
16-03-2009
Hi all,
Been to the Zoo today and I would like to post a review, in order to update my older review.
Well, there has been some time (too much time!) from my last visit, so I decided to have a look today.
Not the best day - Sunday and very hot, but still ... Arrived there at 11am (Zoo opens, on Winter, from 10am to 18pm) and got the oportunity to take two tours to the Zoo.
I took some photos, that I will post later on the gallery if anyone wants.
There're plenty of visitants today but as they quickly pass by any exibitations, that's not a problem.
About the Zoo,
- extremelly clean! I was impressed of how clean it was! Not only on the guest walks but also and mainly on the enclosures.
- there were few exibitions closed - some reptiles and the up-hill part (where they keep some hoofstock and the iberian wolfs) is closed. Not sure of what is going on there!
- overall enclosures were good and some very good. I didnt saw any stressing animals and almost all of them looked very healthy and pleased.
- LZ has reduced, as I see it, many species. For example from Bears they now only have Brown bears (3) and have no canids (exception for the Iberian Wolfs).
- there were plenty of babies and lots of pregnant mothers.
- they seen t have found a not-so-expensive way of making enclosures, using "fences". Not iron-fences but that kind of fences that you use for chickens and so on (bigger and stronger, of course!). Dont know the name in english sorry. All of the cats (leopars, ocelots, snow-leopards, jaguars and tigers) are on these kind of fences. It's not very pretty and the enclosures were not bigggg , but they're OK and much better than the old ones. The Tiger Temple is nice, holding two species: Siberians (2 adults and 2 cubs) and Sumatran (2 adults). Around the Zoo we could see another enclosure with White bengals (2).
Still on the cats, they built on a hard area (starting uphill, behing the bears) a Cat-Area. It's holding Ocelots (at least 2 - very nice and healthy!), two northern lynx, two enclosures with jaguars (each one with two : one spotted and one black), two snow-leopards and a enclosure with 5 (or 7) african leopars - too small for so many animals IMO. All of these enclosures where in natural terrain with dirt and trees. In the middle there were the indoor enclosure - looking very nice. A little below, on the old tiger cage we could find pumas.
- The old bear area was all merged and now is only one enclosure with 3 brown bears.
- The elefant area is now diferent also. The old is now used to keep the bull and a youngster and the asiatic enclosur was merged with the polar-bear exibit and now holds the rest of the african elefant are (2 adults and 2 youngsters).
- the girafes, a pur bred herd of Angolan giraffe is now up to 11 (or was it 9?) members, with two adult males, some adults females and some youngsters.
- on the begin of the zoo there were, as always, some nice exibit of hoofstock (my favourit animals) such as bongos, black-face impala, american bisons, african bufallos, cimitar orix, austral-orix and some more. All in big groups.
- a very nice colection of lemurs (6 or 7 species) and very activs).
- on the monkeys: they enlarged some of the old cages but making them come 1.5meter on front and on natural terrain. A nice colection to watch, i've to say. We could also find some islands with gibbons and a lovelly colony of 5 spider-monkeys. Not very big islands, still.
- also a very nice collection on natural row of marmosets and small monkeys. Very active. Some of the row were closed.
- after the bears there were a nice group of Addax and Mufflons.
- the colony of flamings were great
- the koalas, as always, the two sleeping but looking very pleased.
- the anteader-eater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) looked very nice .
- uphill, the only enclosure that we could see was of some hoofstock: black and sable antelopes, elands, tapirs (one pair and a mother and a yearling).
- the babbons and the japanase macaques are still on their old concrete cages
- a good colection of birds and hornbills and a very nice collection of lemurs specieis.
- the big are looking great. one big enclosure with lowland gorillas (one adult male, two adult female and I think a young male); a big group of chimps and two islands (joined) for sumatran oragutans (3 adults and a baby baby).
- the white rinos also have a new bigger place and it's up to 2.2 , all adults
- the hippos are on the same, but looknig nice. Two adults and a baby and on youngster apart.
- the indian rino, I could only see two and they're separate. I will post pics.
- they're cleaning the pigmy hippo enclosure but the two animals there were also looking very nice, even thought it's a weird enclosure
- s always a big group of Lions (11)
- the Okapi was very friendly and there was only one and it looked like (at least to me) a pregnant female! But I thought that LZ only had two male okapis?
Well, off to eat something. ...
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