Buenos Aires Zoo

[cafeconleche]

Hi

Do you guys recommend visiting the Buenos Aires Zoo, especially in summer?

Thanks!

 

[Roxana]

A good friend of mine went recently and told me that most of the animals where sleeping under the shade.

 

[cafeconleche]

Thanks Roxana that doesn't sound like fun at all.

 

[sergio]

NO. I don't recommend it at ANY time of the year! The animals are not well cared for. Go to TEMAIKEN, a kind of safari park near Escobar. It is OUTSTANDING by any standard. They have a website. There is an express from Plaza Italia. It is really a wonderful place to spend a day.

 

[syngirl]

have a look on the Buenos Aires zoo website -- last year in the summer they had tours to the zoo at night -- started about 9pm. Zoos in general make me sad, but I don't think that the BA Zoo can be all that bad - they have had a lot of success breeding big cats there (and I believe have a program with Temaiken for the breeding). The enclosures are not very big though -- I haven't been for a long time so not sure how things are looking now.

Temaiken is a very nice setting, and preferable to the BA Zoo, but remember with the heat that if you don't get there first thing in the morning you're not going to see much. Zoos aren't like gameparks unfortunately -- they don't open at the crack of dawn, so within a few minutes, maybe an hour of opening time the animals are likely already passed out!

 

[elhombresinnombre]

I agree with Sergio about Buenos Aires Zoo, though in fairness I haven't been for a number of years and it might have improved since then. My concern was that the animals that were part of their special conservation projects (most zoos specialise these days; one will concentrate on tigers, another on pandas and so on...) had all the attention meted on them and the rest of the collection might as well have not existed. So I took photos and wrote some notes and passed them into the conservation community in the hope that they might get chivvied along a bit when they attend international meetings and conferences etc.

So... if you are looking for a day of entertainment I can't really recommend it but if you want to visit in an analytical frame of mind and blog about it afterwards, it might do some good.

 

[Roxana]

Regarding the tours at night at the zoo, I heard you need to get 20 people first, then call to the zoo to arrange a visit at night. It seems to be interesting as there are many animals with nocturnal habits..

Recently I called and emailed the zoo, they had good customer service skills.

 

[Julia2]

I can advise you to go there!!!
Compared to other zoos in the world I have been, the animals live very good there. The zoo is one of the oldest in the world, so even the buildings and houses of the animals a worth to see. For me it is a very beautifull zoo and the animals come very close to the visitors, especially because you can feed them with food they sell there. I have been there 2 weeks ago and the animals where not sleeping. Finaly the entrance is very cheap, so why not go there and make your own impression? I have been on a sunday, which was nice because there have been many children (nice to whatch them with the animals).

 

[mbearce]

Much nicer is the temaiken wildlife park:

http://www.temaiken.com.ar

I relieve you can jet a direct bus from The plaza Italia.

Best MDB

 

[sergio]

I know a veterinarian who worked for several years at the BA Zoo. He told me about the greed of the owners and the poor conditions under which the animals lived. There is only one zoo in Argentina that is certified by a major zoological association (based in the US) and that is Temaiken. I agree that the architecture of the old buildings at the BA zoo is impressive but the overall zoo, unless it has undergone major improvements, is pathetic. Temaiken is run by Perez Companc which is very involved in education and philanthropy. The administrators of Temaiken go to great lengths to maintain standards at the highest levels and that includes the most humane conditions for the animals, educational displays, extensive school outreach programs and impeccable conditions throughout the park. It is a wonderful place that I can not recommend too highly. If you like animals and nature, make every effort to visit Temaiken.