Photo : Refuge de l'Arche / Wikimedia Commons (marque déposée)
Le Refuge de l'Arche
The Refuge de l'Arche is an animal refuge at Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne, in the Mayenne. For some fifty years it has taken in and cared for exotic wild animals injured by life, and it houses nearly a thousand animals.
Its residents come from seizures by the authorities, abandonments, circuses, laboratories, zoos, private owners and illegal animal trafficking. Visitors follow paths lined with enclosures, much of the route being shaded.
The site regularly publishes news of its residents. In 2026 it announced the arrival of a macaque named Vitaly and the death of Martha, the oldest of the bears, and in July it reopened the paths devoted to birds and birds of prey after a year's closure. It is an outing suited to families and anyone interested in animal protection.
