A bit of news from this largely unknown collection. In November 2004 the zoo received a pair of pygmy hippo, 0.1 from Edinburgh and 1.0 from Aalborg, and since then 2.0 have been born to this pairing, the first male born was sent to Zurich in December 2008, and the latest male was born last October. Very rare for 2 males to be born in a row, as the males are in short supply in the EEP. Other births last year include 11 yellow anaconda and 1.0 jaguar. Has anyone visited this zoo? Attica Zoological Park http://www.atticapark.com/flyer.pdf
I don't think many people connect zoos and Greece, although I had heard about this zoo once or twice before. I looked briefly at the species list and it is a bit impressive I must say. Wikipedia says that Attica is the name of the area surrounding Athens. So while some might think that relieves Athens from the questionable honour of being one of few European capitals without a zoo (others springing to mind being Oslo and Brussels) there is no mention of Athens in the 'Visitor Info' part of the website.
I was in Athens last May and I planned to visit this zoo, but without car it s very hard to go there. As I was limited in my time and none of my greek friends had time to drop me off I did not go there in the end. If you decide to go plan a full day and make taxi arrangements before.
I've done a bit of reading about this zoo. It appears to be out in the far southwestern suburbs of Athens. I think it was started less than 10 years ago, so it's likely quite modern. It was started almost entirely as a bird zoo, so the avian collection is most impressive. They now have a more complete collection. They are also one of the few zoos in the world with beautiful white lions.
Not at all. While lions are indeed beautiful. I've seen them at zoos in Toledo, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia, and they are always a treat. Sorry, but I'm not politically correct to look down on the display of these most beautiful animals.
A refreshing change! They are, indeed, most beautiful animals. And, in the case of the ones that we have imported, their temperament matches their looks. We have raised many big cats over a lot of years and none of them have been calmer than these two white lions. ANyhuis, you may be interested to know that there are now 4 zoos in Australia housing these delightful animals.
Wow, thanks Steve! I was fully expecting to get bashed (and I still may). Sometimes there isn't a lot of tolerance here for differences of opinion.
Why would you get bashed . I must admit I prefer zoos keeping purebred Asians or Africans and put their resources in them, but bashing someone for appreciating white lion goes way too far in my view .
I totally agree, but like I said, there are many who don't have a lot of tolerance for differing opinions. For example, try appreciating the beauty of a white tiger, or try expressing even any little doubts about the current teachings of global warming, or over here in the USA -- try saying something good about Disney's Animal Kingdom. The bashers will come down hard on you as "ignorant" and an "unworthy evaluator of zoos".
Attica Zoo is located not in Athens but in its suburbs - small town Spata. However it is easy accessible by public transport. From one of the metro station is a bus line almost to the zoo gate. Attica Zoo was open ten years ago, on the 16th of May 2000. Founder and owner is Frenchman - Mr. J.J.Lesueur. Zoo started as bird collection and till now birds are the main part of zoo animals - according to zoo guide they keeping over 270 species. Zoo is rapidly develop. I have some zoo maps from last years - each newer version have something new - new grounds, new enclosures, new species. I visited Attica Zoo in September 2008. Because of dry grounds it looks ideal for African and Arabian fauna. Stables are rather simple, there are only two pavilions open to visitors. One of them is Reptile House but it looking rather outdated and exhibits are small and not impressive. But outdoor enclosures for both species of native tortoises are very big and diversified. I never before saw so huge enclosures for tortoises. It was their mating season and tortoises were very active.Totally zoo keeping 31 reptile species. There are three really big walk-through aviaries: for birds from Africa, South America and south Asia. Part of each aviary have brick walls and this part can be separate from the rest so birds can be keeping there in colder, winter days. In Tropical Birds House are keeping toucans (4 or 5 species), barbets and turacos. In other good equipped aviaries are keeping parrots, pheasants, good collection of pigeons and hornbills (many species are breeding). There are also many species of owls and birds of prey and Bird Show but I missed it. Part of zoo is devoted to native fauna: bears, wolves, lynxes, otters, hoofed mammals. Among them are Cretan wild goat and Skyros horse - breed of semi-wild horse from Skyros island. In mammal section the biggest is African Savannah Exhibit - looking really like part of Africa in drying months. There are Baringo giraffe, Grant’s zebra, scimitar-horned oryx, lechwe kob and ostrich. Sitatungas are keeping on separate enclosure with pond. Also pygmy hippos have dry grounds but with pond and mud hole. After bath in mud hippos looked really very happy. They share their enclosure with white storks. Other spacious exhibits in this sector are for African wild dogs, cheetahs, prairie dogs. There is also so called Monkey Forest - walk-through enclosure with big group of ring-tailed lemurs. Other primates are keeping in well equipped, spacious cages. Among them are Barbary macaques, Javan langurs, black capped capuchins, cotton top tamarins and squirrel monkeys. Chimpanzees and siamang gibbons have big, open enclosures with water moats. Near to the monkeys are cats enclosures: white lions, white tigers, jaguars, pumas, servals and ocelots. In total zoo keeping 51 species of mammals. Zoo has also Children Corner, Education Centre and zoo shop. There is no guidebook during my visit but zoo map was given to the tickets. Labels on enclosures are bilingual in greek and english . Names of animals are also given in french. Recapitulating it is very nice, modern zoo with very interesting collection much better than I expected before my visit.
