Françoise Delord
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Short description|French ornithologist and zoo owner (1940–2021)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Françoise Delord
| image = Bébé chimpanzé dans les bras de Françoise Delord.jpg
| birth_name = Françoise Jeanne Lajunias Doucet{{cite web|url=https://entreprises.lefigaro.fr/zoo-parc-de-beauval-41/entreprise-383578432 |title=Entreprise Zoo Parc De Beauval à Saint-Aignan (41110)|website=Le Figaro|access-date=4 December 2021|language=fr}}(in French) [https://jorfsearch.steinertriples.fr/name/Françoise%20Lajunias Françoise Lajunias]
| birth_date = 30 January 1940
| birth_place = Montargis, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2021|12|03|1940|01|30}}
| death_place =
| nationality = French
| other_names =
| occupation = Ornithologist, zoo owner
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{ill|Jacques Delord|fr}}
| children = 2
}}
Françoise Jeanne Lajunias Delord (née Doucet; 30 January 1940 – 3 December 2021) was a French ornithologist and zoo owner who was the founder and director of ZooParc de Beauval. After acting at Bobino, Delord became an ornithologist, authoring two books on the topic in the 1970s. In 1980, she opened an ornithological park, which later expanded to become the ZooParc de Beauval in 1989.
Early life
Delord was born 30 January 1940 and raised by a single mother in Montargis. She studied at the Lycée Jeanne d'Arc in Orléans and subsequently at CNSAD.{{cite web|url=https://www.valdeloire-france.com/val-de-loire/francoise-delord|title=Françoise Delord|work=Val de Loire|language=French}} Delord initially began her career as an actress.{{Cite web|date=5 December 2021|title=Françoise Delord, the founder of Beauval Zoo, died|url=https://news.in-24.com/lifestyle/news/207296.html|access-date=5 December 2021|website=News in 24 Lifestyle English|language=en-us}} She dreamed of entering the Comédie-Française and play the title role in the tragedy Phaedra.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=19 August 2011|title=Françoise Delord, de "Mademoiselle Bobino" au zoo de Beauval|trans-title= |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/people/francoise-delord-de-mademoiselle-bobino-au-zoo-de-beauval-19-08-2011-1364137_2116.php|language=French|work=Le Point|location= |access-date=3 December 2021}} She worked at Bobino and presented 11 shows per week.{{cite news |last=Bostnavaron|first=François|date=25 September 2013|title=À l'origine du zoo, Françoise Delord et sa passion pour les passereaux africains|trans-title= |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2013/09/25/a-l-origine-du-zoo-francoise-delord-et-sa-passion-pour-les-passereaux-africains_3483999_4497319.html|language=French|work=Le Monde|location= |access-date=3 December 2021}} For six years, she frequently interacted with artists such as Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré and Georges Brassens.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=19 August 2011|title=Françoise Delord, de "Mademoiselle Bobino" au zoo de Beauval|trans-title= |url=https://www.20minutes.fr/planete/772362-20110819-francoise-delord-mademoiselle-bobino-zoo-beauval|language=French|work=20 minutes|location= |access-date=3 December 2021}} While working in the theatre, she met her husband, {{ill|Jacques Delord|fr}}, a magician with whom she had two children: Rodolphe and Delphine. The couple later divorced.
Ornithological career
File:Panneau_de_sortie_du_zooParc.jpg
In the early 1970s, Delord won two African silverbill birds as part of a contest, which would trigger her inspiration for a zoological park. She became an ornithologist, writing two books about birds. Delord frequently purchased new birds at pet stores and built an aviary in her Paris apartment. When the total number of birds reached 300, she and her family moved out of Paris and settled on a five-hectare property near Saint-Aignan.
In 1980, Delord opened an ornithological park, which was transformed into ZooParc de Beauval in 1989 following the acquisition of wildcats. In 1991, the zoo’s stature grew when she acquired a pair of rare white tigers.{{Cite news|date=5 December 2021|title=Françoise Delord, fondatrice du zoo de Beauval, est décédée|work=Ouest-France|url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/centre-val-de-loire/saint-aignan-41110/francoise-delord-fondatrice-du-zoo-de-beauval-est-decedee-2e87059e-55a4-11ec-a5f1-199df2d64df4}} In 2001, she was the only female French zoo director.{{Cite book|last=Bell|first=Catharine E.|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos|last2=Fisher|first2=Lester|last3=Mizicko|first3=Laura|date=2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-57958-174-9|pages=1473|language=en|author-link2=Lester E. Fisher}} At the 2006 Chinese Committee of Breeding Techniques for Giant Pandas in Thailand, Delord expressed a desire to adopt a pair of giant pandas.{{Cite book|last=Hoffmann-Schickel|first=Karen|title=Sous la peau de l'ours: l'humanité et les ursidés : approche interdisciplinaire|last2=Roux|first2=Pierre Le|last3=Navet|first3=Eric|date=2017|publisher=Editions Publibook|isbn=978-2-7539-0524-5|page=394|language=fr}} The zoo reached international profile when China loaned it a pair of pandas in 2012. As of 2011, it was home to 4600 animals, and was the only collection in France with koalas or manatees.
When Delord aged, she left control of the park to her children, Rodolphe and Delphine. In 2021, the zoo has 1.4 million visitors.
Françoise Delord died on 3 December 2021 at the age of 81.{{cite news |last=Sabathier|first=Romane|date=3 December 2021|title=Zoo de Beauval : décès de sa fondatrice Françoise Delord à l'âge de 81 ans|trans-title= |url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/centre-val-de-loire/loir-cher/zoo-de-beauval-deces-de-sa-fondatrice-francoise-delord-a-l-age-de-81-ans-2364214.html|language=French|work=France 3 Centre|location=Loir-et-Cher|access-date=3 December 2021}}
Selected works
- {{Cite book|last=Delord|first=Françoise|title=Perroquets et perruches|date=1978|publisher=Solar|isbn=978-2-263-00222-9|location=Paris|language=French|oclc=30010565}}
- {{Cite book|last=Delord|first=Françoise|title=Mes oiseaux et moi|last2=Wailly|first2=Philippe de|date=1977|publisher=Hachette|location=Paris|language=French|oclc=417951905}}
- {{Cite book|last=Delord|first=Françoise|title=Instinct|date=2020|publisher=Beauval éditions|isbn=978-2-9551964-9-6|language=fr}}
References
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Category:People from Montargis
Category:20th-century French businesspeople
Category:French ornithologists