as a quarry for building stone The workers would start digging from the top and creating a vaulted ceiling which would keep the structure solid and avoid collapse It makes these chambers look like a cathedral the site was used by a winemaker and it was not until Mr Cousin visited and started exploring the tunnels stretching back underground that its full history was revealed people started creating underground dwellings in the 18th century and they would dig down into the plain to create a courtyard,” Mr Chabot said they could dig into the rock to make a room with alcoves for beds and cupboards the family would live in one room and the animals in others They would use some of the stone they dug out to create supporting arches inside and walls at the front “There would be a fireplace and a chimney which for people walking across the countryside above was the only sign someone was living below The advantage was a constant temperature of around 14C throughout the year The disadvantage was lack of light and high humidity “The dwellings are not rich with detail because they were simple homes carved out of the rock for the poor but they are our own specific architecture with no equivalent anywhere else in France.” as living conditions improved and there was more modern housing available Some continued to be used for wine cellars and by mushroom-growers Some have been restored and renovated to include modern comforts and turned into homes once again shows how a 19th century family would have lived in their house carved into the rock The village of Rochemenier has two old farms consisting of 20 rooms over five acres and an underground chapel 'I built my A-frame home in France for €35,000' French farmhouse renovation: Tools I should have invested in Many remained in France during the occupation With more than one million visitors last year the cemetery is one of the region’s most-visited D-Day sites Explore the rich history and artistic allure of this medieval hideaway This six-week-old cub is the second Sumatran tiger cub to be born at Fota and is brother to two-year-old sister Dharma who was recently transferred to Edinburgh Zoo Fota Wildlife Park is gearing up to welcome their ten-millionth visitor who will win a prize of a holiday for two to South Africa which includes a safari Fota Wildlife Park is calling on the public to come and visit the new arrival and be in with a chance to win the trip of a lifetime as well as some great runner up prizes Director of Fota Wildlife Park said: “The countdown is now on to find our ten-millionth visitor Fota has been open as a conservation charity and wildlife park attraction since 1983 – since then the yearly attendance has risen to over 465,000 annually The excitement is building as we prepare to honour the 10th million visitor – who we expect to walk through the gates in the next 7 or 8 days all depending on the levels of visitor numbers really “That lucky person will win a holiday for two in South Africa including a Safari trip so it will be well worth a visit for anyone considering a great day out this August We also have great runner up gifts from some of our local accommodation providers such as Fota Island Resort the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Little Island and the Midleton Park Hotel plus we have 10 annual family passes to give away.” Sumatran tigers first arrived at Fota Wildlife Park in 2014 as part of the European Endangered Species programme (EEP) Mother Dourga originally came from Le Parc des Félins in France and father Denar from Warsaw City Zoo in Poland and their first cub now lives at Edinburgh Zoo where it is hoped that she will become an integral part of their breeding programme.  The other Sumatran tigers at Fota include; Batak a five-year-old male that came in 2015 from Zoo Parc de Beauval in France and Mayang a seven-year-old female who was born at Doué La Fontaine Zoo in France The prize details are: overall winning prize to be awarded at the discretion of Fota Wildlife Park to the ten-millionth visitor is a €4500 voucher for Barter Travel that currently covers a holiday for two to Cape Town in South Africa internal transfers and accommodation including a two-day Safari to Amakhala Game Reserve Runner up prizes are as follows: the five-star Fota Island Resort is offering a two night stay in a self-catering lodge for a family of 4 with passes to Family Fun at Fota Island Adventure and VIP Spa passes for the parents Little Island are offering two nights Bed and Breakfast in a family room with dinner on one evening for a family of four Midleton Park Hotel are offering two nights bed and breakfast stay for a family of 4 with dinner included Fota Wildlife Park will also be giving ten runners up Conservation Annual Passes to mark the occasion with no more than 5,000 estimated to remain in their native South America It is feared the actual number could be as low as just 1,000 individuals and they are already extinct in Uruguay and Argentina Conservationists at the zoo say the decline in numbers is a result of massive habitat destruction water pollution and illegal poaching across South America making the breeding programme vitally important to the future of the species It is hoped Diego Junior will mate successfully with IcanaTim Rowlands Fota Wildlife Park has announced the birth of a Columbian black spider monkey to mother Norma and father Pinky as part of a European endangered breeding programme (EEP) and is calling on the public to help name the baby The new baby spider monkey was born on March 4th and this is Norma and Pinky’s third baby together and she arrived in Fota Wildlife Park in 2015 from Le Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine in France Ten-year-old father Pinky was born at Fota The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Columbian black spider monkey as critically endangered due to hunting habitat destruction and a long birth cycle Females only give birth every two or three years The Spider monkeys recently moved into their new purpose-built house and upgraded outdoor habitat which features an extended island and a new water moat and waterfall This project was part-funded by the Government via the Office of Public Works who also supported other capital projects at Fota Wildlife Park including the south sea wall repairs and the Howler monkey house construction Lead Ranger said: “We are delighted to announce the birth of any critically endangered animal It helps us raise awareness about species loss in the wild and the conservation work here at Fota European wildlife parks and zoos run cooperative breeding programmes as a demographic and genetic backup to wild populations “We don’t know yet if the baby is a boy or a girl but there are two big sisters already in the group The new baby has been nibbling at fruit and veg and is becoming more active around the recently upgraded Spider monkey enclosure.” The Columbian black spider monkey is a sub-species and is native to Columbia and Panama and has a black body long limbs and an extremely flexible tail with a hairless tip for gripping that The Black Spider Monkey is the largest New World monkey and is found in humid forests up to 2,500 metres above sea level though it also consumes leaves for protein and has a pot-bellied appearance because of its large stomach Fota Wildlife Park is a conservation charity and has an annual attendance of over 475,000 visitors making it one of Ireland’s top visitor attractions