Jersey, the biggest island of the Channel Islands, is situated in the English Channel between the coasts of France and Britain. The total area of the island is 116 square kilometers and it is inhabited by 91 321 people, meanwhile 28 000 of them live in the capital of Jersey, St. Helier. The state is a dependency of Great Britain and is officially called the Bailiwick of Jersey.

History

The name of the island comes from the activity of Vikings between 9th and 10th century. In 933 took William Longsword, the Duke of Normandy, control of the islands which became part of the Duchy of Normandy until 1204 when it was conquered by France. The island was attacked several times during the Hundred Years’ War, probably because of the strategic importance. Jersey was occupied by Germany during the World War II. Nowadays no parties are active in Jersey.

Jersey Zoo

Gerald Durrell once decided to found his own zoo. This way he wanted to help the threatened species. He cooperated with governments of the countries of origin of those animals and struggled for returning them to the nature. This zoo is ran by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. It is practically the only one zoo in the world that is specialized purely on the endangered species. The main geographical areas of the today’s interest of the zoo are Caribbean, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mexico and Belize. The Jersey Zoo with its size doesn’t belong to the biggest but there is so much to see that the whole day can be spent there and definitely much will still remain to be worth seeing.

Main Characteristics

Jersey is a real paradise for cyclists. There are very nice steep cliffs in the north creating a wonderful scenery with amazing views. But the greatest wealth of the island is definitely represented by 70 kilometers of shores with beautiful beaches bathed by nearly limpid water. The main pillar of the economy are the financial services that drive benefit from the local tax specifics. But also the tourism plays its role. The climate is mild and together with proper geographical conditions creates perfect place for breeding the Jersey cattle. This breed is valued mainly for the high butterfat content of its milk and ability to carry more milking cows per unit area only thanks to the lover weight of the cattle.