Temba was born 28.04.2000 , female Magda was born 24.08.2000 both in Beauval Zoo in France. So I presume they came from this zoo.
Thank you Arek for a very interesting review. Greece has never figured in my travel plans but it does now!
white rhinos Two male white rhinos added in the attica zoo family in 26/4/2010 from Whipsnade Zoo. They are two years old.
In your excellent review, you didn't mention the Zoo's dolphin stadium, which appears on the Zoo's current map. I'm guessing that either the dolphins have been added since you were there in 2008, or they are still future plans. Does anybody know?
Attica park said goodbye to Magda, the queen of the zoo, the white rare lioness which passed away. She first arrived at the Attica Zoological Park on December 2002 from Beauval Zoo, France where she was born. She was one of Attica Zoological Park’s oldest residents and all visitors loved her. I had seen her and she was a real queen.
1.0 Somali wild ass has been born. The zoo now has 3.2 animals in its herd. "Atu", the pygmy hippo, born in 2009, was transferred to Duisburg. 0.0.1 capybara born.
I visited this Zoo last week (December 8, 2011). Arek's excellent review (see above) is still quite accurate. As he said, the Zoo is located in Spata, a small town which is also the hometown of Athens' new (2004) Airport. So it's very quick to get to the Zoo right after landing, which is what I did. This Zoo has been at the forefront of the political battle with the radical animal rights wingnuts. A year or so ago, the radicals sued the Zoo, because they felt that dolphins should not be kept in captivity. Their (false) claim was that the Zoo brought in wild-caught dolphins, when they are actually from an oceanarium in Latvia. The radicals lost the suit, but they have refused to give up. So now their campaign is to deface ALL of the Zoo's signs giving directions to the Zoo -- which honestly made it very, very hard to find the place! You drive through Spata and see a sign showing directions for 3 places and the 3rd place on the sign is completely blacked out with spray paint! This made me downright mad! Hey idiots, if you don't like Zoos, then don't go to them -- but leave them alone for those of us who love them! I met both the owner/founder, and I was very impressed with his passion for his Zoo. I'm glad they haven't been discouraged by their radical critics. Just a few notes to add to Arek's review: (1) As was noted, there are no more white lions. But the Zoo is justifiably proud of their rather new African lion exhibit. It looks somewhat like the lion exhibit at Florida's Busch Gardens, with a jeep children can climb into, with the front of the jeep being inside the lions' exhibit -- behind glass. There's a tie-in to Disney's The Lion King. (2) They have what I believe is the best prairie dog exhibit I've ever seen (and I've seen hundreds of them). (3) Monkey Forest, another European lemur encounter exhibit, is truly impressive. (4) I was happy to see a European wildcat that was actually moving. (5) I've never seen so many different birds! Only San Diego comes close! (6) The children's area was quite nice, with many farm animals, a walk-through petting yard with goats, plus Bunnytown, with 30+ adorable multi-colored rabbits. (7) By far the highlight was the sprawling Dolphin Stadium, where they give a 30-minute show, 2 to 4 times daily. The first 10 minutes features a funny sea lion. Then, for 20 minutes, they have 14 (count 'em, 14) dolphins performing all kinds of behaviors and some tricks. Loads of fun! They won't always have this many dolphins, as they are only temporarily holding some of them, while their Latvian home is being renovated. Greece is known for its beaches and even for snorkeling and scuba diving, so it's appropriate that they would have a great dolphin show. Future plans call for the Attica Zoo to add a world-class Aquarium. Before that, they'll open an (already under construction) dinosaur building, with moving animatronic dinosaurs.
Nice to learn of this zoo's wellbeing. An intriguing collection and also some rare species. Besides the native species trail appeals ....
