- The Saint-Malo aquarium was authorized to open from Wednesday.
- Important measures have been taken, in particular a limit gauge and a single direction of traffic.
- Are animals that have lived in calm for two months going to experience it badly? The teams think not, the specimens being used to captivity.
They have been quiet for more than two months. Confined in their large tanks of water, the 10,000 fish, crustaceans and mammals of the Grand Aquarium of Saint-Malo will see visitors return from Wednesday. Closed since the start of confinement, the first private tourist site in Brittany had the green light from the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine to reopen this Wednesday. The equipment had to adapt to the health crisis and will limit its gauge to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among visitors and staff. But what about the occupants of the premises? Will they freak out to see the calm of the place broken? A priori, no. Explanations.
Rays, sharks, turtles, lobsters and giant groupers will have company. At 10 a.m. this Wednesday, the animals of the Grand Aquarium of Saint-Malo will see other faces than those of the few trainers and technicians who fed them during confinement. “We have been thinking for several weeks to anticipate the reopening. The decision did not come overnight, ”says Philippe Vigneau, the equipment manager. If the opening of the site is authorized, its operation will obviously be turned upside down by the epidemic. A maximum gauge will be imposed to guarantee physical distance and a single direction of visit has been established to limit crossings. "We will welcome four times less visitors than on a big day in August," calculates the director. An online reservation system by time slot will soon be available to better manage the flow.
"They will not be turned upside down"
Driven by visitors, the Grand Aquarium has continued to live since the closure. And fixed charges for pond maintenance, animal feed and personnel costs continued to fall. "The financial situation has become precarious". Was there an emergency to reopen? “As soon as the possibility presented itself, it had to be seized. We worked to be ready. ” And the 10,000 animals that live there, are they ready? "It is a situation they know since we close several weeks each year (two weeks in November and three weeks in January). They are used to seeing people wandering around the windows. They will not be turned upside down, especially as we will have fewer people, ”promises Philippe Vigneau.
Aquarium specialist, Julie Williart shares this observation. "They are used to seeing people. They did not forget, even if they were quiet for two months. I don't think it will panic them, ”predicts the secretary of the Aquarium Federation. “Animals that live in captivity, they are used to seeing humans pass by. But it is difficult to know if this return will cause them stress, "said a scientist in the department.
During confinement, the nurses at the Saint-Malo Aquarium were able to observe different behaviors in the tanks. Like what was happening "outside", the animals were less fearful, venturing closer to the imposing windows. A calm spring, before the humans return.
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