Bear with glasses, from the Andes in Latin America © Bildagentur Zoonar GmBh-Shutterstock.com

Going to Jardin des Plantes is always a beautiful experience, especially during school vacations when myriads of children babble away in the alleys.  Created in 1635 by Louis XIII th’s doctor, Guy de la Brosse, it was a Royal medicinal garden to start with. It was developed in the 17 th century as an ornemental garden and still has lovely rose trees and bushes. Even in winter the variety of plants is pleasing and I stepped upon a wonderfully smelling tree in bloom.

A plate from the Creil manufacture representing the Museum can be seen in the Cabinet d’histoire

On my way to the Museum through the gardens I fell upon a very sexy bronze statue of a hunter fighting with a bear by Emmanuel Frémiet better known for his orang outangs sculptures and the gilt Jeanne d’Arc of Place des Pyramides near the Louvre. It was the perfect introduction for the show of 8 varieties of stuffed bears inside. Four come from Asia, two from America and two from the rest of the world. White or brown, they are beautifully preserved and the films showing their eating habits and behaviors are really fun.

The “Dénicheur d’oursons” a hunter fighting with a bear, bronze by Emmanuel Fremiet, 1884

In the last room of the show, are exhibited the white bears of Duc d’Orléans and the grizzli given to La Fayette by the governor of Missouri after his long travels to the USA in 1824-25. After trying to tame the cub, La Fayette gave it to the Museum zoo.

Sun bear from Malaysia

The white bears from the Arctic brought back by Duc d’Orléans

We learn that bears originated 35 millions years ago and they used to travel from Asia to America before the Detroit of Bering was pierced. Films show how white bears nourish on fish and how Pyrénées bears hunt.  I discovered one, the sloth bear, which looked just like a boar, and preferred the charming pandas…There are many films and debates until June 19 th and you will find all infos on Especesdours.fr.

In Russia, 1892, The Bear Invasion as reposted in French newspapers

Fluorite found in La Charbonnière, Haute Vienne

On the way out, stop for a visit at the Mineralogy Cabinet which shows the most amazing colored stones collected over the years by French scientists. The green and purple fluorite, a piece of red stalactite from Argentina, a white mesolite from Poonah in India particularly stroke me but there are precious stones and megaliths which recently fell on earth… It is a pleasure to be shared by children and parents alike.