Also known as Merida Zoo. Being the oldest zoo in Mexico, it was high on my list of things to see in Mexico and on Dec. 30 2013 my wife and I walked to it because on the map provided by our travel-agency it was not that far from our hotel. The map was not that relayible and we walked about 4 - 5 kilometers before we reached the entrance to discover it was closed....I couldn't find any sign how late it would open so we decided to wait untill the gates would be opened for us. In front of the main-gate there is a small park and we did some birding there but at about 10.00 AM we went back to the Zoo ( would be a nice name for a music-band ) where one of the people working on the zoo-grounds made us clear that the zoo wouldn't open at all that day because it was monday and on monday most musua and zoos are closed in Mexico......... The guy told us also that the next day the zoo would open at 6.00 AM so one day later we stand at the zoo at 7.00 AM ( 6.00 o'clock was a little to early for us ) to discover that the front part of the park was indeed opened but this part only contained the playing ground ( and 1 cage with squirrels )! Because we didn't want to use the playing grounds we spend yet another hour birding between the trees of the playing ground but then at 8.00 o'clock also the animal-part of the park opened and could we see the nice collection of both Mexican and exotic species. A small 'African plain' is home to a single Giraffe, 2 zebras and some Ostriches and then an enclosure for Barbary sheep and one for a single Great curassow follow. At the left side a row of small enclorures and cages which are home to small mammals are quite bar and without any plants. Animals kept here are rabbits ( domesticated, no volcano ), coatis, Mexican nacked dogs, raccoons ( normal, no Cozumel dwarf.... ), margeys, ocelots and so on. At the other side of this row, also at your right side some larger peadocks ( no planting just sandy, rocky bottom ) are home to a single emu together with a apir of White-tailed deer ( Yucatan subspecies ), flamingos and one of the highlights of this zoo, a small group of Yucatan brocket deers ( 1 male, 4 females and a young ) Around the cornerthere are the big cats in small, unattractive cages. African leopards, Bengal (?) and White tigers and Jaguars all lived their boring lives in those prison-cells.... On the other side another group of Yucatan white-tailed deers and a pair of Yucatan brocket deers is housed next to some aviaries for curassows, barn owls and other birds. Also a single Axis deer is kept here. Behind the cages of the big cats a serie of small cages for birds of prey can be found but these also don't match "western standards" ! Most of the birds however looked quite healthy. Then you come along a row of yet another unplanted, bar enclosures with Fallow deer ( white form ), wapiti's ( no subspecies mentioned ), a nice group of Collared peccaries and a double enclosure for 3 Hippos. All 3 were in the water-part and enjoyed the day. Now we have reached the monkey-part of the zoo and the first large wire-mesh caged housed a pair of Yucatan black howler monkeys. To take deccent pictures proofed very difficult which was also the case with most other monkeys like baboons, capucines, ring-tailed lemurs and vervets. The only monkeys with a nice open enclosure are a family-group ( with young ) of Yucatan spider monkeys. The 2 Chimps are housed in a heavy metal jail ! We now have walked almost the complet outer-ring of the zoo. Along some enclosures for both Mexican crocodile-species, some turtles, pythons and small cages for Common marmosets and Red cardinals we come to the centre part of the park, a huge Walk-through aviary. This is without any doubt the best enclosure in the whole zoo and when we wanted to enter it we discovered it was....closed ! Luckily we found some other, smaller aviaries with Amazones, macaws and toucans and decided after this to leave the zoo. Just at that moment somebody had decided to open the Walk-through aviary so we were Lucky to still be there ! In this aviary a mixture of waterfowl ( ducks, geese and coots ), Curassows, chacalacas, some exotic pheasants and songbirds is kept and most birds realy looked fine. After having seen this last enclosure we went to the exit and came along 2 more enclosures housing a trio of Gaurs and some Dromedaries'. Altogether a very intresting and realy old zoo with some intresting Yucatan and Mexican endemics !
I visited this zoo about 20 years ago, and it really as not changed much from what vogelcommando reports in this interesting review, along with his great photos in the gallery. The only relatively new exhibit is the free flight aviary,which was not there 2 decades ago. I thought the zoo was rather neglected back then, imagine now. The history of this zoo is also interesting. It was actually inaugurated in 1910 by Porfirio Diaz himself, the legendary mexican president turned dictator. It was the centenary of the independence of mexico which was 1810. Hence the name parque zoologico centenario. It is strange that the oldest zoo in mexico is yucatan. I remember reading that it is planned to leave the centenario zoo only for native species and that all the other fauna will go to the new animaya park. Since funds for both zoos comes only from the state of Yucatan, which is not a rich state, it seems that the changes will come about very slowly.
Thanks for the review and photos VC, sounds like an interesting place with some rather unusual exotics (gaur), as well as some very nice natives. Hopefully they move the exotics to better enclosures at Animaya in the future, and upgrade the native exhibits too. Was the zoo very busy? How does this zoo differ from the European zoos you have visited, what were the main differences?
@ zooboy28 because wee were the first one, in the beginning almost no people were at the zoo, later some more came ut I wouldn't call it busy. The biggest difference IMO are the trees, the scrub and the plants. Palms, huge bamboo, banana trees and many plants in flower, I,ve never seen it on this scale in an European zoo. Also the free-flighing birds were amazing ! @ zooman : do you realy think this is a good idea ?
Hi V was more tongue in cheek to your comment " we went back to the Zoo ( would be a nice name for a music-band )" Quote
I understand but you have never heared me singing so that why I asked if it would be a good idea. The only music instrument I'm playing without making failures is the triangle so no music band for me .
Already a little older but evenso still intresting : In a fertile 2016, 60 new residents at Mérida zoos
Centenario didn't change much since the review of @vogelcommando. I visited last week and the lay-out is pretty much the same, although not all species mentioned in the review are still kept. Centenario seemed quite outdated with many small and substandard enclosures. The zoo should be open untill 6 PM, so I though I had enough time arriving around 4.15 PM. However, they already closed the herpetario, were closing the walkthrough aviary and around 4.45 PM everyone was ordened to leave the zoo... So I missed about a quarter of the zoo and saw another quarter very quickly. To end with some positive notes: the collection of native birds of prey was worth the visit and I saw a very active kinkajou!
Centenario zoológico depends on Yucatán state funds and is sadly neglected, even by Mexican standards. Did you see the Yucatán brocket deer ?
The species was signed, but in that enclosure were white-tailed deer. Maybe brocket deer are still kept, in the area that I couldn't visit due to the early closure of the zoo. I did saw one in Aluxes.
