La Montagne des Singes

In the municipality of Kintzheim, west of Sélestat in the Grand Est region of France and only 40 km from the German town of Rust and , you will find the La Montagne des Singes animal park, opened in 1969. The 24-hectare site at the foot of the Hochkönigsburg is home to around 200 of the endangered Barbary macaques. Since its opening, the aim of the zoo has been to increase the population of Barbary macaques through natural breeding of the animals, which are endangered in the North African wilderness, and to reintroduce them into their native Morocco. La Montagne des Singes laid the foundation for three other Barbary ape zoos, La Forêt des Singes near Rocamadour in southern France, the Salem Ape Park on Lake Constance and Trentham Estate in Staffordshire in England. Since 1969, the parks have been able to return 591 Barbary macaques to Morocco and release them into the wild. Due to its open overall concept, you have the chance to get very close to the monkeys at La Montagne des Singes and even feed them, which is a huge highlight, especially for the little ones, yet the Barbary macaques have the chance to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of the tourists at any time and thus be undisturbed.