Zoológico Guadalajara (Guadalajara Zoo) is the main zoological park in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and is widely considered the most important in Latin America.[who?] It is the largest in the country with respect to species population.

Guadalajara Zoo
Zoo entrance (2021)
Map
20°43′42″N 103°18′30″W / 20.7283813°N 103.3083326°W / 20.7283813; -103.3083326
Date openedMarch 11, 1988
LocationGuadalajara, Jalisco, México
No. of animals2,200[1]
No. of species360[1]
Websitewww.zooguadalajara.com.mx

The zoo is located on the Barranca de Oblatos (Huentitan Canyon), a natural park in the limits of the city which is in fact one of the natural spots the zoo has been trying to preserve.

History

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Zoológico Guadalajara started operating in 1988 as a project to promote conservation and research. As the first true zoo of the city, and the largest in the state of Jalisco, the park has been enormously successful and is one of Guadalajara's most popular tourist attractions.

Animals and exhibits

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Black bear in Guadalajara Zoo

The Guadalajara Zoo is noted for its diversity of species, especially birds. There are many species of mammals as well, including some endangered species from Mexico. Some species are important for conservation; for example, the zoo has bred the rare Mexican wolf and Morelet's crocodile.[2]

  • Antártida: A chilled exhibit featuring Adélie penguins and gentoo penguins. Since 2015, the penguins are kept in a large, closed habitat which mimics the cold temperatures from the Antarctic region, and provides them with land and water.
  • Puerto Manati: A pair of Antillean manatees named Claudia and Lorenzo arrived at the zoo in August 2021 as part of a captive breeding program.[4]

Famous inhabitants

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Among the most famous animals in the zoo's collection are:

  • White tiger: White tigers have been one of the zoo's main attractions almost since the park opened its doors. One of their white tigers was the mother of Mantacore, the tiger who mauled Roy Horn from Siegfried & Roy. Many of the white tigers used by Siegfried & Roy in their show were born in the Guadalajara Zoo. The zoo also has normal coloured tigers. Six litters of Bengal tigers have been born in the zoo, all of them sired by the park's resident tiger Niño, who has the tiger's normal coloration but also white genes on his own heritage, which enables him to sire both orange and white cubs.
  • Western lowland gorilla: The zoo's silverback gorilla, nicknamed Chato by his handlers, escaped his enclosure once. Gorillas have reproduced twice in the Guadalajara Zoo. He passed away in 2009.
  • Baird's tapir: One of the zoo's tapirs, Norton, was used by Mel Gibson in the movie Apocalypto for the tapir hunt sequence at the beginning of the film. He is housed in the Tropical Rainforest section of the park.
  • Morelet's crocodile: The most endangered crocodile in Mexico has reproduced well in the Guadalajara Zoo. Many young crocodiles born to the zoo's reproductive couple Juanito and Rosita have been released in the Centla swamps, one of the Morelet's crocodiles' original habitats.
  • Hippopotamus: A female hippo named Tequila was famous in the zoo because of its old age (40 years, which is the maximum lifespan for its species) and because it was part of the collection of the now disappeared Agua Azul zoological park. Tequila died recently, but new hippo calves have been born in the zoo.
  • American alligator: A male white alligator was a visitor to the zoo during the 1990s. It was nicknamed El Gringo because of its white skin and blue eyes. This was one of 18 leucistic alligators known at the time.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Zoologico Guadalahara". mytravelguide. My Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Zoo } attractions".
  3. ^ "Kangaroos die in Mexican zoo".
  4. ^ "Guadalajara Zoo protects two manatees".
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