@carlos55
Huachipa was a very interesting zoo with almost no atrocity exhibits. Therefore, there were quite some good points I should highlight, but also some bad ones I would like to mention:
Starting with the bad ones, the mock rock work, which is present in practically all the exhibits at the institution, is a bit too artificial. The aquarium is completely filled with incredibly common fish species that you could find in any pet shop, just like the other zoo in Lima, Parque de las Leyendas. The big carnivore enclosures are divided only by glass walls in some cases. That, together with the loud music that was playing in the permanet dinosaur attraction nearby, caused visible signs of stress in some individuals. The huge aviary, (which I will also mention as a good point), was basically filled with waterfowl and three species of ibis, besides some peafowl and two or three parrots. A total waste of space for an enclosure that could keep duzens of interactive psittacidae and other species. The peruvian amphibian set of exhibits, which I was very anxious to see, was completely empty, as well as the small indoor reptile house they have (only one species of lizard was on display).
As good points, I should say the educational signage and boards were surprisingly good in general, as well as their superb set of exhibits for native mammals (giant and neotropical otter, sloths, pacarana, grison, brocket deer and several primate species) and their set for coastal wildlife (sea lion, Humboldt penguins and the biggest star of the place IMO: marine otter). The aviary, which although having only a few species being kept, has a lot of potential because of it's size and structure; the spectacled bear complex, with four fairly big exhibits and the south american camelids zone were also some of the highlights because of the organization and adequate size of the enclosures. Same for the reptile section (the outdoor one), with some interesting species being kept in ok environments (monocled cobra, anaconda, two species of caiman and american croc).
I still haven't posted most of the pictures I have taken of the whole place, so I think you'll have a better idea of what I mean as soon as I finish posting them. I'm also gonna share with you guys my thoughts and images made at previously mentioned Parque de las Leyendas.
@David Matos Mendes I look forward to hearing more about the Lima zoos. I'll be visiting one of the two in a few weeks and currently I'm leaning towards Parque de las Leyendas, but a positive review of Huachipa might convince me otherwise.
@Penshet
I went to Las Leyendas three times and to Huachipa two times during the time I lived in Lima. I would say I cannot really have an answer of wich one is better. Las Leyendas is a much larger zoo, with a considerable amount of cultural aspects related to it, like the Kalinowski museum, that shows a lot about peruvian namesake naturalist; the magnificent Chabuca Granda amphitheater, surrounded by typical Criollo restaurants, a big botanical garden, Paso horse stables, peruvian dog exhibits (closed in all the times I visited) and of course, the various Huacas, wich are sort of huge genuine pre incan tombs spread all around the place. Also, besides the many exotic animals in exhibition (giraffe, zebra, buffallo, hippo, leopard, bengal tiger, lion, kangaroo, baboon, etc) you are going to be able to see a considerable variety of rarities that belong to the peruvian wildlife, such as pygmy marmoset, pacarana, vizcacha, pampas cat, culpeo, sechurae fox, inca tern, peruvian pelican, cock of the rock, and various species of toucanet, to mention a few.
Huachipa, although smaller, has a very organized set of enclosures, with less species, but maybe with an ambientation both for visitors and animals that might be even better than Las Leyendas. It is also home to a considerable amount of rarities, such as melanistic tamandua, red brocket, and the incredible marine otter (Lontra felina). They also keep some of the interesting ones Las Leyendas have, such as many of the species of amazonian primates, culpeo, sechurae fox and pacarana.
The aquariums in both institutions are not worth a visit, to be honest, so you should not consider it an important point, unless you wanna see tons of koi and goldfish.
As I said, I'll be posting more pics of both institutions soon. Please, let me know if there's any other particular aspect you would like to know about any of the two zoos. I'll be happy to answer!
