Havana City Guide – Cuba's Zoo

By: Matthew Barker

The Zoo of Havana was inaugurated on October 24, 1939 in the lands of the former farm and nursery "La Rosa", an estate owned by the City Hall of Havana, and it had initially 69 animal species in 2 hectares of land. Today, this zoo has 164 species in an extension of almost 24 hectares; a zoo that Cubans know as the Zoo on 26th because it is located on that avenue in the neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado.

In its main entrance, a group of sculptures made by the Cuban artist Rita Longa and placed there in 1947 stands high; sculptures that have become the symbol of the park. In the same decade, the lions pit and the lake system were built; and in 1947 the island of the crocodiles was constructed, while the place for keeping elephants, which has a slope, was built in 1960. The places to keep the great mammals (rhinoceros and hippopotamuses) were built after a study of the weight of these animals.

Even though the monkeys are one of the main attractions of the park, this zoo also has a fabulous collection of birds and reptiles, being among them Santa María snakes and two pythons of 3 meters each. One thing that calls the attention of this zoo is having one of the few birds that have hair in Cuba: the Australian eagle; an American owl from Virginia that is more than 40 years old; and the male of a condor pair, a gift from the Chilean president Salvador Allende to Fidel Castro.

The reproduction of animals in captivity has had good results in the zoo. In 2008, new young specimens were born; and around the tens of newly born, there were a coyote, a buffalo and more recently, a pair of condors that was donated to the Andean countries for the increase of the species in the wild.

However, there is a group of unique species that are truly endangered because Cuba has not had the possibility to interchange specimens with other zoos in the region due to the environmental issues of the countries, affected by diseases such as the milk fever or parrot fever; all of which have made the reproduction of these species impossible.

About the Author

This introduction to the Havana Zoo in Cuba was written by a Cuba travel expert from Cuba For Less, a specialist in fully customizable Cuba vacation packages.

(ArticlesBase SC #2424149)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Havana City Guide – Cuba's Zoo

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